My husband and I go through eggs quickly in our kitchen. We love to snack on hard boiled eggs, have breakfast for dinner, and make paleo baked goods – which require a lot of eggs. Whenever we run out of farmer’s market eggs, or are unable to get to the farmer’s market, we go to Wholefoods for Vital Farm Eggs. The first time we went to Whole Foods for eggs (instead of the farmer’s market) I must have stared at the different eggs, reading labels for fifteen minutes. Luckily, a helpful customer recommended these to us. She mentioned how much she loved the eggs, put two dozen in her cart, and said the yolks were orange. (Which means more nutrition!) Not only that but they are organic, pastured, and non-gmo. I’ve even eaten them raw in homemade coconut oil mayonnaise. These can be pretty pricey, which is why Vital Farms is introducing their Alfresco Eggs brand to over 200 Ralphs and over 60 Vons stores in the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego areas. The reason these eggs are more affordable is due to cheaper feed. They are still pastured on pesticide and herbicide free land, but  are given conventional feed instead of organic. Check out this link for a coupon. It went live yesterday and will be up for two weeks.

The Vital Farms expansion comes on the eve of the implementation of California Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. This Act goes into effect January 1, 2015 and will only increases the cage size for confined birds raised in California. Vital Farms works with multi-generational family farms across the United States, including several in Southern California that operate with a well-defined set of organic agriculture practices that includes the humane treatment of farm animals as a central tenet. Their eggs are the first pasture-raised eggs to earn the 3rd party Certified Humane® label, which means each hen has access to at least 108 square feet of pasture on which to roam and forage. For the most commonly purchased egg, free range, by comparison, hens only get about 2 square feet per bird, and limited outdoor access.

The pastures at Vital farms contain no pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals and are rotated frequently to ensure fresh nutrition for the hens, which also gives the land time to rest and recover naturally. These efforts are reflected in the company’s three pillars: humane treatment of farm animals, superior taste, and exceptional nutrition. In comparison to a conventional egg, pasture-raised eggs contain two thirds more Vitamin A, three times more Vitamin E and seven times more beta carotene. They are also naturally high in Omegs-3s.

Disclaimer: I’m not being compensated to promote this product. This is an unbiased review.