Calling on Chipotle to live up to "Food with Integrity"

Chipotle Mexican Grill, the country's fastest growing fast-food chain, prides itself on serving ¨Food with Integrity¨ and is regarded as a sustainable food leader for its free range meat and organic avocados. Chipotle's vision of integrity or sustainability is probably best summed up in a quote from its founder and CEO, Steve Ells: "We decided long ago that we didn't want Chipotle's success to be tied to the exploitation of animals, farmers, or the environment."

For two and a half years, the CIW and allies in Denver have been calling on Chipotle to address what is missing from the sentence above-- human rights for the farmworkers who pick Chipotle's food-- without much response from Chipotle other than claims that they were 'investigating' conditions or would no longer purchase Florida tomatoes. Then, on the eve of Fall 2008 Minitour to Chipotle's headquarters, Chipotle e-mailed a letter to the CIW with measures it claims it will undertake, including "pay an additional penny per pound for all the tomatoes that it purchases from its Florida suppliers." This seems intriguing, but closer examination reveals that this letter is far from a commitment to a workable solution.

"As farmworkers -- the human beings actually suffering the poverty wages and labor abuses every day in the fields -- we have no role in Chipotle's plan," said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. "Under their plan, Chipotle will review its own code of conduct and decide if any changes are appropriate, Chipotle will oversee its own payments under its penny per pound plan, and Chipotle will verify its own compliance with the changes it is proposing. That's just not credible. Transparency, verification, and participation are essential elements of the agreements we have reached with other fast-food leaders, and they are essential elements in any defensible definition of social responsibility."

We continue to call on Chipotle to make real on the words and work out a plan with the CIW to ensure farmworkers receive fair wages and conditions. If you would like pre-printed postcards to Chipotle, contact us at 239-986-0688 or info@interfaithact.org