There is no question that there are countries that have more to offer in culinary terms than Great Britain. That doesn’t mean the island can’t get emotional when it comes to food, though. In any case, it’s not just the tabloid press that has been alarmed for a few days, after all, it’s about a crucial ingredient for what is probably the most legendary breakfast in the world: the egg at the English breakfast.
Anyone who has ever had a decent breakfast in Great Britain knows that nothing is missing. There’s the sausage, the fried mushrooms, the grilled tomatoes, the bacon, the baked beans – and of course the eggs. Which brings us to the problem, because eggs are getting scarce.
So scarce that you can only buy a certain number of packs in British supermarkets. At Marks & Spencer there are two per person, at Aldi and Lidl there are still three. Anyone who orders from the online supermarket Ocado often gets the message: out of stock, Not in stock. And not only there. There are all sorts of photos of supermarkets with empty egg shelves on social media. And because many people are wired in such a way that they hoard when something becomes scarce, the supermarkets are now rationing the eggs.
It is not easy to answer why the eggs are becoming scarce
Now, empty supermarket shelves are not entirely uncommon in the UK. Brexit and the corona pandemic have repeatedly resulted in shortages of pasta, mineral water and toilet paper. And now the eggs. Why this is so is not easy to answer. As so often, it depends on who you ask. Supermarket managers say there are two main causes: bird flu and the summer heat wave. Both have led to the fact that many chickens have died.
The chicken farmers see it a little differently. From their point of view, there is a completely different reason for the shortage: since the war in Ukraine, the costs for feed and energy have risen massively. So much so that an egg producer association, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, has sounded the alarm. Some egg farmer should have gone out of business, so supermarkets are being asked to pay more for eggs.
The question, however, is whether the customers will go along with it. Egg prices have already gone up. At Aldi, a dozen eggs cost 30p more than last year. At Waitrose it is even 50 pence. Eggs are one of the foods that have pushed inflation in the UK to 11%.
In an emergency, even the English eat scrambled eggs made in Italy
The high prices are also a problem for cafés and pubs. Even worse, however, is the fact that eggs are running out. At pub chain Wetherspoons, they’ve had to come up with a few new ingredients for English breakfasts. And so, instead of eggs, some locations now have potato pancakes, onion rings or fries for breakfast. Of course, this is not a real substitute for fried or scrambled eggs, but what should you do?
Because, according to experts, the shortage of eggs will last until after Christmas, some restaurateurs should now think about what alternatives there are at all. The best option is tofu scramble, a kind of vegan scrambled egg. Of course, there would also be egg powder made from dried eggs, but with one proper English breakfast has nothing to do with it.
At least there seems to be some hope now. Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has started importing eggs from Italy. Of course, this is not easy for lovers of British breakfast culture to cope with, but in an emergency even the English eat scrambled eggs made in Italy.