| Chipotle Mexican Grill, the fast food burrito chain with | | | | You can find this kind of "green marketing" at just |
| over 900 restaurants across North America, | | | | about every fast food chain in North America these |
| continues to make an unprecedented commitment to | | | | days. Don't be fooled - it's mostly a sham. |
| organic food and supporting local farmers. | | | | Chipotle is different. Chipotle walks the walk. |
| I know it's a cliché, but most fast food chains just | | | | Chipotle's motto is food with integrity, and they can |
| talk the talk. The typical solution to becoming a | | | | back it up with specifics. |
| "greener restaurant" is to ratchet up the marketing | | | | - All chicken and pork (100%) is raised naturally and |
| gimmicks with little to no effort in actually becoming | | | | humanely. |
| carbon-neutral or buying organic meat. Everything is | | | | - 65 percent of beef (100 percent of beef in the |
| about image and perception, not real-world | | | | northeast) is also raised naturally and humanely. |
| significance. | | | | - 35 percent of at least one of each store's |
| Let's take a look at some of the eco-friendly posers... | | | | vegetable items are bought from local farms |
| the fakes... the phonies. They commonly talk | | | | throughout the growing season. |
| generically about green subjects. For example, Moe's | | | | - 30 percent of all pinto beans and black beans are |
| Southwest Grill brags about fresh ingredients and | | | | grown organically.The phrase "raised naturally and |
| grain-fed pork. How fresh? Where do the vegetables | | | | humanely" is not specific. What's considered to be |
| come from? Are the pigs raised out in the open or in | | | | humane? What's considered to be natural? No |
| a factory farm? Moe's doesn't get specific. | | | | worries, Chipotle is proud to lay it all out: |
| For McDonald's, "going green" is simply a matter of | | | | - all-vegetarian diet |
| changing colors. Last November they announced that | | | | - no added hormones or antibiotics |
| they would be changing their logo's background from | | | | - responsible animal husbandry. |
| red to green. Apparently the mega-corporation | | | | - Pork, beef and chicken come from respected |
| doesn't need to be eco-friendly as long as they can | | | | suppliers like Niman Ranch, Bell & Evans and Meyer |
| fool their customers into believing it. For McDonald's, | | | | - Natural Angus |
| buying grass-fed beef is just too expensive when | | | | The best part about Chipotle? The burritos are |
| compared to the corn-fed garbage they sell now. | | | | mouth-watering delicious. Now go get yourself one! |
| Green propaganda is cheap and it goes down easily. | | | | |