By Thursday Bram
During my last trip to the grocery market, there was a sign in the egg case announcing that, yes, the price of eggs are rising. I’m guessing that there have been a few complaints.
There are several reasons for that rise, with consumers blaming everything from the Atkins diet to ethanol — Atkins because of a higher demand for beef, eggs and other food high in protein and ethanol because of the use of corn (also used for chicken feed) in ethanol production and an upwards trend in corn prices. One key issue is actually the rapidly rising cost of transporting eggs from the chicken to your kitchen; that is to say rising gas prices mean rising food prices.
The cost of a dozen eggs has jumped, on average, 60 percent from where it was a year ago, and grocery stores are passing that cost along. Organic products, by the way have seen an equivalent jump, pricing plenty of buyers out of the market.
There isn’t a simple solution to combating rising food prices. I’ve been concentrating on making as much of my menu from scratch as I can. But even staples are costing more than they did even a few months ago.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped companies with coming out with new egg products, such as ready-to-serve hard-boiled eggs . For $4.59, you too can buy a bag of already cooked eggs.
Elizabeth Passarella, at The Kitchn , has reviewed these gems (marketed to those of us without 10 minutes and a pan full of water, perhaps?).
They tasted stale, the whites were rubbery, and the yolks were pretty hard. Our bag contained 11 eggs and cost $4.59, which isn't a premium we're willing to pay.
Elizabeth, thanks for your review — personally, I think I can skip the taste test. I’ll stick to buying an uncooked dozen for half the price. I know I’ll be surprised at how well these pre-cooked eggs will end up doing. I’d like to think that they won’t sell, but I know plenty of people will buy them just to save a few minutes.
And the price of eggs (cooked or raw) will keep going up. In the next year, the USDA predicts that 31 percent of American corn production will not go to food. Instead, it will be used in ethanol production. One third of American corn crops will raise food prices even further, from eggs in a Maryland grocery story to bread in Haiti and Bangladesh.
译文:
涨价的鸡蛋和新花样鸡蛋产品
By Thursday Bram
我上次去商店购物，鸡蛋的涨价的消息再次张贴在售蛋箱上。我想这一定会招致怨声载道。
人们对很多涨价的东西进行抱怨，可以说从生活饮食到所用的乙醇等等，其实有几个理由导致的涨价，特别是那些含高蛋白的牛肉，鸡蛋等的需求量在增加，还有很多的谷物用于乙醇的制造（鸡的食料也是用的谷物）由于乙醇的生产需要谷物，导致其价格在上涨。还有一个重要的环节就是鸡蛋的运输的成本也在上涨。也就是说燃油的价格上涨导致食物价格的上升。
相对去年而言，平均一打鸡蛋的价格上升了60%，食品店自然也要随行就市。有机产品的价格同样上涨了这个水平，这样的结果就是让很多购物者望而却步。
面对食品价格的上涨的问题是没有一个有效的办法可以彻底解决的。我只能一再紧缩银根。就是这样主食的价格也不让人省心，同样比几个月前也大幅上涨。
当然，有些公司就此引进了新的加工方式，也就是说新的鸡蛋产品也问世了，如，即开即食的煮熟了的鸡蛋。$4.59你就是可以买上一袋。
伊丽莎白 巴沙润拉就是这么一位从业者，她对此有所透露。（可能也就10分钟的时间煮好就投放市场了）
老实讲味道不怎么样，蛋白有点弹力，可是蛋黄却很硬。一袋也就是11个蛋，花了 $4.59，真实有点不值。
伊丽莎白， 我们私下里还是要感谢你的，我想我们先不谈味道，如果我们买12个生鸡蛋的话，也就是$2.25.所以我晓得这种预熟的鸡蛋将来注定没有市场。我真希望他们不要再销售，但是我知道就有那么多人为了节省那么几分钟的时间还是在购买。
总之不管是生鸡蛋还是熟鸡蛋价格还在涨。据美国农业部预测明年的将会有百分之31的谷物要派作他用。而原本这些谷物是用来生产乙醇产品的。三分之一的谷物足以让美国的粮食价格进步上涨，马里兰的鸡蛋，海地和孟加拉国的干粮都不会幸免于难.