The creator presents an exposé on the egg brand Vital Farms, starting with third-party lab results showing high levels of linoleic acid. He then pivots to the company's history, arguing that its quality declined after going public and being taken over by institutional investors like BlackRock, leading to practices like using cheap feed and artificial yolk coloring. The creator critiques their marketing as deceptive greenwashing, shares the company's negative response to his previous video, and concludes by promoting his own app that helps consumers find local, farm-fresh eggs.
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It saddens me that it has to come to this but a full exposé is in order…
Third‑party testing revealed Vital Farms’ eggs are about 23.5% linoleic acid, similar to or higher than canola oil on a percentage basis. Testing conducted by @nourishfoodclub
But the real story here is a Wall Street takeover.
The company started as a single Austin pasture with 20 hens, selling expensive truly pasture-raised eggs directly to local buyers.
But everything changed in 2020 when the company went public.
Today some of Vital Farms major shareholders are the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, and Amazon.
Where the noble mission of farm to table eggs turns into a profit equation.
VF today?
- Fed on corn and soy: cheap inputs
- Yolks artificially colored darker
- Pasture-Raised yes…but not necessarily regenerative/rotated to fresh pastures
Are these better than most grocery store eggs? Yes.
But the problem comes when consumers pay a premium for something you can’t back up:
- cutesy packaging
- darker yolks presented to be higher quality
- bold marketing claims like “BS Free”
Then when lab results come through…it tells a different story.
VF a $1B+ company calls me a BS influencer for calling them out with facts yet can’t explain why consumers are concerned.
This problem goes so much deeper than Vital Farms: it is the industrial food complex of Big Ag that subsidizes production of corn and soy + PE that optimizes for profits above all.
My suggestion for us as consumers: get closer to the source. Ask about feeds, pasture rotation, etc…
Transcript
This is becoming one of the most disappointing rabbit holes we've ever seen with our food. Third party testing revealed Vital Farms eggs are about 23% linoleic acid, similar to canola oil, and their PR team spent all of yesterday digging themself into a deeper and deeper ditch. But the real story here is a Wall Street takeover. The company started as a single better with 20 hens selling truly pasture raised eggs directly to local buyer, but everything changed in 2020 when the company went public. Today, some of Vital Farms' major shareholders are the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, and Amazon. This transformed Vital Farms from farm to table to a profit equation. First fed on corn and soy, which are cheap inputs subsidized by the government, yolks artificially colored darker for visual appeal, and technically pasture raised, but not necessarily rotated consistently to fresh pasture. Don't get me wrong, these are probably still better than most grocery store eggs, but the problem comes when consumers pay a premium for something you just can't back up. Relying on this QT QT packaging, darker yolks presented to be higher quality, and bold marketing claims like Best free. But then when the lab results come through, it tells a different story of greenwash marketing. Reminder, this is a billion plus dollar company owned primarily by institutional investors like BlackRock, calling me a BS influencer for making an informative video about their eggs testing. Scandals like this are exactly why I built this map no you can view farm fresh eggs near you.
