Vital Farms says its ethics are exemplified by its focus on the humane treatment of farm animals and sustainable farming practices.
Image courtesy of Vital Farms
The H5N1 avian influenza has had many impacts on the American consumer. Some store shelves were completely empty of eggs, and buying eggs that were available was often done so at a premium. While egg prices may be low now after hitting a peak in March, the bird flu that caused the steady rise is still present. Moderna was developing a vaccine for H5N1, but its initial $176 million contract—that was given an additional $590 million—to complete the vaccine was terminated two weeks ago by the Trump administration due to safety concerns for mRNA technology. While this decision to hold off on final development of the vaccine may or may not yet become problematic, one egg producer is prepared to take on the challenge if it does by doing the same thing it’s been doing: being transparent.
Austin, Texas-based Vital Farms works with more than 450 family farms, is in approximately 26,000 stores nationwide, and is the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. As such, the company has a clear interest in the health of its farmer’s chickens (or “girls” as Vital Farms calls them). American’s confidence in egg safety has plummeted, so ProFood World got in touch with Pete Pappas, Chief Sales Officer and President, Eggs, for Vital Farms to ask about the impact avian influenza (AI) has had on the company as well as its approach to dealing with it.
ProFood World: How have your farmers been affected by this most recent avian flu outbreak, if at all?
Pete Pappas: We haven’t had any outbreaks in 2025, and our last positive case was over a year ago. That one positive case last year in our network of over 450 family farms represented less than one-half of one percent of our total supply.
PFW: Why do think that is?
Pappas: The credit goes to our incredible family farmers and our farm support team, which provides dedicated support across our network of 450 family farms year-round. We already have high biosecurity standards, and we are constantly improving them with input from our farmers, our network of veterinary experts, regulatory agencies and our own in-house team.
Right from our founding, we’ve worked to improve the welfare of laying hens in America, and we’ve made a range of decisions—from our pasture-raising practices to our flock sizes to building a dedicated farm support team that helps our farmers—that have helped advance this goal.
PFW: Has this changed any of your operations, i.e., intake, processing practices, cleaning/sanitation procedures? Why?
Pappas: AI has encouraged us to think critically about how we continue to elevate our existing standards, but we haven’t had any radical shifts. We are always evolving our practices as we learn from veterinary partners and industry experts to continue to keep the girls safe and drive long-term outcomes for all of our stakeholders.
Vital Farms’ products, including shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs, are sold in approximately 24,000 stores nationwide.Image courtesy of Vital Farms
PFW: Have there been any practices used by other food manufacturers or in other industries that you’ve considered implementing to mitigate any negative impacts caused by the outbreak?
Pappas: To the credit of our incredible team, I believe we’re leading the industry relative to AI biosecurity and animal welfare on our farms. The testament is in the results. We’ve protected the millions of hens in our network from the latest AI spike.
PFW: What concerns or comments have you gotten from consumers/clients? How have you responded to them?
Pappas: Our commitment to transparency guides how we communicate with our stakeholders—everyone from the consumers who purchase our eggs to our retail customers, to our farmers, our crew members, and others.
Our retail customers have largely come to accept that AI is now just a part of doing business in the egg industry.We’ve educated many buyers over the years about AI, and they’ve learned about it through their own private label egg businesses. We are honest with them that while we may not have all the answers, we are a solutions-oriented partner that wants to plan together when supply constraints and challenges arise, like during seasonal AI spikes.
Our consumers have been genuinely concerned about the safety of the hens because they see the stats about millions of birds dying from avian influenza. We have an awesome team that takes time to explain how we care for the hens, support our farmers and maintain our high standards for animal welfare. We respond with honesty and empathy to help people understand what’s going on and the measures we’re taking as a company to ensure our girls are protected.
PFW: Is there one thing you’ve learned from all of this that you think others in the F&B industry can learn from?
Pappas: It pays to walk the walk. Trust is something that takes years to build and can be lost quickly. Our goal is to be America’s most trusted food company. We earn trust and credibility with our stakeholders by operating with a clear set of values, transparency, and consistency in how we act and communicate in times of challenge.
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