This year's Easter egg roll at the White House will feature real eggs donated by American egg farmers despite the country slowly working out of a national egg shortage and high prices.
President Donald Trump even commented about using real eggs during Wednesday's announcement of new "Liberation Day" tariffs. Trump quipped that some staffers wanted to use fake eggs, but Trump said, "We don't want to do that".
It could be considered a hard tradition to break. The Easter Monday egg roll at the White House goes back to 1878. The White House Historical Association maintains a retrospective display of the event on its website.
Not everyone is in agreement that real eggs should be used during the event. The combination of shortages and high prices due mostly to the impact of bird flu and the deaths of millions of egg-laying chickens is not entirely over.
NBC News reported that a Michigan egg producer thought it was wrong for the White House to use real eggs. The farmer told NBC, "Those eggs need to go in people's bellies, and it needs to feed our families here in the United States, not to be played with."
The U.S. Egg Board released a statement contradicting the farmer's belief about eggs used at the event. "The eggs required for our national tradition represent a very small percentage of the nearly 9 million dozen eggs sold at grocers and other retailers across the country each day. Additionally, the eggs used for the White House Easter egg roll will be in sizes small and medium, which are not meant for the retail and grocery channels."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report on wholesale egg prices and availability shows a return to more normal conditions. The nationwide average wholesale price for a dozen large eggs bought in large lots by retailers dropped to an even $3 per dozen. Availability is improving. Some of that is due to the government setting up imports from Turkey and South Korea.
The egg roll is open to preregistered participants only. The National Park Service conducts the drawing, and winners have already been notified.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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