The average price of eggs rose to $4.25 in December 2022, more than twice the average of the year prior according to a report from The New York Times.
The high prices, caused by rising energy and feed costs among other factors have led to what one TikTok user described as a ‘Costco Egg-demic,’ according to the video clip shown below that has been viewed nearly one million times.
The clip shows Costco employees passing out eggs as customers jockey for position while stocking up on the healthy, protein-rich essentials.
Eggs are one of the healthiest foods a person can eat.
One egg is rich in protein, Vitamin D (one of a small handful of foods that contain this crucial vitamin), Vitamin B12, choline, iron, lutein and zeaxanthin, Riboflavin and more.
Unfortunately for egg connoisseurs and unsuspecting shoppers, the egg industry as we know it is at risk of being disrupted like never before, through the inclusion of a new type of “animal-free” egg made from an extreme form of genetic engineering that is being sold without proper labeling.
Report: Synthetic Egg Protein Has Entered the U.S. Food Supply
Synthetic egg protein has officially entered the U.S. food supply according to a new report from the non-profit watchdog organization GMO Free USA.
These eggs are unlike traditional eggs in a wide variety of ways.
The eggs are produced with “an extreme form of genetic engineering known as synthetic biology,” the organization said.
This way of creating novel, synthetic foods is also known as “synbio.”
The synthetic egg proteins are being sold under the brand name EVERY, a company founded by entrepreneur Arturo Elizondo with the goal of creating animal-free protein using the GMO process.
As usual, consumers will be left in the dark as to whether the products they are buying contain these GMO-derived substances.
“To make life more complicated, there is no GMO label required, since the U.S. has declined to regulate substances produced with synthetic biology,” GMO Free USA said.
“No safety testing is required either so potential negative health impacts are unknown.”
The entire process is done with positive intent, but the use of GMO substances that are foreign to the body and a lack of safety testing is problematic, the organization added.
“The biotech and food industries would rather manipulate consumers into thinking it is made like pickles and sauerkraut than tell you it is a GMO. Nothing is farther from the truth.”
How to Identify and Avoid GMO Egg Protein
The best way to avoid GMO-derived egg protein and similar products is, as always to buy organic and/or Non-GMO Project Verified foods.
Also, look for the “Every” egg logo shown above, and for marketing buzzwords such as “animal-free” or “vegan egg protein” to avoid synthetic egg protein.
As GMO-Free USA notes, these egg protein products are patented as unique and different substances, and are not natural.
“We live in sad times when food is no longer real,” the organization wrote on its website.
The good news in all of this madness is that organic and non-GMO food is more widely available than at any time in recent memory — the future, as always, rests in the hands of the consumer.