I have to share with this thread an article that made me laugh far more than it should have today:
Please note this is not a satire but from a reasonably respectable right-wing oriented newspaper.
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/53ecb4abdfd1e061
More eggs than fentanyl being seized in border crackdown
Donald Trump wants customs officers to detect smugglers bringing in opioids – but they are more often finding poultry products
Donald Trump announced a crackdown at the border upon returning to office to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. But in recent months, more eggs than fentanyl have been seized by border agents as prices soar, according to a report.
Since October, border officers have seized 3,768 poultry-related products compared to 352 seizures of the deadly opioid, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data shows.
Egg interceptions are up 36 per cent nationwide in the year starting in October compared to the previous year, the report found. In parts of Texas, a hot spot for egg smuggling, seizures have risen by 54 per cent, according to CBP’s Laredo field office. Meanwhile, in San Diego, they have more than doubled.
“It’s the price difference,” Roger Maier, a CBP spokesman, explained to The Wall Street Journal. Mr Maier is based in El Paso, where, since January, agents have foiled 90 would-be egg smugglers trying to ferry the breakfast staples across the border. “The price is like a third of what it is in the US,” he said.
The surge in egg-based criminal activity is the latest sign of the lengths consumers and suppliers are prepared to go to get around surging prices.
Last month, a dozen A-grade large eggs cost $5.90 on average, according to Labour Department data. That’s the highest price on record and a 97 per cent increase on the $3 cost of the same box a year ago.
The soaring prices are being driven by an outbreak of avian flu that has ravaged the US hen population, with farmers forced to cull their entire flock if a single case of the disease is found.
Grocery shoppers in some regions have seen prices rise to $10 or more per box, while others have been faced with empty shelves. In New York, a new phenomenon has emerged of bodegas selling eggs outside of the box, known as “loosies”, in individually wrapped plastic bags. In one instance, a small grocery store was selling three eggs for $2.99, rather than charging $12 for an entire carton, CBS reported.
Restaurants have been forced to adapt to the trend, with Waffle House and Denny’s among those recently adding a 50-cent surcharge for each egg added to a dish.
Meanwhile, the shortages have even led to daring heists, such as one in early February, where 100,000 eggs with a market value of $40,000 were stolen from a distribution centre in Pennsylvania.
In a bid to contain the situation, the justice department has launched an investigation into the causes of soaring prices, including whether large-scale producers are manipulating prices or supplies.
The USDA last month announced plans to invest up to $1 billion to address the price of eggs, including $500m for developing biosecurity measures at egg farms.
The US department of agriculture does not allow travellers to import eggs or egg-based products as they can spread disease if not properly inspected.
CBP officials told the WSJ that most people arriving at the border don’t know that unofficial egg imports are banned, and that many take with them flat cartons containing up to 30 eggs.
Officials are said to have been instructed to ask whether drivers are carrying eggs, at which point most people admit to their mistake. However, those who fail to reveal their illicit contraband may face charges of up to $300 for a first-time offence. Several of the 16 penalties that customs officers in El Paso have given out in recent weeks are said to relate to concealed egg cargoes.
Border agents are required to destroy any eggs recovered using “established protocols”, one agent told the outlet, explaining that the offending food-stuffs are placed in an incinerator.