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Vaccines could be a key means of suppressing bird flu and avoiding the slaughter of millions of chickens, which is blamed for egg prices averaging nearly $6 a dozen. But the move has been delayed in part because of concerns it could jeopardize chicken exports worth billions of dollars a year.The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced plans to spend $100 million to study bird flu vaccines to fight the disease in concert with meat chicken, egg and turkey groups. That’s part of a larger $1 billion effort to invest in more protections to keep the virus off farms that President Donald Trump believes will help lower egg prices.Chicken meat producers remain the most resistant to vaccines because of concerns they could harm meat exports, which totaled nearly $4.7 billion last year. Egg and turkey producers sell most of their products in the U.S. and have been hit hardest by the virus. Why is a vaccine needed? Without a new policy including vaccines, the government will continue to slaughter every flock with a bird flu infection to limit the spread of the disease. Those deaths have totaled over 166 million birds in the U.S. since 2022.Most birds killed are egg-laying chickens, and the death of so many hens is the main reason egg prices keep rising. The average price per dozen has hit $5.90, and in some part of the country, it is far higher.Poultry veterinarian Simon Shane, who runs www.Egg-News.com, said the government is hesitant to use vaccines and change its policy of killing birds largely because of the meat chicken industry’s opposition.“Basically this is a political issue, and this only came to a head because eggs are at $8 to $9 a dozen, and it’s embarrassing the government embarrassing the present administration,” Shane said. Why doesn’t the US use a bird flu vaccine? Before using vaccinations, the government must decide how to devise an effective system and monitor for outbreaks within vaccinated flocks that might not show any symptoms, said John Clifford, the USDA’s former longtime chief veterinary officer, who now works with a poultry industry export group. Once that is figured out, the industry can negotiate with countries to minimize trade problems.“What the industry wants is the ability to develop the strategic plan to share that with the trading partners and then find out what kind of impact that that will have on trade,” Clifford said.There are fears that vaccinating could allow the virus to linger undetected in flocks and mutate in ways that could make it more of a threat to humans and allow sick birds to get into the food supply. Like with other diseases, properly cooking chicken to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) will kill bird flu, but the industry and chicken buyers don’t want it there at all.For meat chicken, known as broilers, the virus isn’t as significant because those birds are slaughtered at 6 to 8 weeks old and thus have less chance of being infected compared with egg-laying hens, which live to 2 years or older. Also most broilers are raised in the Southeast, which hasn’t had as many outbreaks as the Midwest and West.Another delay to vaccinating concerns distribution. Egg farmers want to administer it through chicken feed or water, saying it’s not practical to give shots to millions of birds in a single barn.It can also be difficult to tell the difference between a vaccinated bird and one that has been sick with the virus. That would make other countries nervous about importing meat.“People have talked about how expensive it would be to monitor vaccinated populations. And it would be. But where do we want to spend our money?” said Dr. Carol Cardona, a bird flu expert at the University of Minnesota. “We’re spending our money hand over fist right now in depopulation and to buy eggs for breakfast.” What does the experience in other countries show? China and Mexico have been vaccinating their poultry for years, but they take different approaches.In Mexico chicken are vaccinated, but Clifford said the country doesn’t slaughter flocks when infections are found. That basically ensures the virus is present in poultry.China still slaughters vaccinated flocks when infections are found, which has proven more effective at limiting the spread of the virus and reigning in outbreaks.Clifford said the U.S. would need to continue culling flocks with outbreaks even after vaccinating, and it might make sense to give shots only to egg layers and turkeys, not broilers. Will it help egg prices? Don’t expect big relief anytime soon.The USDA, which did not respond to a request for comment for this article sent last week, clearly isn’t moving to vaccinate immediately. And, regardless, it will take time to raise new hens.“We’re going to have to wait to replace those with new hatched chicks, and it takes 20 weeks before they even start laying,” Shane said. “So I don’t know where they’re going to get the eggs from.”Prices may ease somewhat later this year after peak demand, which happens around Easter, if massive egg farms in Iowa, Ohio, California and elsewhere can avoid more outbreaks.The USDA has predicted that average egg prices will be 41% higher than the 2024 average of $3.17 per dozen. That would mean $4.47 per dozen, slightly below the current average. Josh Funk, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Tonight will be the perfect evening to stay up late in the United States, because the moon is going to put on a spectacular show. In the wee hours of the morning, night owls can witness a full blood moon, supermoon, “worm” moon, and a total lunar eclipse. In addition to Americans, parts of Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, and Africa can also get in on the action. Lets take a deeper look at what that means and how you can see the spectacle: The March 2025 full moon is many things According to NASA, in the 1930s the Maine Farmers’ Almanac started publishing names for the full moons based on Native American traditions. This took off and became the preferred monikers for the celestial phenomenon. Each tribe had its own unique name. Northeastern and Southern tribes called the full moon in March the Worm Moon, because of the worm castings (worm waste) found during the month. Northern tribes called it the Sap or Sugar Moon, because it was time to tap maple trees. What is a total lunar eclipse? There are different types of lunar eclipses, NASA says. The Earth orbits the sun and the moon orbits the Earth. When these three line up, the moon enters the Earths shadow, creating a lunar eclipse. When the whole moon is in the darkest part of Earths shadow, called the umbra, a total lunar eclipse occurs. What is a blood moon and why is it red? During a total lunar eclipse, the moon appears to have a red tint. This is where the term “blood moon” comes from. A blood moon gets its hue from the light in Earths atmosphere. During a total lunar eclipse, Earth is positioned between the sun and the moon. Even though the suns direct light is blocked, the Earth refracts some light, which travels to the moon. Because of red lights longer wavelength, it has an easier time traveling to the moon, giving it the red tint. What makes this moon a supermoon? While this is marvelous to look at, there are no superheroes here. A supermoon means the moon is at its closest point to the earth during a full moon. How and when can I see the eclipse and blood moon? The moon will be in totalityor completely eclipsedfor around 65 minutes on Thursday night, although it will technically be in the early-morning hours of Friday, March 14, for most time zones. According to Space.com, this will occur: Eastern Time: 2:26 a.m.3:31 a.m. Central Time: 1:26 a.m.2:31 a.m. Pacific Time: 11:26 p.m.12:31 a.m. Diehard skygazers can make the most of the experience by heading outside around 75 minutes before totality to witness the moon travel fully through Earths shadow. It is best seen away from the bright lights of the city. One advantage of a lunar eclipse is that viewers dont have to worry about hurting their eyes, unlike their solar counterparts. No special equipment is needed, but binoculars and telescopes would help you see the moon in greater detail. Happy viewing!
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E-Commerce
In January, Meta announced the end of third-party fact-checkers on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The tech giant is betting on a new, community-driven system called Community Notes that draws on Xs feature of the same name and uses the Xs open algorithm as its basis. Meta is rolling out the feature on March 18. Anyone who wants to write and rate community notes can sign up now. The rollout will be throttled and, initially, notes wont appear publicly as Meta claims it needs time to feed the algorithm and ensure this system is working properly. The promise is enticing. A more scalable, less biased way to flag false or misleading content, driven by the wisdom of the crowd rather than the judgment of experts. But a closer look at the underlying assumptions and design choices raises questions about whether this new system can truly deliver on its promises. The concept, its UX implementation, and underlying technology surfaces challenges that, in my conversations with Meta’s designers, dont seem to have any clear, categorical answer. It feels more like a work-in-progress and not a clear-cut answer to the shortcomings of third-party fact-checking.� Currently, Meta’s Community Notes are exclusively accessible on mobile devices within the Facebook, Instagram, and Threads apps. The mobile-first approach likely reflects the platform’s primary user base and usage patterns. Users who are eligible to contribute to Community Notes, after meeting specific criteria such as having a verified account and a history of platform engagement, can apply to be a contributor and add context to posts they believe contain misinformation (200,000 have already done so in the U.S., Meta tells me). Once in, they’ll find an option within the post’s menu to Add a Community Note. This triggers an overlay screen with a simple text editor that has a 500-character limit. The design also requires users to include a link, adding a layer of credibility to the note (although the link may not be a reliable source). [Images: Meta] Once a note is submitted, it’s evaluated by other Community Notes contributors. Meta uses an Xs open-source algorithmwhich may evolve later as they learn more about how it all really works, Meta saysto determine whether the note is helpful and unbiased. The algorithm considers various factors, like the contributor’s rating history and whether individuals who typically disagree with certain types of notes approve of it or not. Allegedly, the latter is the firewall to avoid coordinated activism against certain types of posts (although the algorithm hasnt been proved to be totally effective on X). The evaluation interface presents contributors with a clear and straightforward way to rate the note’s quality and helpfulness: a simple thumbs up/thumbs down system, which leads to another overlay menu in which they can select why they chose their option. Meta claims that if a note reaches a consensus among contributors with diverse viewpoints, it will then be publicly displayed beneath the original post, providing additional context without directly altering the post’s visibility or reach. The design aims to present the note as an informative supplement rather than a definitive judgment, allowing users to make their own informed decisions. [Images: Meta] An unsolvable problem? While the idea of crowdsourced fact-checking holds some theoretical appeal, Meta’s implementation appears to be riddled with the same vulnerabilities and unanswered questions that have affected X. On Elon Musk’s platform, Community Notes have failed to actually fact-check. They also suffer from extreme latency, or the amount of time that notes take to appear. A report from Bloomberg found that on average a typical note took seven hours to show up on the platform, but it can take as much as 70 hours, meaning false posts can go viral before they get checked. Community Notes on X have also failed to reduce engagement with false information. And because just 12.5% of Community Notes are seen, it denies their intrinsic value to the community. And lets not forget the potential to get gamed by particular interests. Metas own oversight board has pointed out huge problems with the plan. Still, the companys rationale to favor Community News over third-party fact-checkers hinges on two key arguments: scalability and reduced bias. Traditional fact-checking is a labor-intensive process that struggles to keep pace with the deluge of content on social media. That makes sense. By enlisting community members to flag and contextualize posts, Meta hopes to cover a much wider range of potentially problematic material. The social media company also argues that relying on a diverse group of contributors will mitigate the perceived bias of professional fact-checkers, who are often accused of political partisanship. The company and the designers cited a 2021 study by Allen et al. published in the scientific journal Science Advances titled Scaling up fact-checking using the wisdom of crowds as evidence that balanced crowds can achieve accuracy comparable to experts. Cracks in the foundation A critical examination of the study reveals a significant gap between the research and Meta’s proposed implementation. The study explicitly required political balancing of raters to achieve accurate results. Meta, on the other hand, has not clearly explained how it will ensure viewpoint diversity among contributors without collecting sensitive political data. In lieu of assessing a user’s past interactions on the platform, Meta plans to simply look at contributors’ past rating history in notes to assess whether or not a diversity of viewpoints has been achieved. Furthermore, the study only assessed the accuracy of headlines and ledes, not full articles. This raises serious concerns about the system’s ability to handle complex or nuanced misinformation, where the truth may lie in the details. The community notes limit of 500 characters adds to this concern. When I asked how it would be possible to truly add deep context to a post in which the truth is not binary (and lets face it: it almost never is), there wasnt a clear answer but a silence followed by the explanation that they could always expand the length if users demand it. Links to external sources can be included to provide more in-depth information, though they admitted that this adds another step for the reader to take. Its hard to imagine people clicking through in this era of content fast food. [Images: Meta] The company doesn’t have a plan for addressing one of the biggest issues with tackling misinformationwhich happens both via Community Notes and third-party fact-checking: the implied truth effect. Research shows that attaching notes to a subset of fake news headlines increases perceived accuracy of headlines without warnings. In the absence of these new notes, people might make the false assumption that a post is true. Meta’s designers say it will takes about the same time it takes on X for notes to go through the community fact-checking process, which means there will be plenty of time for fake news to go viral. Furthermore, X has shown that only a small percentage of posts get annotated, so the implied truth effect will, no doubt, be felt in Metas implementation of the same technologyat least in its current state. The old third-party fact-checking suffered from similar latency problems. No penalty Under the previous system, posts that fact-checkers identified as false or misleading had their distribution reduced. Community Notes, in contrast, will simply provide additional context, without impacting the reach of the original content. This decision flies in the face of research suggesting that warnings alone are less effective than warnings combined with reduced distribution. Meta says it wants to prioritize providing users with context rather than suppressing content. Its belief is that users can make their own informed decisions when presented with additional information. The fear is that demoting posts could lead to accusations of censorship and further erode trust in the platform. Meta says it will be monitoring the system, evaluating the latency, coverage, and the downstream effects of viewership and utilizing those metrics to guide future work, refinements, testing, and iterations. But Meta says there has been no A/B testing of Community Notes to see how it performs versus third-party fact-checking. Rather, the company is using this initial rollout phase as a public beta test, as a way to feed the algorithm with data from contributors so the system can get up and running. Fear, uncertainty, lots of doubt Twitter rolled out its proto version of Community Notes in 2020. Called Birdwatch, it continued to evolve with mixed results ever since Elon Musk took over and rebranded it with the current moniker. While Meta will use X’s open source algorithm as the basis of its rating system, feeding it with enough information to be operative could take quite a while. According to the Meta designers, the initial lack of public visibility is intended to allow them to train and thoroughly test the system and identify any potential problems before rolling it out to a wider audience. Meta isn’t saying how the notes will appear to all users, only pointing out in a press release that the plan is to roll out Community Notes across the United States once we are comfortable from the initial beta testing that the program is working in broadly the way we believe it should. Meta says it will gradually increase the visibility of the notes as it gains confidence in the system’s effectiveness, but did not provide a specific timeline or metrics for success. In a bid for transparency, Meta will release the algorithms that it uses. Its yet to be seen if Meta’s Community Notes will be more effective than the previous third-party fact-checking process. Nothing in the user experience suggests that it can solve the problems that X has had; logically, we can expect Meta to have many of the same issues, as well. In a historical moment where the truth is treated like malleable material, we could use a lot more certainties. Meta may have missed the chance to scientifically develop a new, non-derivative user experience that could avoid X’s problems. Instead, we are getting Musk’s broken toy with a coat of paint and the hope that, magically, it may work this time. Update 3/13/2025: An earlier version of this story stated Community Notes was launching on March 13. The feature is launching March 18.
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