Last class, we talked about how America's fast food restaurant chains have a scarily-scientific standardization behind their meats. It's an easy argument to prove with McDonald's, but what about fast food companies that claim to be sustainable, like Chipotle?
McDonald's menu largely comes from Keystone Foods LLC, one of the world's biggest food companies, that processes meat like mass-produced goods in assembly line form. The animals here are cooped up in crowded cages from birth on the industrial farm to the factories that shackle, stun, and scald them. Keystone Foods have helped make meat an inexpensive commodity, producing more than one billion pounds of poultry and about 800 million pounds of beef annually (Philadelphia City Paper). I was curious about McDonald's stance on these processes that most certainly still occur, and they claim that Keystone Foods goes "above and beyond USDA regulations to meet McDonald's strict animal welfare, product safety and quality requirements" (McDonald's: See What We're Made Of). These facts did not seem to match up, supporting the scientific process of western fast food corporations.
Is there still "scary corporate standardization" behind Chipotle Mexican Grill's food; a chain that prides itself on sustainable farming? Chipotle's motto "Food with Integrity" is front and center on their website. Founder and CEO Steve Ells finds it important "for people to know where their food comes from," and for pigs to fully express their "pigness" (http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx). Chipotle serves "naturally raised" meat that are open-rage, antibiotic free, and have a vegetarian diet; and is trying to use most of its produce from local farms within 350 miles of the restaurants. Unfortunately, the price point for organic produce is a bit high, though, so they cannot guarantee non-GMO ingredients for most of their foods (Organic Consumers Association). Nevertheless, I think Chipotle is successful in its efforts with food integrity, particularly in comparison to its fast food competitors. They are mindful of the animals, environment, and workers who are supplying their restaurants. Their video advertisements are particularly insightful!
So Chipotle is mindful of its food sourcing, but that doesn't mean it's free of frightening elements. A pork burrito can have more than 1,300 calories, 31 grams of fat, 105 mg of cholesterol, 102 carbs, and 2,600 mg of sodium!! That's twice the calories of a McDonald's Big Mac (Ecosalon: Behind the Label). Even local, organic, and free range foods, when prepared certain ways, are not necessarily the healthiest options.
Chipotle is admirably aware of their pre-consumer foods, but should also focus on the importance of their consumer's health. In particular, Chipotle should be more mindful of the benefits of smaller serving sizes and portion-control. I think restaurants with true food integrity are conscious of their menu items from the farm to the consumer's health.
Regardless, the value Chipotle places on "food integrity" is commendable and exemplary. Other restaurant chains should take Chipotle's successes into account, and become more conscious of the sustainability of their ingredients. They certainly have the money to do so. So why don't they all try to be at least a little more mindful of their food choices?
McDonald's menu largely comes from Keystone Foods LLC, one of the world's biggest food companies, that processes meat like mass-produced goods in assembly line form. The animals here are cooped up in crowded cages from birth on the industrial farm to the factories that shackle, stun, and scald them. Keystone Foods have helped make meat an inexpensive commodity, producing more than one billion pounds of poultry and about 800 million pounds of beef annually (Philadelphia City Paper). I was curious about McDonald's stance on these processes that most certainly still occur, and they claim that Keystone Foods goes "above and beyond USDA regulations to meet McDonald's strict animal welfare, product safety and quality requirements" (McDonald's: See What We're Made Of). These facts did not seem to match up, supporting the scientific process of western fast food corporations.
Is there still "scary corporate standardization" behind Chipotle Mexican Grill's food; a chain that prides itself on sustainable farming? Chipotle's motto "Food with Integrity" is front and center on their website. Founder and CEO Steve Ells finds it important "for people to know where their food comes from," and for pigs to fully express their "pigness" (http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx). Chipotle serves "naturally raised" meat that are open-rage, antibiotic free, and have a vegetarian diet; and is trying to use most of its produce from local farms within 350 miles of the restaurants. Unfortunately, the price point for organic produce is a bit high, though, so they cannot guarantee non-GMO ingredients for most of their foods (Organic Consumers Association). Nevertheless, I think Chipotle is successful in its efforts with food integrity, particularly in comparison to its fast food competitors. They are mindful of the animals, environment, and workers who are supplying their restaurants. Their video advertisements are particularly insightful!
So Chipotle is mindful of its food sourcing, but that doesn't mean it's free of frightening elements. A pork burrito can have more than 1,300 calories, 31 grams of fat, 105 mg of cholesterol, 102 carbs, and 2,600 mg of sodium!! That's twice the calories of a McDonald's Big Mac (Ecosalon: Behind the Label). Even local, organic, and free range foods, when prepared certain ways, are not necessarily the healthiest options.
Chipotle is admirably aware of their pre-consumer foods, but should also focus on the importance of their consumer's health. In particular, Chipotle should be more mindful of the benefits of smaller serving sizes and portion-control. I think restaurants with true food integrity are conscious of their menu items from the farm to the consumer's health.
Regardless, the value Chipotle places on "food integrity" is commendable and exemplary. Other restaurant chains should take Chipotle's successes into account, and become more conscious of the sustainability of their ingredients. They certainly have the money to do so. So why don't they all try to be at least a little more mindful of their food choices?
No comments:
Post a Comment