2025 Natural Grocers Sustainability Report

PLANET

HEALTH

COMMUNITY

NUTRITION EDUCATION

QUALITY

CREW

ALWAYS AFFORDABLE SM PRICING

ANIMAL WELFARE

PEOPLE

Egg Standards

We Do Not Sell Eggs from Caged Hens In the United States, ‘cage-free eggs’ likely does not mean what the average consumer thinks it means. The United States Department of Agriculture’s definition of cage free is that hens are not caged during the laying cycle; the hens may be caged when not producing eggs, and there is no requirement for the hens to spend time outdoors. The cage-free labeling requirements do not address farm ecological practices, nor humane standards of care such as space requirements per hen in the barn. Our Minimum Egg Standard Is Free Range Our egg ranking system has three tiers: Bronze: Minimum of 2 square feet of outdoor access per hen (the amount a sizeable panel of animal welfare scientists and veterinarians determined to be necessary to allow for chickens to exhibit their natural behaviors). Silver: Enhanced outdoor access space with a minimum of 20 square feet per hen and/or at least 6 hours of outdoor access per day. Gold: Outdoors all day with a minimum of 108 square feet of space per hen; certified organic and/or regeneratively raised. More info is available at: Egg standards

DAIRY AND EGG STANDARDS MILESTONES:

2014

Transitioned dairy offering to pasture based only

2016

Transitioned egg offering to a minimum standard of free range (previously cage free)

2017

Compassion in World Farming awarded Natural Grocers ® the international Good Egg Award for developing an innovative supply chain of 100% free-range eggs, the first such exclusively free-range egg supply chain in the U.S. major retail grocery industry

NATURAL GROCERS ® | SUSTAINABILITY REPORT