Chipotle's Response

I signed an online petition for Chipotle to sign an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Here is their thoughtful response:

We’ve never believed that you need to have a contract to do the right thing.

At Chipotle, we’ve built our business on doing what we believe is right. We have a decade-long track record of working to improve the nation’s food supply by choosing like-minded suppliers who share our belief in raising animals and growing vegetables in ways that demonstrate respect for people, animals and the environment. When we can’t find such arrangements, we use our purchasing power to influence change among those who are willing to work with us.

Most recently, this led us to negotiate a pact with East Coast Farms, one of Florida’s largest and most reputable tomato growers, in order to pay a penny a pound more for the tomatoes we buy. This additional money will be paid directly to the workers who pick our tomatoes. That might not seem like much, but it is substantial. Workers are paid a set amount for every pound of tomatoes they pick. Over just one hour, a worker typically gathers several hundred pounds of tomatoes, such that this price difference effectively amounts to a wage hike of nearly 70% for the average worker who picks our tomatoes.

But evidence of our commitment goes well beyond that. Today, Chipotle serves more naturally raised meat (from animals that are raised in a humane way, never given antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet) than any other restaurant company. We are also the only national restaurant company to commit to serving significant amounts of organic or locally grown produce, and the first to move to dairy products made with milk from cows that are not treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH. These decisions have come at a price. In fact, Chipotle has the highest food cost in the industry because of our commitment to serving food made with ingredients from more sustainable sources.

We’ve done all of this without contracts binding us to one agenda or another, instead working to find or create opportunities to make positive changes, and pursuing those opportunities to the best of our abilities.

This most recent progress comes after months of working with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), whose campaign to improve wages and working conditions for farm workers who pick tomatoes in Florida prompted an organized effort by the Florida tomato industry to block fulfillment of similar agreements between the CIW and other large tomato buyers. By working directly with the grower, we have found an alternative that allows us to have an immediate and positive impact on the lives of people who pick tomatoes for us.

We will continue in our quest to provide Food With Integrity, always looking for suppliers who share our belief in producing food in ways that demonstrates respect for workers, animals, and the environment. And we will continue to use our purchasing power to push for change when we cannot find suitable alternatives.

-Chipotle

Chipotle Mexican Grill, 1401 Wynkoop #500, Denver, CO 80202

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has a post today indicating their praise and appreciation for East Coast Growers and Packers and the additional penny per pound approach.

I will eat a Chipotle burrito for lunch today and keep eating at Chipotle. And I'm even more irritated with Chick-fil-A's lack of response to my questions.

Et tu, Chipotle?

I recently wrote about my reactions to Food Inc and new decisions about eating choices and behavior. Part of the change includes eating more at Chipotle (which sponsored Food Inc.). Now I have read an article about Chipotle's apparent unwillingness to work with the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) toward improving working conditions for migrant workers. I joked with one of my friends that since I have seen Food Inc. but have not seen The Cove, the only food I can eat is dolphin ;-)

Why is it so hard to identify a meal that ultimately doesn't harm someone or some animal?

Life Inc.

Note: I was not aware of Douglas Rushkoff's book "Life Inc" when I originally wrote this blog post.

I have changed my eating habits since watching Food Inc. I am eating less meat and more vegetables and fruits. I'm eating more food from the local farmers' market and less "food" from fast food chains including Chick-fil-A (more on this below). I'm trying to eat at restaurants that clearly indicate their food is locally produced or organically grown.

If you are considering whether to watch Food Inc., ask yourself first: Do you want the red pill or the blue pill?

Initially I thought Food Inc. was unfocused. The movie covers a tremendous number of topics ranging from food safety, inhumane treatment of animals, the marginalization (elimination?) of the family-owned farm, and the lack of support from political leaders to pass bills that would provide greater oversight. The overriding theme connecting these rather disturbing dots is the industrialization of food production. Michael Pollan has wisely suggested "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He's also noted that it has become increasingly difficult to do so in his latest book "In Defense of Food."

Ultimately, the most powerful message of Food Inc. has nothing to do with food. It has to do with choice--or the lack thereof.

The reason I chose "Decide" as the title of this blog relates to one of my favorite scenes from the Lord of the Rings when Gandalf states "all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." In this day and age, it seems we should add "as long as corporations allow us."

Food Inc. portrays an unnerving integrated sequence of actions by corporations and an associated campaign of misinformation or lack of information that make it difficult, if not impossible, to understand the impact of our food consumption. By switching to soy milk in an effort to make better choices, it seems quite likely that I'm consuming genetically modified soybeans and lining the pockets of Monsanto Inc.

This sobering vision of food in the United States resonates with other areas of our lives. In the famous scene from The Matrix featuring the red pill and the blue pill, Neo declares that he does not believe in fate because he doesn't like the idea that he's not in control of his life. In The Matrix Reloaded, Merovingian relishes the moment when he declares "choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without."

Frank Rich expressed this sentiment in a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times:

"What disturbs Americans of all ideological persuasions is the fear that almost everything, not just government, is fixed or manipulated by some powerful hidden hand, from commercial transactions as trivial as the sales of prime concert tickets to cultural forces as pervasive as the news media."

Indeed, it would seem that the invisible hand of the market has moved from guiding us to slapping us.

In their insightful and fascinating book "Nudge" Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein discuss the concept of choice architecture and its influence on our decisions: "A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions. A crucial parallel is that there is no such thing as 'neutral' design." Thaler and Sunstein specifically point out that they are not espousing a form of paternalism that drives people to a predefined choice, but rather to architect our lives such that we can make informed choices. Sadly, Food Inc. provides ample evidence that our government (regardless of red or blue state persuasion), rather than acting as a choice architect on our behalf, is often part of the problem.

My personal experience with Chick-fil-A offers interesting food for thought. I have enjoyed Chick-fil-A ever since I was a child growing up in North Carolina. One of the simple pleasures from my childhood was going to the mall with my brother and eating Chick-fil-A. This might not seem like much, but it undoubtedly reinforces my desire to eat Chick-fil-A today. About a year ago, I had contacted Chick-fil-A in response to watching a PETA video demonstrating Kentucky Fried Chicken's suppliers' horrific practices. Chick-fil-A promptly sent me a response indicating that they took this issue very seriously and worked with the USDA to define a set of best practices for humane treatment of chickens.

I continued to eat Chick-fil-A.

After watching Food Inc. I contacted Chick-fil-A again, this time asking them about the production process of their suppliers (mentioning Food Inc. particularly). Once again, Chick-fil-A responded with a prompt, friendly response pointing me to the same USDA website. Having seen from Food Inc. how toothless the USDA can be with enforcement, I decided to pursue this matter further.

Chick-fil-A is a privately held company so it's even harder to discover information about their practices. Thanks to Wikipedia, I discovered that Wayne Farms LLC is one of Chick-fil-A's suppliers. Wayne Farms LLC website highlights their commitment to family values, safe working environments, etc. They apparently even have an audit process to ensure their network "meet the high product quality and safety standards required by Wayne Farms." As I looked around their website, it became clear to me that the site was full of such wonderful statements and claims--and absolutely little or no specific information. What are these "high product quality standards required by Wayne Farms"? I followed up with Chick-fil-A.

Enclosed below is the email exchange between me and Chick-fil-A:

Dear Mr. Choudhury:

Thank you again for taking the time to contact Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A is proud to have many long-standing business relationships with our chicken suppliers.

At this point-in-time, we have several suppliers which have plants in the South, Southeast, and Southwest. All of our chicken comes from chickens that are processed under the continuous USDA inspection program (please visit the following website for additional information: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp).

We regularly visit our chicken supplier facilities, making sure they are reaching our high level of quality requirements. If you are concerned about a particular chicken company and would like to know if they are one of Chick-fil-A’s suppliers, kindly provide us with the company name and your concerns. If they are indeed a supplier, we will be happy to review your concerns or forward your comments to the appropriate parties.

Again, thank you for your time and interest in Chick-fil-A.

Sincerely,

[name removed]
Chick-fil-A CARES
Chick-fil-A...We Didn't Invent The Chicken,
Just The Chicken Sandwich.
On the Web at www.chick-fil-a.com

P.S. Please retain your Thread ID in the message body. This will help us locate your information should you need us again.

[THREAD ID:1-FO5N9E]

------

Hello,

Thanks for this response. Please call me Sayeed. It's good to know Chick-fil-a has its own set of high level of quality requirements for its suppliers. I would love to hear more about these internal requirements. Could you please tell me if any of the following companies are amongst your suppliers and how they match up against your internal set of quality requirements:

Wayne Farms
Pilgrim's Pride
Sanderson Farms
Tyson Foods

Thanks again.

Sayeed

------

Despite multiple follow-up messages from me, Chick-fil-A has not responded to my email. My last message to them clearly stated that I was speculating whether they were ignoring me on purpose or trying to hide information. I told them that every time I felt the urge to eat at Chick-fil-A, I would eat at Chipotle instead (full disclosure: Chipotle is one the sponsors of Food Inc.).

I have stopped eating at Chick-fil-A.

The family farm depicted in Food Inc. as the counterexample to industrial food production is Polyface Inc. I am struck by the number of times we see the letters "Inc" or "LLC" following a name. Initially I was put off by the "Inc." following Polyface. Then I went back to first principles. Incorporated is a legal term, but its first definition is: characterized by unity, being or joined into a single entity; 'presenting a united front'.

My single decision will mean nothing to a large corporation like Chick-fil-A. But what if we combined our decisions? What if Life Inc. didn't refer to the industrialization of everything in our lives, but rather each of us presenting a united front and demanding information and choice?

What gets you out of bed?

Hearing my wife's voice.

Stand by me

In one of my recent blog entries, I talked about a worldwide exchange that results in mellifluous harmony rather than monologues that result in cacophony. I think this video captures what I was talking about:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

Economic earthquakes

Susan Hough, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey, has written an op-ed piece in today's New York Times about earthquake prediction. In an earlier stage of walking within my life's labyrinth, I was involved in this line of research. Her piece makes interesting and insightful observations. It ends with the following sentences:

"The public would like scientists to predict earthquakes. We can’t do that. We might never be able to do that. What people and government can do is work to make sure our houses, schools and hospitals don’t fall down when the next big one strikes, and that we’re all prepared for the difficult aftermaths. We can look around our homes and our workplace and think about what would happen to them if the terra firma suddenly ceased being firm. We can stop worrying about predicting the unpredictable, and start doing more to prepare for the inevitable."

Imagine replacing the words "scientists" with "economists" and "earthquakes" with "recessions" (or "depressions").

Infinite in All Directions

I have been on a whirlwind tour of South and Southeast Asia, some of it intentional, some of it unintentional. Within the span of 12 days, I will have visited Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Dhaka, Delhi and Singapore. Nine flights--two of them about 15 hours duration--and four addresses when all is said and done. Mix in a personal crisis and you have a recipe for complete and thorough exhaustion. While I wouldn't choose this particular pathway, I actually find exhaustion in some doses to be useful. It gives me a reality check on my willpower and stamina. It usually leads to strange but illuminating dreams. It's almost if my shields are stripped away and I'm forced to stare into a spiritual mirror.

As someone who likes to draw connections between seemingly unrelated items, I find Freeman Dyson's Infinite in All Directions particularly appealing. His preference for contradictions rather than clarity resonates with me. While I was in India heading to a workshop on digital preservation, my taxi was charged by a group of running bulls. My taxi driver navigated the situation brilliantly (I had the feeling he'd been through this before), but it still made me realize how odd it must be to focus on digital preservation in a country without clean water for all its citizens. Not exactly the running of the bulls that people seek in Pamplona--or on Wall Street.

I am struck, even dumbfounded, by how much so many people in Asia are trying to emulate Americans. I realize the US remains a dominant force in the world, but there's no denying that the lure of wealth rather than economic aid or military presence has driven this latest round of fascination. People throughout the region are trying so hard to speak, dress, and behave like Americans. And that's the tip of the iceberg.

There is a shiny skyscraper mall in Dhaka that features western retail shops and bright lights. Yet I experienced at least half a dozen power failures in my mother's house in Dhaka. My cousin told me that factories in Dhaka must run according to standards that include air conditioning, one restroom per four employees, an eight hour workday, and a cafeteria. All this so that one secure a contract with WalMart. Apparently, some factory workers rioted when they were served the same food for two consecutive meals. How soon we forget. There's bottled water everywhere which is great. Unless of course you can't afford bottled water in which case you're still dependent on local water supplies--that now may receive less attention given the proliferation of bottled water.

Mumbai is the seat of finance and entertainment in India yet it is still reeling from the horrific terrorist attack last year. My hotel had a metal detector at the entrance, my taxi was examined on the way into the hotel, and there was a guard on each floor. No matter how much everyone asked me in impeccable English if everything was perfect, it was disorienting to the say the least. Apparently, tourism is down in India, yet there's some evidence that high hotel rates rather than fear of terrorism is the main cause. Even now, it's important to maximize profit. Women working in hotels, with airlines, or in restaurants look like they've stepped out of Vogue yet in the newspaper, I read daily about at least two (reported) incidents of men brutally killing their wives for "disobeying" them.

Singapore is a testament to planning, discipline and commitment to society. No doubt that there are tradeoffs involved, particularly related to personal liberties, but I'd love to see an open, honest debate about how their society compares to the US (yes, I realize this debate would probably have to take place outside of Singapore). Yet even in Singapore there is concern that the global financial crisis might lead to "four to six years of recession" in a worst-case scenario. Strange. I don't read such honest assessments in the US press.

The US is a wonderful place in so many fundamental ways. But is it really the only pathway for the entire world to emulate? Do Asian societies really need their own equivalent of "Will it Blend?" How interesting to read articles that some in Asia now believe that the US has its own brand of "third world cronyism" protecting the financial sector.

Freeman Dyson stated: "If it should turn out that the whole of physical reality can be described by a finite set of equations, I would be disappointed." Indeed. While he may have meant this from a scientific perspective, it's highly relevant to consider statement from our current economic lens. The finite set of equations that drove the current financial mess turned out to be nothing more than fantasy. But it seems that we're dealing with a worldwide hangover with very real effects.

Yet even before the economic meltdown, there were signs of doubt. Even with fast food spreading like a virus, there remains incredibly rich diverse local food. While the officials languages at India's national level are Hindi and English, there are dozens of state recognized languages and hundreds of local dialects. The jingle of bangles reminded me that local fashion trends still include Asian elements.

There is a discussion--and in many circles concern--about a global culture. The only global culture that would frighten me is one where Madison Avenue dictates how we behave and Wall Street allocates our resources. If we can have an exchange between different cultures as opposed to a monologue we might have a chance to turning a cacophony of voices into mellifluous harmony that celebrates the diversity of our world.

The world may be flat, but it is still definitely infinite in all directions.