Photo courtesy of Vital Farms.
Life
Eggs-stra, Egg-stra! Read All About Vital Farms
How Vital Farms is on a mission to bring ethical food to the table.
By Jordan Blomquist
Jan 09 2024 at 8 a.m.
Do you ever wonder about the journey your eggs take before landing on your plate? Vital Farms—the leading pasture-raised egg brand by retail dollar sales—reaches for transparency with one main mission: bring more ethical food to the table.
PRESENTED BY
The story begins in 2007 with a single family and 20 Rhode Island Reds—a breed of chicken—nestled in Austin, Texas. As Vital Farms grew, instead of expanding their farm, they found more like-minded farmers who put the welfare of their feathered friends first. Now, Vital Farms works with over 300 family farms.
It works like this: Eggs are laid by the girls (the hens) at family farms across the Pasture Belt™, and then the eggs are sorted and transported to the Cold Zone. From the Cold Zone, they go to Egg Central Station (ECS)—Vital Farms’ award-winning egg washing and packing facility in Springfield, Missouri—to be processed.
ECS is located within a day's drive from the farms, where the facility processes up to 6 million eggs a day. The ECS team is responsible for grading, washing and packing the eggs before dispatching them to grocery stores and food service operations across the country, eventually reaching your table.
Photo courtesy of Vital Farms.
The Farmers
When it comes to producing food responsibly, Vital Farms’ farmers are exceptional in their fields and pastures. These agri-heroes are committed to animal welfare and ethical eating—part of Vital Farms’ foundation. The company also has a devoted Farmer Support Team providing farmers with expert advice and on-site visits to offer valuable assistance on their farms.
Vital Farms focuses on the health and well-being of the girls, meaning their farmers must be in their barns multiple times a day to keep an eye on the environment for the feathered residents.
On top of that, Vital Farms has frequent communication with their farmers, encouraging them to collaborate on improving their systems.
The Standards
Let’s talk sustainability. As one of a very select group of U.S. companies that is a publicly traded (VITL), Delaware public benefit corporation and B Corporation certified, Vital Farms is dedicated to using their business as a force for good. They do this in many ways, like ensuring ECS is a zero-waste facility by making liquid eggs out of the ones that don’t meet size standards, using hybrid and PET egg cartons made from 100% recycled material, as well as liquid egg cartons that are carbon neutral, and working with organizations like Ozark Food Harvest and Whole Kids Foundation.
Vital Farms’ farms reside in the Pasture Belt, which is a region where the girls can have outdoor access year-round. The farms thrive in this area of the country where the winters are mild, it’s not too hot and the girls can graze and munch on native grasses all year. When it comes down to it, Vital Farms holds its farmers and their pastures to the highest standards.
Vital Farms is more than just an egg-producing company, it is a journey that brings a whole new meaning to ethical dining, industry-competitive compensation for farmers and sustainable living.
Visit vitalfarms.com/find-ethical-food to find the nearest locations to purchase Vital Farms products.
