#jour310

Vegas citizens are struggling to acess eggs, a staple food for families across the city

A half empty dairy and egg isle at Target Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

Bird flu, shipping problems, inflation, the pandemic, all of these are excuses given for the recent egg crisis. But what is really happening? What does it say about how Las Vegas treats its businesses over the people? 

The last few months in Las Vegas regular citizens have reported having a difficult time finding eggs. When they do, they are grossly overpriced. 

Once reliable local grocers; Walmart, Target, Smiths, La Bonita and others can’t seem to keep eggs in stock. Bird flu and inflation have been cited as the main causes for the crisis, but some doubt that as the truth. 

Bird flu, or avian influenza is a disease that primarily affects birds but can also infect humans. 

The disease spreads from their bodily fluids and can infect humans if they make enough unprotected contact. In poultry the symptoms can range from minimal to deadly and it can spread to an entire flock in 24 hours. It was this that caused it to spread quickly across farms in the US, killing over 50 million birds, cutting short the supply of eggs. 

This shortage in turn caused the inflation in the price of eggs. Inflation is when goods and services in an economy vastly increase in price over a short period. CNBC says the price of eggs has increased over 70% in the last year. What was once three dollars is now seven.

In reality what this recent situation has revealed to the people of Vegas is special treatment given to the major businesses and a lack of care for local citizens. 

“This crisis will go on for a while. I don’t think it’s going to get better. Businesses will abuse this excuse to charge high prices for eggs. I’m going to buy them anyway, because I need them” said Bertha Perez, a single mother of six living in Las Vegas. 

Her economic situation has varied greatly, from enough to buy her own home to living on food stamps. As such she knows a lot about how the treatment given to everyday citizens from the city actually affects them. 

Perez has lost a lot to the pandemic. Having lost her husband to COVID-19 a year prior her world turned upside down, she’s learned how to do what she has to to survive. Doing that and taking care of her children starts with eggs. 

She has had to go to several stores regularly just to find eggs like Walmart, Savers, Costco, Smart and Final, and La Bonita. Though she notes she has not yet tried Business Costco. 

 With her kids and all their different breakfast schedules, she relies heavily on them for a quick and easy meal. It is a staple of everything she cooks. For bigger families, it’s easier to buy in bulk. 

That’s become harder and harder to do. That is because Vegas doesn’t care about its people. It cares about businesses, they get major preference. 

On average they spend more money than regular people, having to buy in bulk and stay well supplied at all times. They give these businesses that rely on eggs many ways to keep bread on the table. 

The back wall of local restaurant EGGcellent, with a large logo just beyond the breakfast wall Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

This is supported by Carlos Benitez, son of the owners of local breakfast restaurant Eggscellent. “Businesses are definitely getting preference. The city has provided options for us and been very favorable." He would know better than anyone, with his family running a successful egg based business. 

Eggs are the foundation of everything they are at Eggscellent. He says “It comes down to how manufacturers make money. They make more money off of businesses, not people." 

The citizens of Vegas may not like to admit it, but this is the truth. It is a common sentiment expressed by many, including Perez. “Business Costcos are more important. They buy more, so they pay less." She assumes the city treats business retailers better than grocery stores like Walmart. The amount they buy makes a difference. 

“We buy in bulk, so it’s been hard to notice the egg shortage,” said Benitiz. “Business got better after the pandemic” because fewer restaurants were open. These closures and shortages actually benefit many businesses. 

An example of the food served at EGGscellent, a breakfast themed restaurant. It includes eggs benedict and potato hash Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

According to an article on Squareup.com called ‘Direct to Consumer v. Wholesale: Pros, Cons, and How to Balance Both’ it depends more on the kind of business whether customers or wholesale buyers matter more to them. Regardless, there can be many cons to both. 

We don’t know for sure how Costco, or Walmart, or any other bigger business in Vegas really feels about the egg crisis. They like to make money, and this crisis gives them a good way to do that. 

These businesses can charge as much as they like for eggs with the excuse of a shortage and spreading bird flu. Even when supply begins to return to normal, which it has already begun to do, they were given a reason to have high prices, and why would any profitable business want to change that? 

That is a fact. So why wouldn’t they care more about businesses in a shortage of supply? This benefits them. To the point that rumors are spreading the crisis was artificially created to charge higher prices for eggs. 

Perez claims she’s seen videos saying the government has provided a kind of food that changes egg production. 

She and some others, like many videos across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are saying that it is the government’s fault for manufacturing the shortage. Sources CBS, USAToday, and Politifact say otherwise. 

Though there is some real conversation around the idea that it is not a government conspiracy, but simply the improper conditions that can be found in many egg farms around the US. The most frequent example for this given by users across the internet is insufficient and low quality chicken feed provided by the government. 

Regardless of who’s causing it, and who makes more money, it is affecting everyone in the city. It is hurting people and it’s just going to keep going. 

“This crisis is going to go on for a while. I don’t think it’s going to get better. Everything is going to increase” says Perez.

The COVID pandemic hurt many people, but recent major films have begun to reflect the hope many lost

Entrance to Regal Movie Theater at Boulevard Station, a local favorite Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

“The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on” - Key Hu Quan as Waymond Wong, in Everything Everywhere All at Once

The film industry did not leave the pandemic unscathed. We all carry scars, but what has stood out the most is the changing tone of major film releases. Film has become hopeful again. This can be most easily observed in the 2021 to 2023 Oscars Best Picture nominations. It seems like directors and viewers alike are growing tired of sadness and cynicism. The world and film have never been without hope, but it is recently we have seen something truly special come of it. Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film that shook the world. It tells the tale of a broken family, and a lost mother that finds her true potential. Despite world ending monsters and enemies on all sides, it tells you to love, and love fiercely. It has brought heart and hope to many since its release. 

It has also dominated the recent award season. It has been reviewed and raved about repeatedly across the internet. It is the standout of the year and by many accounts is looking to take Best Picture winner. 

This would change the industry. In the last few years we have seen the trend of giving Best Picture to movies "no one saw", as said by Chris Lee in an article on Fortune Magazine. Not only did people not see them, they were depressing as hell.

Sad and dark movies are taken more seriously. They are high art. That is where the artful, weird black and white film of a brick wall stereotype came from, and it's haunted the industry since.

One would think, if it is not dark and serious, it can't be a good movie in the critical sense. Transformers is not art, Parasite is. But people are realizing there is more to film that that.

Everything Everywhere All at Once showed that award winners can be silly, weird, and funny.

And this is what people need right now.

“When the world is crazy, we want hopeful,” said Laurene Debord-Foulk, longtime professor of film at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “The Oscars tend to overlook hopeful films.” 

They really do. With 21 out of the Best Picture nominees for the last three years in the drama category and having a darker tone. 

"The Academy likes serious prestige dramas; Everything Everywhere All at Once is anything but", said Ann Lee on The Guardian in a review.

Everything Everywhere changed, well, everything. That is easy to see by its stellar ratings and numerous positive reviews. Blog after blog full of praise. 

“With the backstock from before the pandemic and new pandemic films, stuff is weird right now” Foulk said. And Everything Everywhere is certainly weird.

But this sentiment is supported by Michael Marstellar, an assistant branch manager and creator of the film club at Clark County Library. 

“Newer movies are less popular,” Marstellar said. “I can’t get into movies these days,” he says of modern cinema.

According to a survey from Statista.com over half of the 1,000 people surveyed across the country said they were only somewhat satisfied or less with the film industry at the time.

A quick Google search of the phrase ‘are movies good anymore?’ shows several pages of reddit posts, articles, and blog posts full of people saying they are not satisfied with movies anymore. 

A large capacity theater room at Red Rock Regal Theaters, after the movie was over Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

The disconnect between filmmaker and audience seems so strong sometimes. The world is going through some growing pains. “Films now are definitely looking for something,” Foulk said.

Politics are bad, the economy is bad, the climate is bad, and people are bad. Foulk says we are akin to prisoners of war, searching for meaning after everything has passed. Like how doomscrolling has become a thing, we seem to seek to torture ourselves for no good reason. 

This is where the Oscars and other award shows can help us. Marstellar says there are too many Best Picture nominees while Foulk believes ten nominees is good for film as there are more chances to showcase different kinds of films. 

This is a recent change as for years Best Picture nominations remained at five.

In 2011 it varied from five and above, until 2021 where it was decided it would remain at for the near future. Ten is a lot. But the world of film is large and expansive, so more nominations mean more coverage for something that deserves it. 

Because in the end, that’s what the Oscars are about. Celebrating the art of cinema and rewarding those who have worked hard in it. It feels like the Oscars lost their way in certain years, but this year is what proves its relevancy and provides hope for its future and the future of film.  

Indoor hallway at Boulder Station Regal Theaters, filled with posters showcasing movies Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

It is not just Everything Everywhere All at Once. Women Talking, The Fabelmans, Tar, dipping into other categories we have Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Living, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Empire of Light just to name a few. This does not even consider the incredible swath of indie films shown at Sundance Film Festival and so much more. 

There has never been more hope for the world than right now. Things seemed dark for so long, especially the film industry. “There was something funeralesque about films made during shutdown” Foulk said. “It’ll be a while before we really know what happened.” 

People died. People were hurt. Lives changed so drastically they will never be the same. But so many kept going, kept fighting. 

When I saw Everything Everywhere All at Once, I weeped. I cried like I had never cried before for a movie, especially considering it had a scene where two men fight to be the first one to stick dildos in their butts. It makes sense in context. 

But at its heart, it is about love. The love that keeps us going when life seems at its lowest, that got humanity to where it is now and what allowed many of us to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. This movie reminds us why we hope. For better futures, for happy lives, for inner peace. 

“We don’t want all hope. It’s not representative. They’re supposed to be dark, angry, sad and funny,” Marstellar said. “People want happiness. But some just want to let it all out”.

But since the beginning film was a way to share ourselves with others. A beautiful artform that came from an earnest heart.

“Movies are like life, but not,” Madej said in a YouTube video. “When it storms, you know the flashes? Yeah, now imagine that but, if it told a story. Like if the lightning fell in love.”