Chipotle Mexican Chain Pulls Pork From Menu

When it comes to American restaurant chains, I aim to avoid them at all costs, but there are some which are better than others. Chipotle Mexican grill is leading the charge in their effort to serve only ethically sourced foods.

A spokesperson for the Mexican food chain told the Associated Press that they’ve stopped serving pork at their locations after discovering their supplier has been treating the animals inhumanely.

Finally, a company putting ethics before profits.

According to Chipotle’s policies, all of their suppliers are under strict regulations to raise their animals under humane conditions, which means giving them regular access to the outdoors. Chipotle is amongst very few chain restaurants to restrict their sourcing and it’s truly a breath of fresh air and perhaps an indication of consumer awareness.

Chipotle’s guidelines regulate where they get their product and they are one of few to avoid suppliers who use factory farming methods. Their mission statement called Food With Integrity highlights their use of organic ingredients and serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain.

Almost all of the meat served at Chipotle’s comes from animals that are never given antibiotics or hormones. Founder Steve Ells is so committed to serving naturally sourced foods that he has testified before congress in support of the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act – legislation which aims to reduce and eliminate antibiotics from farm animals.

Did you know that the McDonald’s corporation was once an investor in Chipotle’s?

Thankfully however, in 2005 they fully divested from Chipotle. It comes as no surprise that just one year before the mexican grill completely overhauled their employee pay grade and became one of the best companies to work for.

Despite its higher wages, Chipotle still manages to spend more on quality ingredients than it does on its payroll – which is the exact opposite of the fast food industry standard set by those golden arches.

None of the restaurants have freezers, microwave ovens or can openers. I challenge you to find even the most healthy of local restaurants that don’t have at least one of those. Imagine the lack of preservatives! Pretty impressive I’d say.

Some experts in the food industry are lamenting Chipotle’s strict guidelines, saying they may have a hard time finding suppliers who treat its animal humanely.

Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for The Humane Society of the United States recently told news reporters that a very small percent of the industry can actually live up to Chipotle’s standards.

Despite these negative attitudes, it is, without a doubt, a good thing that a large company with mass influence is willing to set these kinds of standards, because it will no doubt force similar chains to look at their own practices.