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Chipotle Mexican Grill Pushes "Naturally Raised" Meat


In a recent article about consumers and the "source of food", a spokesman for Chipotle put forth their definition of "naturally raised":

Chipotle Mexican Grill, a burrito and taco chain that has long touted the quality of its ingredients, says that all of its restaurant serve naturally raised pork. The company defines "naturally raised" as antibiotic-free, raised on vegetarian feed and on farms with open space, such as pastures or deeply bedded pens.

About half of Chipotle's restaurants serve beef and about 80 percent serve chicken raised under similar guidelines, the company says, and names some of its suppliers on its Web site.

"I think a majority of customers don't know that we do it," said Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle. "They're starting to. They're becoming more interested in sustainable issues across the board. But we didn't do it because people were asking for it, we did it because we thought it was the right thing to do. I think the unfortunate thing is you're seeing a lot of companies ... advertise things fresh and natural when they are not."

Chipotle is certainly a leader in naturally raised meat, but many more are following.  

Nutraferma is a leader in providing alternatives to animal proteins (although we have no way of knowing if our products end up in Chipotle's supply chain - yet!)  PepSoyGen, a high quality fermented soy product, has shown in university trials to be a replacement for fishmeal and animal proteins.  Nutraferma's DFM products aid livestock producers rasing animals without antibiotics.