Latest news with #ethicalfood
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bas Van Kranen's Flore Intends To Push Boundaries In Every Way
Flore recently reopened in Amsterdam after an extensive renovation. Flore, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant by Bas Van Kranen, recently reopened in Amsterdam after an extensive renovation. The new space was designed to reflect the restaurant's conscious dining premise and uses design details to further highlight the ethos of the food. However, Van Kranen intends for Flore to be more than a good meal. He wants it to spark a larger conversation on awareness of what goes on in the dairy industry, ethically sourcing ingredients and the importance of buying local. If you've ever wondered why Flore has a dairy-free kitchen, well, it's for a larger purpose. 'It's not because we think it's something that is interesting to say,' says Van Kranen in an interview. 'We decided to stop using dairy since the opening of Flore to raise awareness on what's going on in the dairy industry.' While there are farmers who don't give cows hormones or antibiotics, it's only about two to three percent of farmers. Bas Van Kranen intends for Flore to be more than a good meal. 'It would be too easy to say, 'okay, we can spend the money on buying good milk or buying good cheese',' says Van Kranen. 'It would be an easy way to fix a problem, but I feel like it's more interesting to learn how you can do without.' The restaurant used to use around 2,000 kilos of butter in a good year, with every piece of fish and meat, so taking away dairy has been no easy feat. He applies the same philosophy to meat and ethically sourcing ingredients, striving to ensure that the meat the restaurant uses doesn't use antibiotics or give the animal sugars. 'When you use an animal, you should be able to use the whole animal,' he says. 'That's why we do it with the lamb, because on a yearly basis, we are able to buy the whole lamb, whereas most restaurants only buy the saddles.' Van Kranen feels that if he can't use the entire animal, then he shouldn't be using it at all. For similar reasons, he won't use beef for the restaurant. 'It's more sensitive because typically the production of beef in Holland doesn't happen in a good way.' When it comes to sourcing produce, he aims to work with organic farmers around them, opening up a bigger conversation on what's going on in their farms and ensuring they can provide ingredients that the restaurant would also work with. 'Every year, we make a list with crops that we want to try,' he says. 'We do that on a very small scale with ten farmers, and on a yearly basis, they do very small trials. When a trial is interesting and successful, they do it bigger the year after.' While Van Kranen won't use the word sustainability, he says the point of the restaurant is to ... More entertain and feed people. While Van Kranen won't use the word sustainability (realistically, running a hotel and restaurant aren't sustainable practices), he says the point of the restaurant is to entertain and feed people. 'For us, what is very important behind the scenes is that we really try to be aware of what we do.' Before the restaurant, Van Kranen just ordered ingredients. Now, he puts thought behind every decision for Flore, and that's ultimately what makes it unique.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vital Farms Achieves Major Farm Network Expansion Milestone, Surpasses 500 Family Farms
AUSTIN, Texas, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL), a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide, today announced a major milestone within its farm network, now surpassing 500 family farms versus 300 at the end of 2023. To meet the strong demand for its eggs, Vital Farms has continued to raise the standards in attracting and retaining family farmers across the Pasture Belt™ to produce the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. This includes fair pay for farmers, as well as retention and construction incentives to help offset rising construction costs. 'I could not be more excited to celebrate this incredible milestone of surpassing 500 family farms, and we're going to continue working hard to attract, retain and expand our relationships with farmers across the Pasture Belt,' said Pete Pappas, Vital Farms' Chief Sales Officer and President, Eggs. 'Our network of family farms has always been central to our business. I want to recognize the tremendous amount of work, dedication and care that our farmers put into their flocks every day to put ethical food on tables across the country.' Vital Farms continues to make key investments in its resilient supply chain. Earlier this year, Vital Farms announced the installation of new production equipment at Egg Central Station (ECS), its award-winning egg washing and packing facility in Springfield, Missouri, which will come online in Q4 2025 and will allow for a capacity increase at ECS of an estimated 30%. Vital Farms has also announced plans for a second world-class egg washing and packing facility in Seymour, Indiana which is expected to become fully operational in early 2027 and is designed to generate more than $350 million in additional revenue capacity for the brand. Vital Farms is actively recruiting farmers who are committed to our high animal welfare standards to join our flock. To learn more about farming with Vital Farms, visit ABOUT VITAL FARMS: Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL), a Certified B Corporation, offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide. Started on a single farm in Austin, Texas, in 2007, Vital Farms is now a national consumer brand that works with over 500 family farms and is the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. Vital Farms' ethics are exemplified by its focus on the humane treatment of farm animals and sustainable farming practices. In addition, as a Delaware public benefit corporation, Vital Farms prioritizes the long-term benefits of each of its stakeholders, including farmers and suppliers, customers and consumers, communities and the environment, and crew members and stockholders. Vital Farms' products, including shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs, are sold in approximately 26,000 stores nationwide. Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs can also be found on menus at hundreds of foodservice operators across the country. For more information, visit CONTACT: Media: Rob Discher Investors: John Mills in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
