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Egg consumption is at seven-year high

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recessionbusters-headerAmericans are eating nearly four more eggs per person per year than they did before 2011, and U.S. egg production at the end of last summer was 3 percent higher than it was a year before.

The American Egg Board reported late last year that U.S. per capita egg consumption rose from 247.9 eggs in 2011 to 251.3 eggs in 2013. It is expected to rise to 257.9 eggs this year.

On a related note, a meta-analysis published last year in the British Medical Journalconcluded that higher consumption of eggs is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.

“Eggs are a nutrient-dense food that consumers are adding to their diets. There continue to be new studies that document how healthy eggs can be, and consumers are responding to that message,” said Tony Banks, a commodity marketing specialist forVirginia Farm Bureau Federation. “Increasingly, fast food restaurants and ready-to-eat breakfast food manufacturers are incorporating eggs into their product offerings. This increase in per-capita consumption and higher wholesale prices for competing proteins like beef and chicken have supported slightly higher wholesale egg prices in recent years.”

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