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| source : reuters.com |
I didn’t expect to write about chickens today, but when you see headlines about a deadly bird flu wiping out 95% of one of America’s largest egg producers’ flock, it’s hard to scroll past.
This isn’t just about eggs or farms. It’s about how fragile our food systems really are when a virus shows up uninvited, and how slow action and policy roadblocks can make a bad situation catastrophic.
Let’s talk about what’s unfolding in Buckeye, Arizona, where Hickman Farms, a giant in the egg industry, just lost 6 million birds in a matter of weeks. Yes, six million. That's about 95% of their entire population gone, nearly overnight, biologically speaking.
What Happened: When the Birds Got Sick
It started around late May. Workers at Hickman Farms noticed their chickens were acting off, lethargy, low appetite, and sadly, dropping dead. Initial losses were estimated at 1.1 million.
But it didn’t stop there. Just two weeks later, the outbreak had spread like wildfire. The final count? 6 million birds gone, leaving barns empty, operations frozen, and hundreds of workers without jobs.
According to Hickman Farms CEO Glenn Hickman, the tragedy was preventable. And his frustration was palpable when he addressed the press on May 30.
“If our pullets had been vaccinated when we started lobbying the federal government in January, our pullets would have been saved by now,” he said.
That line hit me. Because here’s the twist: The U.S. makes an avian flu vaccine. We just don’t use it here. Instead, it gets exported, while American farms like Hickman’s are left vulnerable.
The Politics Behind the Poultry Vaccine
Here’s where the story gets complicated. While countries in Europe have embraced poultry vaccination to battle bird flu outbreaks, the U.S. has taken a much more conservative route.
Why? According to multiple sources, there are concerns that vaccinated chickens might test positive on export screenings, potentially disrupting international trade. So rather than protect our own flocks, we’ve taken the risk-averse path, for the global marketplace.
But Hickman isn’t having it. He’s actively pushing for change and asking customers to do the same—writing to representatives and advocating for access to vaccines domestically.
“The quicker we can start vaccinating our nation’s poultry flock, the quicker we can get back to normalized operations,” said Hickman.
Fallout for Farmers, Workers, and Supply Chains
Beyond the birds, the impact is very human.
Hickman Farms has halted its operations entirely. And while some employees will help with the cleanup, hundreds of workers are now out of a job, including many contract workers and even inmates involved in work programs.
The process of decontaminating, cleaning, and repopulating the farm will take up to two years. Two years of no production. Two years of economic limbo.
Even more telling: this is the first time in over 80 years that Hickman Farms can’t meet its customers’ demand.
Should Consumers Be Worried?
Thankfully, no. Health officials, including the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) and the CDC, have reassured the public that eggs from infected chickens never entered the food supply.
“There have been no signs of illness in humans,” the AZDA stated. “Consumers can remain confident in the safety and quality of eggs and egg products.”
To date, only 70 human cases of bird flu have been reported across the U.S. in the past 14 months. Most of those occurred among people who had direct contact with infected birds. Transmission through food or casual exposure is extremely rare.
A Silver Lining? Not for Everyone
While the outbreak is devastating for Hickman Farms and the workers depending on it, not everyone is mourning the loss.
According to 12 News, some nearby residents are relieved by the shutdown, largely due to long-standing complaints about odor and environmental concerns. In fact, Hickman Farms was sued in 2018 by locals and environmental groups who accused the company of pollution and nuisance.
Now, those same neighbors say the air smells a little fresher. It’s a complex emotional cocktail: relief on one hand, economic anxiety on the other.
What This Means Moving Forward
This outbreak, while specific to Arizona, is part of a larger national (and global) trend. Bird flu variants have been circulating for years, but they’re getting more contagious, more deadly, and harder to contain.
And yet, we have vaccines. We have science. What we’re missing is policy alignment and willingness to act before outbreaks spiral.
As a journalist following this closely, here’s my take: the Hickman outbreak should be a wake-up call. If we continue putting trade optics above public and agricultural health, we’re going to lose more than just chickens. We’re going to weaken an entire pillar of our food economy.
And the next virus might not be so kind.