Chipotle restaurant is up to no good again. The Mexican food chain is well-known for its target-marketing, blasting conventional food production while amping up the benefits of all-natural products. To me, naturally-raised food is a great option, but not at the expense of scaring folks into buying it through marketing tactics that falsely label conventionally-raised foods as full of antibiotics and hormones.
Part of Chipotle’s marketing effort that demonizes traditional beef production is a video posted on the restaurant’s website.
The restaurant describes the video like this: "'Back to the Start,' is a video accompanied by music from Coldplay's haunting classic 'The Scientist,' which is performed by country music legend Willie Nelson for the soundtrack of the short film. The film, by film-maker Johnny Kelly, depicts the life of a farmer as he slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the errors of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future. Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle to emphasize the importance of developing a sustainable food system."
This video comes to no surprise to me. For the longest time, I have refused to eat at the restaurant as the chain advocates against conventional agriculture -- using terms like “big agriculture” and “factory farming” on their billboards and even in the fun marketing gimmicks they pass out to kids! The chain of restaurants advocates an anti-big agriculture position. Their newest campaign is called ‘Food with Integrity,’ which implies that food that is not organic, locally-raised or family-produced is bad for your health and the planet.
The video certainly portrays us in a negative light. Let the chain know what you think. Then, find a more agriculture-friendly restaurant to visit the next time you get a hankering for a burrito or enchilada.
