According to a February 2025 New York Post article, a Trader Joe’s shopper sparked viral attention after successfully hatching fertilized chicken eggs purchased from the grocery store. The incident, which unfolded on TikTok, drew a flood of reactions—ranging from fascination to horror—as viewers watched supermarket eggs develop into live chicks.

While some viewers found the experiment intriguing, many were disturbed by the implications. Comments such as “Stop, I’m literally never going to eat eggs again” and “Now I can’t eat eggs” reflect a growing unease about the realities behind egg production.

UPC’s Franklin Wade submitted the following comment to the article:

Anyone who has reservations about eating eggs, fertilized or not, should also consider that newborn male chicks have no use to the egg industry and are suffocated to death in trash cans, electrocuted, gassed, or ground up alive. Chickens evolved in Nature to hatch under a mother hen’s wings and be carefully cared for by her. In both home incubators and industrial hatcheries, these birds are deprived of a mother. There are lots of vegan alternatives available to cook and eat happily without eggs.

• Please urge Trader Joe’s to replace egg products with compassionate, animal-free alternatives such as Just Egg Plant Based Egg and WunderEggs. By offering ethical, animal-free options, Trader Joe’s can meet growing consumer demand for cruelty-free foods while helping reduce the suffering of billions of birds.

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