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Chipotle: No to GMO

Chipotle is officially done serving food made with genetically engineered ingredients.

April 27, 2015

Chipotle is officially done serving food made with genetically engineered ingredients, accoridng to the NY Times.

“This is another step toward the visions we have of changing the way people think about and eat fast food,” Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle, said in the story. “Just because food is served fast doesn’t mean it has to be made with cheap raw ingredients, highly processed with preservatives and fillers and stabilizers and artificial colors and flavors.”

Chipotle made history in 2013, when it became the first restaurant chain to identify which menu items contained genetically modified organisms. A few others have since followed its lead.

Chipotle has run short of beef from time to time, and last December it announced that it could not supply all of its restaurants with the pork needed for carnitas after an audit found that one of its suppliers had failed to meet its standards for raising pigs.

Ells said the chain is working with farmers to plan enough crops to ensure no shortages occur.

“Eliminating genetically engineered ingredients is easier for Chipotle, where the entire menu uses just 68 ingredients, including salt and pepper, while one of its competitors uses 81 just to make a burrito,” Ells said in the story. “The vast majority of our ingredients don’t come in a G.M.O. variety, and we use lots of whole, unprocessed foods, so it was easier for us to do.”