A poultry farm in Howard Lake, Minnesota, that supplies the nation's largest supermarkets with three million eggs per day experienced a devastating fire over the weekend.
Forsman Farms spokesperson Jon Austin told local media outlet KARE that estimates aren't firm yet, but anywhere between "tens of thousands of chickens were killed, up to a couple hundreds of thousands." The spokesperson continued and said chickens in adjacent barns were affected by smoke inhalation.
Video posted on YouTube by Eddie Olson shows massive flames lighting up the night sky on Saturday.
It's unclear exactly how the fire started though impacts could be felt at supermarkets. This year alone, retail egg prices have soared 41% because of the deadly bird flu wreaking havoc on the country's egg-laying hen flock.
Since January, the outbreak has spread to 32 states, killing more than 37 million chickens and turkeys. Of that, 29 million egg-laying hens have died, or about 10% of the U.S.' total flock of 300 million. Bloomberg recently reported the bird flu is "shaping up to be the worst outbreak of its kind."
The blaze at the commercial egg farm in Minnesota comes as dozens of food processing facilities across Canada and the U.S. have experienced mystery fires and explosions over the past year, helping to strain the North American food supply chain.
Poster Comment:
I lost track of how many fires and explosions we have had at major food centers. I thought it was over 80. Anyone remember the exact number?
Does anyone know if the chicken killers have said how many iterations they are using on their PCR tests? Has anyone in the media or in the Congress asked the FEDs how many iterations they use to justify killing birds and sending our prices for poultry up 41%.