The company says it serves “Food With Integrity.” What does that mean?
Chipotle doesn't do all of its own cooking: Some is done by an outside company, the same one that makes McDonald's McNuggets, Big Macs, and McRibs.
Chipotle's website says its "fresh cooking" is done "using classic culinary techniques — no shortcuts." But Chipotle doesn't do all of its own cooking: Two outside processing companies in Chicago, OSI and Miniat Holdings, braise the carnitas and barbacoa, trim the steaks, cook the beans, and make the bases for the restaurant's green and red tomatillo salsas, all according to Chipotle's specifications. (Everything else, said Chris Arnold, Chipotle's communications director, "is made entirely in the restaurants.")
OSI, a global meat processing corporation with facilities in 17 countries, also supplies McDonald's with its burgers, nuggets, and other "value-added protein items" on its menu.
Some of Chipotle's locally sourced food travels thousands of extra miles so it can be processed in Chicago.
"The less distance food has to travel," Chipotle's website says, "the better." Sourcing locally — defined by the company as within 350 miles from the restaurant — has long been part of the Chipotle mantra. It's good for local economies, the environment, and the consumers, who get to enjoy the freshest foods.
But the ingredients for the carnitas, barbacoa, beans, and salsa bases, even when raised or grown just a short distance away from the restaurants serving them, have all traveled through Chicago, either through OSI or Miniat facilities. This is for consistency purposes, even if it has the potential to add thousands of food miles to your burrito. "You get cuts delivered and packaged to our specifications," Arnold said. "It's prepared in a really efficient and consistent way by having that done in fewer places than you would doing it in multiple places."
Chipotle's animal welfare standards may be better than other national restaurant chains, but they are still unclear.
A big part of Chipotle's "Food With Integrity" philosophy is sourcing what it calls "responsibly raised" meat (originally called "naturally raised"). However, "responsibly" and "naturally raised" are not terms regulated by the government, and Chipotle does not require producers to have a third-party certification, such as Certified Organic or Certified Humane. "'Natural' is on the honor system," wrote food expert Marion Nestle in her book What to Eat . "Some producers of 'natural' meats may be honorable, but you have to take what they say on faith."
Chipotle's version of responsibly raised meat has three main requirements: Animals have received no added hormones, no antibiotics ever, and were humanely raised. BuzzFeed asked to see the full definition of the responsibly raised standards, but the company declined to share them. "We struggle with getting people to understand the most basic elements," said Arnold, "and adding details really runs the risk of muddying that understanding further."
When the company can't meet its needs with responsibly raised meat, it uses conventionally sourced meat — meaning it's from animals that were raised with growth hormones, sub-therapeutic antibiotics, and in conditions generally not considered humane — to fill the gap. In 2013, that came out to 7.8 million pounds of its beef (15% of its beef) and 88 million pounds of its chicken (less than 1% of its chicken). (All of the pork served fit their standards of responsibly raised.)
Several food and animal welfare experts recognize Chipotle for its efforts. "My reading of this is that they would like to be sourcing all of their meat from natural, sustainable, antibiotic-free, and cage-free farmers but can’t always get it," said Nestle.
Chipotle is importing grass-fed beef from Australia, despite American producers lining up to work with the chain.
Last month, Chipotle CEO Steve Ells announced that the company was sourcing grass-fed beef from Australia, saying "the U.S. supply isn't growing quickly enough to match our demand."
Many American producers, though, disagree. "We firmly believe that [Chipotle] could find domestic sources for all of their beef," said Marilyn Noble, the American Grassfed Association's communications director.
The Texas agriculture commissioner also wants in. "Texas ranchers want to be successful," Bryan Black, director of communications for the Texas Department of Agriculture told BuzzFeed. "If there is a major market for grass-fed beef, then you can be sure many Texas ranchers would jump at the opportunity."
But Chipotle did not contact these organizations before the announcement, nor did it respond to AGA's email offering more domestic suppliers afterward. "The price premium on grass-fed beef in the United States makes it a less viable solution unless we're willing to raise prices," Arnold said in an explanation of the company's decision.
Environmentalists would like Chipotle to find a way to source domestically. "We hope that importing from abroad is a temporary measure while they work to improve and transform the U.S. supply chain," said Doug Sims at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Clearly, the best option is to minimize transport costs and impacts and have more U.S. sources of better beef."
In the meantime, the savings on Australian beef may not last. Thanks to increased global demand for it, prices for Australian beef will go up in the second half of 2014, according to The Daily Livestock Report, "implying higher costs for beef processors and ultimately US consumers."
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