Comments on: Does Sarasota’s New Chipotle Deserve the Crowds?

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:58:02 +0000

In the story section in the Chipotle website they state:
“Food With Integrity” isn’t a marketing slogan. It’s not a product line of natural and organic foods. And it’s not a corporate initiative that will ever be finished or set aside to make room for other priorities. It’s a philosophy that we can always do better in terms of the food we buy. And when we say better, we mean better in every sense of the word- better tasting, coming from better sources, better for the environment, better for the animals, and better for the farmers who raise the animals and grow the produce.

It is extremely ironic that Chipotle has realized its collective bargaining power as their numbers grow and their consumers change. Supposedly, they are revolutionizing the way we grow and eat our food by demanding the right practices from their suppliers; they believe that now they can call for “food with integrity” with respect to farmers, animals, and the environment because of the inherent ethical power in their initiative. However, it seems that farmworkers — those people who slave day in and out to pick our vegetables — are completely left out of Chipotle’s revolutionizing equation. (http://sfalliance.org/resources/Chipotle/CHIPflyer0808.pdf)

The realization that their collective power can create a product that is “socially responsible” and fundamentally better is fundamentally ironic and distressful because farmworkers have been fighting for their right to collectively bargain since the 1930’s and their collective social consciousness has been ignored and repressed. Alas, the plight of the farmworker is and has always been one of a neglected and exploited racialized-minority. This has been obvious since the passing of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, which was an initiative to protect the rights of workers to unionize and organize collectively; unfortunately, agricultural as well as domestic workers (that at that time were predominantly black) were excluded from this act. This is for me one of the symbols of our country’s hypocrisy and racism. We believe that everyone deserves to be equal and that our rights are protected by our government; however, we are not equal and our country to this day has only supported or protected the interests of white and dominant, interests groups. They can make full use of their collective power, but when people of color or poor people try to do this, our efforts are shut down and ignored. And the worst part is that we celebrate our progress and our commitments for a better future, while overlooking (if not erasing from history) our inabilities to deal with an all-too-important present.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:42:26 +0000

I’m extremely impressed by Chipotle’s eco-conscious business ethic. It puts them a step ahead of most other restaurants. As several other posts have pointed out, however, Chipotle could improve its ethic even more by considering the rights of all living beings involved in its food production. The CIW is asking for a minimal increase in salary, and numerous other fast food chains that lack Chipotle’s commitment to animal rights and the environment have signed on to work with them. If it wants to maintain its reputation for ethical food, it will have to take human rights into account as well.

By: isabel

isabel — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:27:46 +0000

I think the last thing Sarasota needs is another fast-food restaurant no less the “crowd” it draws. We need to stop letting big corporations and the construction companies that tag along invade our community. Sarasota is a forward-looking place with real alternatives to capitalism popping up. We still need to ride the bandwagon further. Portland, Oregon is a great example of a health conscious city with lots of vegan and vegetarian cafes. Asheville, NC is another great example we can learn from. What Sarasota needs is more commUNITY. We need to let our politicians and their sidekicks (aka developers) know that we won’t stand for the de-personalization and alienation of our most basic need:food. We should be sitting at a table with our family and friends when we eat. We should not be feeding the military-industrial complex when we waste money at a stupid fast food chain just like the one they built last year.

By: Jolene

Jolene — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:47:19 +0000

Great post Caterina. It’s interesting that Chipotle can make sure its animals have rights and jump on the Green bandwagon when it gives them great press coverage, however, when it comes to making sure that the people in their supply chain are not being exploited, well, it seems it’s just not fashionable enough of an issue for Chipotle. Yum Brands! (which includes Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc), McDonald’s, and Burger King, have all already agreed to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to address human rights abuses in their supply chain, yet, as mentioned above, Chipotle has thus far refused. It seems they are quickly setting their own trap as they hypocritically tout their “food with integrity” slogan while refusing to seriously address the exploitation of tomato pickers right here in Florida.

By: Cooper Levey-Baker

Cooper Levey-Baker — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:00:14 +0000

Thanks for the tip, Catarina, and for keeping us on our toes.

By: catarina

catarina — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:57:48 +0000

Unfortunately, Chipotle’s much-lauded “commitment to forward-thinking food practices” is woefully inadequate, and some would say even hypocritical. Chipotle has recognized that its purchasing power and influence allows it to demand changes in the way that vegetables are grown and animals are raised for consumption in this country, as this article refers to and as Chipotle itself mentions whenever it can. Yet, when presented with the opportunity to partner with an internationally-recognized farmworker’s human rights organization (ciw-online.org) to improve the wages and working conditions of the *human beings* who harvest Chipotle’s tomatoes, the company has refused and dragged its feet.

Apparently, making sure chickens and pigs have space to walk around before they are slaughtered (in the same meatpacking factories that everyone else uses) is of utmost importance, but making sure that human beings are not being held in modern-day slavery, well, not so much… at least to Chipotle.

For more info, check out these links:

ciw-online.org/scholars_letter_to_Chipotle.html

youtube.com/watch?v=qificTp5HTA

ciw-online.org/slavery.html

thenation.com/blogs/actnow/340332

denver.yourhub.com/Boulder/Stories/News/Activism/Story~463163.aspx

By: Cooper Levey-Baker

Cooper Levey-Baker — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:46:02 +0000

Clearly, we must rise up and demand finer chips from our Chipotle masters.

By: adam

adam — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:58:18 +0000

The chips at Chipotle, regardless of location, have never been especially good. I think it’s a company-wide issue.

The staff at the new location still needs a lot of training. The speed, accuracy, and product knowledge is noticeably less than in Tampa or St. Pete.

By: Cooper Levey-Baker

Cooper Levey-Baker — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:12:22 +0000

Thank you, Brian, for mentioning the freshly fried, yet nevertheless stale chips. That is one of the oddest things about my couple meals at our Chipotle. I wonder if it’s a company-wide issue, or if our local folks are just mucking things up.