I am really sincere when I
say Thank You to the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant chain. They
accomplished more in the last few months by demonstrating that their products
are not superior, safer or healthier than farmers did in two years of blogs
and interviews. As a proud, conscientious farmer, I also want to say thanks to Chipotle for demonstrating
to American consumers that their marketing claims and attacks on traditional
farm practices are wrong. Chipotle branded itself using all the buzzwords
to bring in health minded consumers. They were throwing “organic”,
“natural”, “GMO Free”, “Antibiotic Free”, “Locally Grown”, and about any other
catch phrase around to differentiate itself from every other fast-food
franchise.
Chipotle took it one step
further by attacking the modern, science based practices we use to raise our
beef and pork in a series of internet videos. They attacked the use of
climate controlled hog and cattle barns like my family uses to improve animal
health and protect livestock from extreme weather. The use of
antibiotics even those veterinarians prescribe to treat illnesses were
demonized, and they attacked the use of FDA approved growth supplements to
improve meat quality. The premise of the stories was that the modern,
research based, farming practices made food less safe, not as nutritious, and
maybe harmful. It’s been impossible to find objective, science or health
research to back up those claims.
Then Chipotle stumbled with
a series of food borne illness outbreaks, something that shouldn’t happen based
on the chains claims. It started with one store, then a few more in the
same area. Two outbreaks involved
norovirus, three more were caused by E. coli and the other was caused by
Salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Then it spread to 500 people in ten states. The story created
to market the franchise as healthier and safer was unraveled. The
Attorney General in California with the FDA has subpoenaed the records
regarding the outbreak in Simi Valley, California. Further calling the chains
conduct into question.
Politics, people, or food
the popular marketing strategy is to divide and conquer rather than the actual
merits. In this case, a restaurant chain could have had millions of farmers and
food producers rallying around them instead of sitting on the sideline, maybe
even enjoying watching them fall. We know that food borne illnesses from
restaurants or our homes happen, typically from mishandling food during
preparation. This doesn’t make organic or natural any more or less safe
than it was before, but it shows the common truth regarding all our food.
Fresh, locally grown, organic or conventional food must
follow the FDA guidelines for safe handling and preparation, and we know from
the stats and facts that the US food supply is the safest in the world.
However, they chose to create a divide a go it alone. Thanks for
the lesson. Animal and human health as well as food safety are common bonds the should unite all food raisers and marketers.
I believe in food choices. I think consumers should have the opportunity to buy the food they wish. I think that farmers have the right to grow the crops they choose and specialty foods sold for premium, niche markets may get a higher price for their efforts. But restaurants like Chipotle should not use baseless attacks as a marketing campaign to gain acceptance. There are plenty of consumers to create a market for all food options; they should be able to choose by facts not crafted stories.
If you’re looking for “Food with Integrity” as Chipotle claims,
I’d trust the 2 million or so American family farmers who have been skeptical
if not critical all along and eat somewhere else.
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