Fair food nation turns up the heat on Chipotle

More than one hundred students converge on Chipotle HQ in Denver

August 11, 2008 - This past Friday, members of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) joined local Denver residents for a rousing action at Chipotle headquarters in the Mile-High City, demanding that Chipotle live up to its own much-lauded "Food With Integrity" mantra and meet with the CIW.

Following the successful conclusion of the Burger King campaign, this action served as (yet another) wake-up call to Chipotle that it can no longer skirt responsibility and that our campaign in solidarity with farmworkers will only escalate until it comes to the table. This message was made explicit by this letter, delivered by a delegation of representatives from several national and local organizations.

Check out the photo report from the energetic action, and stay tuned for more news and organizing materials as the 2008 Encuentro and another season in the struggle for fair food quickly approach...

• Photo report: USAS action at Chipotle HQ
• Student letter to Chipotle
• Chipotle manager letter
• "Want some basic human dignity with that burrito?" (The Nation, 7/29)

Consumers to Chipotle: "Are sweatshop tomatoes really food with integrity?"

Chipotle feels the heat as the Campaign for Fair Food marches on following Burger King victory

July 18, 2008 - Chipotle, the fastest-growing chain in the industry, has created quite a set of lofty expectations for itself. In its own words, Chipotle wants to "revolutionize the way America grows and gathers its food" by leveraging its purchasing power to influence its suppliers' actions.

Basing its public image on the idea of food with integrity, Chipotle has lured socially-conscious consumers by promising a product that is not, in the words of founder and CEO Steve Ells, "tied to the exploitation of animals, farmers, or the environment."

But wait... the environment, farmers, farm animals. What about the farmworkers? Those whose backbreaking labor makes it possible for fresh produce to arrive from the fields to America's tables? Apparently, the definition of "food with integrity" does not include produce harvested by workers receiving fair wages and laboring in humane conditions.

For two years, the CIW has called on Chipotle to follow the example of Yum Brands, McDonald's and now Burger King and take action to end the human rights crisis in its tomato supply chain. And for two years, Chipotle has refused, serving up free-range pork and hormone-free beef while doing nothing to ensure that the tomatoes in its burritos are free of exploitation.

But Chipotle may not be able to ignore the call for real labor reform for much longer. Consumers across the country are waking up to the fact that Chipotle's "revolution" may not be all that it's cracked up to be.

Check out the below links and resources to learn more about - and become a part of - the growing clamor for Chipotle to finally live up to its own vision of "integrity:"

• Resources to take action in your community
• "Chipotle's 'Food with Integrity' ignores tomato pickers" (The Pump Handle, 7/3)
• "Chipotle grilled: will the burrito giant pay up for less exploitative tomatoes?" (Gristmill, 7/3)
• "Workers group targets Chipotle" (Bradenton Herald, 7/22)
• Scholar's Letter to Chipotle
• April 2008 action at Chipotle headquarters