Chipotle

ChipotleNashville, TN

Food with Integrity

• “It is a philosophy that we can do better with the food we buy.”– Steve Ells, Founder of Chipotle

• This includes:– Better tasting products– Better sources – Better for the environment– Better for the animals– Better for the farmers who raise the animals

Food with Integrity

• Focuses on resources that are unprocessed, season, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, and organic.

• Serves more naturally raised meat that any other restaurant in the country

Steve’s Vision

• Chipotle was not originally started as a political statement

• Wanted to apply techniques learned in culinary school to make great tasting burritos and tacos

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAAFI9WH_Mk

Naturally Raised Animals

• Old-fashioned animal husbandry= farmers rely on care instead of chemicals to tend to animals and land– Pork, chicken, and beef

Pork

• Naturally raised pork standards:– No antibiotics, ever– Exhibit natural behaviors in open pastures – Vegetarian feed (no animal by-products)

• Believe that the pigs enjoy happier, healthier lives– In return, customers get higher quality, better tasting

products

• Have been implementing this system in all restaurants since 2001

Chicken

• Naturally-raised pork caused Ells to look at all of his products this way

• Supply for naturally-raised chicken was small, but the demand has grown

• Standards:– Never given antibiotics– More room to move than conventional operations– Vegetarian feed (no animal by-products)

Beef• More than 50% of beef follows Chipotle’s

naturally raised standards• Naturally raised beef costs more, but Ells thinks it

is worth it• Goal is to incorporate naturally raised beef into

all restaurants• Standards:– No antibiotics– No added growth hormones– Vegetarian feed

Beans and Dairy

• Return to organic and sustainable farming methods– Increased amount of organically grown beans

each year– About 40% of all beans are organic

• Cheese and sour cream in all restaurants are free of synthetic growth hormone rBGH– Recombinant bovine growth hormone artificially

increases milk production

Chipotle Fun Facts

• No artificial colors or flavorings• Foods contain zero trans fats• Do not use any kind of nuts or eggs• Largest restaurant buyer of avocados• Picture of Evans (first restaurant) in every

Chipotle• Use of organically grown beans has directly led to

a 100,000 pound reduction in chemical pesticide use