Chipotle Commercial

[KarmaContestant]

This moved me in so many ways. Factory farming is a revolting and inhumane way for us to produce food. Some people say that traditional farming just can't feed the world, but I think that's bull. Just here in America we produce twice the amount of food we need per person. We throw away over 6000 tons of food every single day - 40% of the food we produce in America goes in the trash, and is the largest single contributor to our landfills..

As a nation, we must make better choices. Where you choose to purchase food, and what you choose to buy is so important.

When you can, please support your local organic grocers, as well restaurants that use local food produced with sustainable methods that do not harm our environment.

And watch this commercial.

[HejiraNYC]

^^ It's a cute/quaint bit of animation, but I am really at a loss regarding its relevance to Chipotle, which, from what I can tell, peddles the same kind of overpriced, overprocessed, meat-laden fare as any other casual dining chain. Sure, I've read that they're trying to source their ingredients from local farmers. But are they implying that farming meat is somehow healthy for the environment or humane? Hogwash, no pun intended; they're basically putting a filter on a cigarette and calling it "healthy." Meat production, whether it's done in an intense industrial setting or in open pastures, is the major contaminant of our fresh water supplies, and the carbon they produce (via emissions) is greater than all planes, trains and automobiles combined. Add to that the amount of plant energy lost in the form of feeding grain to animals for meat production. Any way you slice it, meat production is barbaric, inefficient, harmful for the environment, unhealthy and totally unnecessary. Local, small-scale farming is a Utopian conceit that sounds very good in theory. But the reality is that there is simply not enough arable land or wealth to sustain this method of food production at current meat consumption levels. Industrialized meat farming makes meat cheaper to produce and thereby allows Big Food to realize much higher margins by selling large quantities to the masses. There would be no food industrial complex if people voted with their stomachs and stopped buying into it.

Sure, people have a right to fill their bodies with whatever they want. But nobody should be deluded into believing that they are doing something good for the environment (or their bodies) by chowing down a beef cheddar burrito at Chipotle. /diatribe

It's very cute, and I love Willie Nelson's rendition, but I still only buy Vegetarian at Chipotle.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

^^ It's a cute/quaint bit of animation, but I am really at a loss regarding its relevance to Chipotle, which, from what I can tell, peddles the same kind of overpriced, overprocessed, meat-laden fare as any other casual dining chain. Sure, I've read that they're trying to source their ingredients from local farmers. But are they implying that farming meat is somehow healthy for the environment or humane? Hogwash, no pun intended; they're basically putting a filter on a cigarette and calling it "healthy." Meat production, whether it's done in an intense industrial setting or in open pastures, is the major contaminant of our fresh water supplies, and the carbon they produce (via emissions) is greater than all planes, trains and automobiles combined. Add to that the amount of plant energy lost in the form of feeding grain to animals for meat production. Any way you slice it, meat production is barbaric, inefficient, harmful for the environment, unhealthy and totally unnecessary. Local, small-scale farming is a Utopian conceit that sounds very good in theory. But the reality is that there is simply not enough arable land or wealth to sustain this method of food production at current meat consumption levels. Industrialized meat farming makes meat cheaper to produce and thereby allows Big Food to realize much higher margins by selling large quantities to the masses. There would be no food industrial complex if people voted with their stomachs and stopped buying into it.

Sure, people have a right to fill their bodies with whatever they want. But nobody should be deluded into believing that they are doing something good for the environment (or their bodies) by chowing down a beef cheddar burrito at Chipotle. /diatribe

Chipotle uses humanely raised meat from local sources, free of anti-biotics and growth hormones. I eat there often, and they have vegetarian options as well - which is in fact all I eat there. Their food is healthy, fresh, pure, and locally procurred - a far cry from the majority of national chain eateries selling pre-packagedre-heated frozen food filled with lab created impurities. This might not be enough for the hard-core vegan crowd, but it is a start in a very right direction.

Farming is a fact of life that will never go away - I think it is appropriate to suport those institutions doing it the old fashioned way. Factory farming contributes to the massive quantities of wasted food, which was part of my point to begin with. But whatever.

[Macfanforever]

I started to watch the ad as I paused my recording of the Grammys .I wish I continued to record the commercial.I'm a fan of Willie Nelson.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Chipotle uses humanely raised meat from local sources, free of anti-biotics and growth hormones. I eat there often, and they have vegetarian options as well - which is in fact all I eat there. Their food is healthy, fresh, pure, and locally procurred - a far cry from the majority of national chain eateries selling pre-packagedre-heated frozen food filled with lab created impurities. This might not be enough for the hard-core vegan crowd, but it is a start in a very right direction.

Farming is a fact of life that will never go away - I think it is appropriate to suport those institutions doing it the old fashioned way. Factory farming contributes to the massive quantities of wasted food, which was part of my point to begin with. But whatever.

Therein lies the problem- the fallacy of such a term as "humanely raised meat." It's a myth. Any way you slice it (pun intended) meat production is not humane. It's primal and unevolved. And it still pollutes the environment more than any other industry.

This Chipotle commercial is nothing but a gimmick to paint meat production in happy, candy-colored hues so that people will feel better about the "product" that they put into their mouths. I would have so much more respect for Chipotle if they would include actual footage from the slaughterhouses where they source their meat. Let the public then decide whether this is truly "humane" or not.

[Livia]

Chipotle is owned by McDonald's. Just sayin'...

That was the only commercial I did not FF through while watching the Grammys. I LOVE that song (Johnette Napolitano's version is the best).

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by Livia

Chipotle is owned by McDonald's. Just sayin'...

That was the only commercial I did not FF through while watching the Grammys. I LOVE that song (Johnette Napolitano's version is the best).

Chipotle was purchased by McDonalds because they were successful, but not conceived by them. Chipotle operates as a completely independent entity. Chipotle was started in Denver, where I live. Their very first location is still open, just down the street from my house. Their food has not changed since they started. Not. One. Bit.

Kraft owned Phillip Morris for a long time too, but that doesn't mean there were cigarettes in their food products or that Kraft was trying to find a way to make mayonnaise addictive.

[Silver Springs]

I don't thing programs such as Man V Food help when it comes to food being wasted in the US. It glorifies those who stuff themselves to the point of throwing up for the sake of a sh*tty t-shirt and "personal glory". It makes it look okay to waste food and take far more than your share; that eating a disgusting amount of food on your own is okay. It's not okay. Food shouldn't be treated like "something to do when you're bored" or something to prove your manhood. It's a luxury and it's about time more people realized this. I'm a proud Veggie. I don't eat or use animal products because when there are so many alternatives out there that are taken for granted, I just don't see any moral justification for using the animal as nothing more than something to serve man.

[Macfanforever]

Is Chipotle an mexican resturant.never been there or to Taco Bell to that matter.

[Silver Springs]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

Is Chipotle an mexican resturant.never been there or to Taco Bell to that matter.

My father and I went to Taco Bell out of curiosity some years ago when we went to Nashville. We took one look at the food other customers had and walked right back out again with ordering.

[Macfanforever]

I don't care for mexican food.To spicey to me.but i'll eat it if it was made the right way from my mexican friends.they wil make it light on the spice for me.

[Silver Springs]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

I don't care for mexican food.To spicey to me.

The food being served just looked like a sloppy mess, to me. I don't mind spicy. But I do mind food that looks as though it's just been piped onto the tray in any old "couldn't care less" fashion. I don't like fast food shops anyway, because they don't take care in their food. I'd rather go to healthier, independent shops or a proper cafe/restaurant.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Silver Springs

I don't thing programs such as Man V Food help when it comes to food being wasted in the US. It glorifies those who stuff themselves to the point of throwing up for the sake of a sh*tty t-shirt and "personal glory". It makes it look okay to waste food and take far more than your share; that eating a disgusting amount of food on your own is okay. It's not okay. Food shouldn't be treated like "something to do when you're bored" or something to prove your manhood. It's a luxury and it's about time more people realized this. I'm a proud Veggie. I don't eat or use animal products because when there are so many alternatives out there that are taken for granted, I just don't see any moral justification for using the animal as nothing more than something to serve man.

I don't think the U.S. corners the market on wasting food. It is wasted everywhere; if anything, I think it's a good thing that somebody somewhere is actually eating all of this food, gluttonous or not. The vast majority of food waste is not due to gluttony; it's due to economics. Every westernized country is guilty of this. When you go to the grocery store and see fully stocked aisles full of food, do you think all of food is sold and consumed? I don't have any hard statistics, but I assume that a sadly small percentage of this food is sold and consumed. The rest of it is probably tossed out due to product expiry or to make room for something else. As for baked goods like bread, bagels and cakes, much of it is tossed out if it isn't sold within a day. I'm sure most people would be fine with buying day-old bread, and therein lies the problem; bake shops would go out of business because few people would buy the full-priced freshly baked stuff when they could buy the day-old stuff that's just as good, so it all gets tossed out after one day. And what about the thousands and thousands of restaurants and fast food joints? All of that unsold, prepared food goes straight into the garbage at the end of the day. The U.S. alone could practically feed the world with just the stuff it tosses out.

I'm not sure if there really is a solution to all this food waste. I like the thought of having only the freshest ingredients in my food. I like seeing stocked aisles and overflowing options when I am at the grocery store. And then there is also the heightened risk of food contamination if there are no regulations/safeguards ensuring that prepared food is appropriately discarded after a specific shelf life.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by Silver Springs

The food being served just looked like a sloppy mess, to me. I don't mind spicy. But I do mind food that looks as though it's just been piped onto the tray in any old "couldn't care less" fashion.

Yeah, that stuff isn't Mexican food. Taco Bell, Chipotle, what have you...not Mexican. Actually, that goes double for Taco Bell.