This year's White House Easter Egg Roll will involve around 30,000 eggs, and the American Egg Board says they're not going to be fakes. President Trump confirmed during his tariff remarks Wednesday that the tradition would, as usual, involve real eggs. "They were saying that for Easter 'please don't use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs?' I say we don't want to do that," he said. NBC News reports that the White House "did not respond to a request for clarification about who was telling him not to use real eggs."
Eggs donated by farmers are painted and rolled at the White House event. A source tells NBC that there were discussions at the American Egg Board about the "optics" of using real eggs at the event at a time when bird flu has made life difficult for farmers and caused egg price and supply issues, but the decision was made to proceed as usual. "The heart of this event is about bringing joy to children and families, and in these difficult times for egg farmers, it's important to celebrate wherever we can," board President and CEO Emily Metz said in a statement. She said the event "will not create additional strain on the nation's egg supply or egg prices."
Egg prices are falling after hitting record highs earlier this year, though it may take time for the recent drop to $3 per dozen to reach grocery store shelves, CNN reports. Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, says bird flu outbreaks have fallen sharply "with just 2.1 million birds affected in March of this year, compared to 23 million in January and nearly 13 million in February." "America's poultry farmers have put in the work to tighten biosecurity and they'll continue to strive to protect their flocks," Nelson says. (More White House Easter Egg Roll stories.)
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