Investigate Vital Farms for Deceptive "Humane" Egg Labeling
The Issue
When you pay extra for Vital Farms eggs, you're paying for a promise: "happy hens," "pasture-raised," "certified humane." But last week, a shed collapsed at Triple C Infinity Eggs in Winfield, Kansas — a farm whose owner confirmed it supplies Vital Farms — and what happened next exposed how hollow that promise really is.
More than 20,000 birds were trapped inside. Some were crushed to death. Others were at risk of drowning as burst water lines flooded the wreckage. According to the farm owner, Vital Farms' alleged response was to suggest gassing the survivors.
Animal rights investigators who visited the site found conditions that looked nothing like the brand's marketing. The hens were young — about 7 months old — and had been debeaked, a painful procedure done to prevent stressed birds from pecking each other. One hen had a cracked beak from the mutilation. Another had a foot deformity that left her limping. Survivors from the collapsed shed wandered in apparent confusion while thousands more remained packed inside a crowded barn.
This is what Vital Farms calls "humane."
The company's website says it considers "the end of our hens' lives as sacred as the rest of their time with us." But by their own description, that "sacred" end means mass gassing — an industry-standard method that causes birds to gasp for air as carbon dioxide fills their lungs, often while they're still conscious.
Consumers who buy Vital Farms products pay a premium specifically because they believe the brand is different. That belief is being actively cultivated through marketing that uses words like "ethical," "humane," and "pasture-raised." If the conditions at supplier farms tell a different story, that's not just disappointing — it may be deceptive.
We're calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Vital Farms' advertising claims in light of documented conditions at its supplier farms. Shoppers deserve to know whether the labels they're paying for reflect reality. If they don't, the FTC has both the authority and the responsibility to act.
Sign this petition to demand a federal investigation into Vital Farms' "humane" marketing claims.
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The Issue
When you pay extra for Vital Farms eggs, you're paying for a promise: "happy hens," "pasture-raised," "certified humane." But last week, a shed collapsed at Triple C Infinity Eggs in Winfield, Kansas — a farm whose owner confirmed it supplies Vital Farms — and what happened next exposed how hollow that promise really is.
More than 20,000 birds were trapped inside. Some were crushed to death. Others were at risk of drowning as burst water lines flooded the wreckage. According to the farm owner, Vital Farms' alleged response was to suggest gassing the survivors.
Animal rights investigators who visited the site found conditions that looked nothing like the brand's marketing. The hens were young — about 7 months old — and had been debeaked, a painful procedure done to prevent stressed birds from pecking each other. One hen had a cracked beak from the mutilation. Another had a foot deformity that left her limping. Survivors from the collapsed shed wandered in apparent confusion while thousands more remained packed inside a crowded barn.
This is what Vital Farms calls "humane."
The company's website says it considers "the end of our hens' lives as sacred as the rest of their time with us." But by their own description, that "sacred" end means mass gassing — an industry-standard method that causes birds to gasp for air as carbon dioxide fills their lungs, often while they're still conscious.
Consumers who buy Vital Farms products pay a premium specifically because they believe the brand is different. That belief is being actively cultivated through marketing that uses words like "ethical," "humane," and "pasture-raised." If the conditions at supplier farms tell a different story, that's not just disappointing — it may be deceptive.
We're calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Vital Farms' advertising claims in light of documented conditions at its supplier farms. Shoppers deserve to know whether the labels they're paying for reflect reality. If they don't, the FTC has both the authority and the responsibility to act.
Sign this petition to demand a federal investigation into Vital Farms' "humane" marketing claims.
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Petition created on June 22, 2026