Vital Farms Review – Worth Buying?
Vital Farms is a company that produces organic products from free-roaming animals. This is our review.
What is Vital Farms?
Vital Farms started as a trip to the Farmers’ Market, and slowly grew into a nationwide effort to bring healthy eggs and butter to the general public. However, the makers distinguished themselves from the competition by maintaining ethical and humane treatment of their animals. Less humane treatment from other egg and milk product distributors has been criticized for the last decade or so, with many companies treating their animals in a way that is unsafe and unkind.
The makers of Vital Farms wanted to change the way that farmers produce their animal goods, so they pursued the change themselves. Vital Farms also helps to bring business to the local farmers across the country, employing the farmers from family businesses, who must adapt to the methods that Vital Farms uses for a wholesome harvest.
The company understands the need for chickens and cows to be able to roam freely. By allowing them to roam as they naturally would, you actually change the taste of the products as well. Vital Farms is a specialty company, and they presently only produce eggs and butter, which makes their costs slightly higher than the regular eggs and milk products that are sold in stores.
Pasture-Raised Eggs
The main feature that Vital Farms focuses on is the fact that they let their hens spend time in fresh pastures, rather than keeping them in small cages or cramped barns, which is what most of the standard companies do that sell eggs. Vital Farms provides about 108 square feet for any bird on their pasture, giving them the space they need to grow and nurture their bodies in a way that makes safe and delicious eggs.
There are multiple egg products that Vital Farms makes, with only a slight difference between each type of egg. They are all produced by multiple sub-companies of Vital Farms. These eggs are:
- Pasture-Raised USDA Certified Organic Eggs
- Made by Vital Farms and Pasture Verde
- Uses organic pastures
- Provided with supplemental feed
- Is certified organic
- Pasture-Raised Non GMO Project Verified Eggs
- Made by Backyard Eggs and Lucky Ladies
- Only eats GMO- and antibiotic-free feed
- Is not certified organic
- Pasture-Raised Conventionally Fed Eggs
- Made by Alfresco Eggs and Texas Chicken Ranch
- Only eats antibiotic-free feed
- Is not certified organic
Alfresco Butter
The Alfresco Butter is a relatively new product by Vital Farms. Before they began making butter, the only products they made were from chickens. The cows used for Alfresco Butter are free to roam and graze, giving Vital Forms a high-fat milk that makes their butter delicious. Their diet consists only of grass from the pasture but some of the farmers choose to add grain and other food to their diet to keep them healthy. In spite of this addition, most of the food fed to the cows is non-GMO.
Additionally, the individuals who are hired to churn the butter are part of a five-generation tradition, and each person churns the butter in slow and small batches, which means that the flavor and texture is incomparable to other brands.
How is Vital Farms Different?
The obvious way that Vital Farms is different from most companies is that their animals are treated humanely and safely. There are multiple cow herds in each farm, which adds up to about 90 cows per herd. Essentially, each farm makes sure they provide enough space and nutrients for each of their cows and chickens to roam freely. In order to produce the milk needed for butter, the cows are milked twice a day, either with milking equipment or by hand.
Where to Buy Vital Farms Products
At this time, you are able to purchase Vital Farms eggs and butter from select locations for Safeway, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Hagen, Von’s, Target, Ralph’s, and other locations. The price for the eggs and butter depends entirely on the pricing of the location.
The History of Vital Farms
The founding of Vital Farms began in 2007 with Matt and Catherine. After a decision to “get back in touch with their roots,” the couple decided to pursue farming on their Austin, Texas land. Once they had their chickens laying eggs, they began to sell their products to local Farmers’ Markets. Their popularity at these sales attracted the attention of Whole Foods.
Whole Foods picked up Vital Farms products to be sold in the Midwest by the end of 2008, and the other store locations followed in 2009. With this progress, Vital Farms made it possible to bring pastured, organic eggs to locations throughout the county, which was by expanding the amount of farms they held across the country. Matt and Catherine pride themselves in working closely with the caretakers of the other farms, which helps them produce an authentic product, but without the hazardous living situations that other chickens may face without a pasture.
At this time, Vital Farms partners with 90 independent family farmers, which helps them provide fresh and healthy eggs around the country.
To speak with a Vital Farms representative, you can fill in the electronic form, call, or email.
Phone: 877-455-3063
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
Vital Farms
3913 Todd Ln Ste. 505
Austin, TX 78744
Conclusion
Vital Farms is an excellent way to bring healthy foods that were produced humanly to your home. By choosing a company that takes pride in the way they treat animals, you can feel safe about consuming animal byproducts, knowing the animals were not abused or mistreated in the process. The only restriction seems to be your location, which is the determining factor in if their products are available to you.