Chipotle buys local - but is it safe?
At what point did the language of sustainability get co-opted by organo-local business types?
I ride my bike around town (which is a health hazard in Manhattan), we had a fabulous salad of greens grown in our own garden last night for dinner along with the tuna steak (which wasn’t grown in Kansas), yet when I speak at a local panel or read something, it’s all these folks falling over themselves to be declared green.
Chipotle Mexican Grill will expand its local produce program this summer, purchasing at least 35 percent of at least one bulk produce item in all of its restaurants from local farmers when it is seasonally available. This represents a 10 percent increase over last year's program, the first of its kind for any national restaurant chain.
"Our commitment to cooking and preparing food with more sustainable ingredients has always been about doing the right thing; the right thing for better tasting food, the right thing for the environment, and the right thing for farmers," says Steve Ells, founder, chairman, and co-CEO of Chipotle.
As a lowly consumer, I can only hope that Chipotle holds its local suppliers to some sort of microbiological standards for food safety – maybe they cook the poop out of everything.
I don’t want to hear about how sustainable it is – unless Chipotle or anyone else is going to provide data on water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and microbiological loads on local produce versus the produce provided by the big ‘ole big guys. Do farmers get pissed that anyone thinks they can grow food to feed a bunch of people? Or do they just smirk, bemused?
Once again, Chipotle is the douchebag of fast food.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/admin/trackback/134981
I do realize your chief concern is microbiological safety. And I understand that Chipotle makes no claims to safety as it touts the quality of its ingredients.
Maybe I'm wrong, and I am curious for your perspective, but wouldn't irradiation of all foodstuffs be the ultimate destination if the only concern is safety?
Clearly the better solution is cleaning up the front end. But the systems in place today are so big and complex, it seems like an overwhelming obstacle to an effective front end solution. I believe ultimately, it is why some people have higher hopes for local food (even though it may not be 100% poop free yet). But at least, in theory, you can meet the producer and have a good understanding of their production methods.
That said, my preference for Chipotle, and my support of their practices has little to do with food safety. Yes, I'd like my food to be free of poop. But I would also like the animals, before they were meat, to be treated humanely. And I would also like to know that the meat I am eating did not come from a chronically sick animal. It is more of an ethical issue than a scientific one.
If I can get two out of three from Chipotle, I am happy. Because most elsewhere I'm batting zero for three.
I thank them for making this effort, and I believe there are other like minded individuals.
Thank you for all your good work. And maybe you can consider this other side of Chipotle the next time you take a poop on them.
I'd like to see them revise how they handle their rice so that people aren't getting sick with food poisoning from the toxins produced by the bacteria Bacillus cereus when rice isn't kept hot or cooled down quickly.