Until Messi won the World Cup, posted a photo with the trophy on his Instagram profile, and received 74 million likes, the selfie with the most likes in the history of the social network belonged to an egg account. Just like that. A whole new world. A classic egg. On January 4, 2019, an anonymous account shared a photo of a simple egg with the goal of breaking the likes record held by celebrity Kylie Jenner with over 18 million. In just a few days, the egg tripled the record, reaching 60 million likes and its fame skyrocketed to the point of starring in a Super Bowl ad.
How did a simple egg become the biggest influencer on the planet? London publicist Chris Godfrey, the mastermind behind that post, explained it in The New York Times: "An egg has no gender, race, or religion. An egg is an egg, it's universal."
Six years have passed since its viral breakthrough, the Instagram account lost momentum (and followers) when linked to a cryptocurrency project and, especially, when the egg was painted with the colors of Palestine. However, that universality of the egg that Godfrey spoke of has never cracked. On the contrary. We are still fascinated by the egg, we love it, we like it a lot, very much. We really like the egg, in fact. It's the Messi of food, the Kylie Jenner of our diet. And now that its value has surged as if egg whites and yolks were Apple stocks, the power of the egg has been vindicated like never before.
Why can't we live without eggs? "The egg is a grand slam," claims Ferran Adrià on the other end of the phone, possibly the best chef in the history of our country. "There's water, salt, milk and its derivatives, flours... and the egg. The egg is vital. Without it, there is no cuisine. Even less, pastry. We have been eating eggs all our lives, I remember my childhood eating French omelets, fried eggs, and potato omelets. It has been a fundamental ingredient in traditional cuisine, but also in haute cuisine since the legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier included over 200 egg recipes in his Culinary Guide in 1903."
Someone wrote that Adrià's mind, the chef who elevated the structure of the egg to a new dimension, was as brilliant and complex as a good fried egg. "It's cheap, easy, and a true work of art," he says. "It's the dreamy liquid ravioli. And we will never stop eating it no matter how many alarms are raised now about its price."
According to the latest study by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), the price of eggs in Spain has increased by over 25% in recent weeks. A dozen size M eggs, the cheapest in supermarkets, can now cost around 2.60 euros, when at the beginning of the month they were not more than 2.10. Behind this lies a perfect storm of factors that no expert dares to specify. "There is no clear cause, there is no increase in feed prices or an increase in energy prices, as happened in 2022 or 2023," admits the OCU, which focuses mainly on the sirens sounding across the Atlantic... and on our unleashed passion for eggs.
The crisis of avian flu in the United States, which has led to the culling of over 166 million birds, has driven the price of a dozen eggs up to 12 euros in some stores in the country and has caused stock shortages in its companies and even egg rationing, spreading panic in a country where each citizen consumes over 284 eggs per year and faces Easter with dread. Until this latest recession, the US produced about 9 billion eggs per month. So many that if they were all lined up, the eggs could reach the Moon and almost halfway back. Just like that.
"President Trump is causing immense long-term damage to the United States by undermining democratic norms, vandalizing the federal government, and aligning with alleged war criminals from the Kremlin. However, if his support diminishes, I doubt it will have anything to do with all this. Rather, it will be... because of egg prices," wrote columnist Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times, placing the egg at the center of the new global geopolitical board.
Just a few weeks ago, a theft valued at over 40,000 dollars occurred in Pennsylvania. It wasn't jewels or gold bars, it was 100,000 eggs stored in the back of a distribution trailer. The US Department of Agriculture states that egg prices could increase by over 40% this year, and Americans have already come up with all sorts of imaginative solutions. Eggs have never been so viral on social media since that shell challenged Leo Messi.
"The egg is cheap, easy, a work of art. It's the dreamy liquid ravioli. And we won't stop eating it no matter how many alarms it raises now."
Breakfast restaurant chains have started adding surcharges to dishes that include eggs. In a recent CNN interview, a butcher from the Bronx was selling packs of just three eggs for three dollars in a plastic bag, a cosmetics brand has introduced egg cartons in its lineup to make them more accessible to the public, and more and more Americans are opting to rent their own chicken to have fresh (and cheaper) eggs at home every day. For about 600 dollars, companies like Rent The Chicken provide a pair of hens that lay between eight and 14 eggs per week. The offer includes a standard henhouse, a food dish, a water dish, about 50 kilos of chicken feed, and an instruction manual.
Almost a decade ago, Jorge Camacho started his business in Spain with a couple of chickens. Today, he owns Cobardes y Gallinas, one of the companies that has best capitalized on the new status of eggs as coveted items. A dozen of his eggs costs eight euros, almost four times more than in any regular supermarket. Nevertheless, his company distributes around 7,000 dozens every week, his exclusive club has over 4,000 members who receive fresh eggs at their doorstep every morning, and there are currently over 800 people on the waiting list. Among his clients are about 300 restaurants, several of them with Michelin Stars: from DiverXO to Estimar, passing through El Molino de Urdániz or the Japanese restaurant Umiko.
"Eggs had a very bad reputation before," laments Jorge. "It was a simple and very cheap product that they said caused cholesterol and was seen as a basic kitchen item. It didn't have a good image, but that has been changing in recent times. Research has shown that it is a super cheap protein of the highest quality, and that's why it is increasingly consumed. Its nutritional image has been whitewashed, and today there is a very basic foundation of society that can have a quality diet thanks to eggs. The egg is a fantastic thing that tastes delicious, you go to DiverXO and they serve it on the plate. The egg is amazing."
According to studies by Inprovo, the Interprofessional Organization of Eggs and Egg Products, eggs were the food that saw the highest increase in purchase volume in Spanish households in 2023, with an 8.7% rise. In Spain, 407 million kilograms of eggs are consumed annually, 8.68 kilograms per person, almost three eggs a week. "Consumption is increasing in all EU countries," they assure. "Among other reasons, due to the positive image of eggs as a food, increasingly valued by consumers worldwide."