Chipotle: A World of Pure Imagination

About four years ago, I realized the extremely important role advocacy plays in agriculture and saw the limitless value of telling my story. I’m proud to share the stories about the small role I play in food production while working alongside my father, husband and in-laws. I do this because there are plenty of people out there that daily strive to push consumers towards niche products such as organic beef, cage-free eggs or vegan bacon (which is not really bacon, btw). While I’m all about choice, I don’t like it when we suggest that making one food choice is safer, more sustainable or better than another food choice—especially when it’s not true.

Inquiring minds want to know when they're going to be fed.....

While things like the latest Chipotle video may be successful at attracting press, blog hits and consumer interest, the one thing they fall extremely short of achieving is creating constructive conversation about food production and the wholesome goodies on our dinner plates.

Whether it’s this latest video or others like it, it reiterates to me the importance of sharing stories about how food is really raised today. I strongly urge all producers to continue to use your voice and tell the real story of farming – right now there are consumers around the nation, and the world, putting their Google skills to the test trying to find out information about how beef, chicken and pork are produced and how livestock are treated. This is a critical component of agriculture – while we may not all agree on the what is the ‘right’ way to do things, we can all agree that no one benefits from denigrating farmers and ranchers other than the marketers and businesses themselves.

Baby beef!

Do you have pictures of you or your family caring for your livestock? Put them online with a short story about the pride you have in providing high quality care and producing safe, healthy food.  That’s the real story of farming and you should be proud of it.

When they hear the dinner bell (it's actually a siren) they come runnin'! As they pass by, we make sure everyone is present and accounted for - if not, we ride around the pasture to look for escapees or sick cattle.

Farmers and ranchers have been sharing the story of agriculture for several years and should continue to do so! Here are some great examples of producers opening up the barn doors to all who wish to view inside.

·         Anne Burkholder – a feedlot owner from Nebraska

·         Debbie Lyons-Blythe – a cow/calf rancher in the Flint Hills of Kansas

·         Ryan Goodman – a farmer from Tennessee who talks about beef, food and ranch life

·         Bridget Coon – a ranch wife in Washington who raises beef with her family

Even if you aren’t a wizard of words, you can post a picture and short sentence about your daily practices – a la Wordless Wednesday (or in my case, Semi-wordless Wednesday). Again, it is up to you to make sure that American consumers know exactly how their food is produced and that they can be confident in farmers and ranchers to do the right thing.

Podge is my role model for many things -- horsemanship, cattle care and his dedication to doing the right thing, even when it's not easy, are just a few of his outstanding qualities.

Are you a supplier to Chipotle, do you raise naturally raised beef or meet the Chipotle specs or know someone who is? PLEASE comment below – I’d love to talk with you and hear your thoughts on this!

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

The thoughts and opinions of this blog post strictly represent that of Brandi Buzzard Frobose and are NOT representative of any other entity or organization.

Chipotle, Hypocrites No More, To Use Antibiotic Treated Beef (Maybe)

No lie, folks. Turns out, when beef cattle numbers are at a 60-year low the niche markets that Chipotle buys from suffer too.

News hit Tuesday that Chipotle can't find enough natural beef to meet the demand for their customer base and headlines screamed that the Denver-based chain would have to use beef that has been treated with antibiotics (surprised?).

Quote from the New Jersery Star-Ledger:

For years, the eatery with nearly 120 locations in New Jersey has touted its meat as “naturally raised” and not fattened with antibiotics. But because beef production is expected to hit a 21-year low next year, about 15 percent to 20 percent of its inventory will have been treated with antibiotics to prevent illness – but not proactively to add bulk.

Allowing sick animals treated with antibiotics to remain in Chipotle’s supply chain will increase the amount of beef available to the company.

On its website, the company says “Once in awhile we do experience a shortage in certain areas of the country and we’ll let you know at the restaurants if that happens.” 

Well, that last paragraph is true - Chipotle has been sourcing conventional beef for months.

HOWEVER, apparently there was some miscommunication in burrito land because yesterday Chris Arnold, Chipotle spokesman, told NPR that the chain is considering sourcing beef raised with responsible antibiotic use but has not yet fully committed. Guess they'll just have to stick to sourcing conventional beef behind-the-scenes.

Glass half-full perspective - They have the opportunity to no longer be hypocritical.

Glass half-empty - They are still masters of the craft of misinforming consumers to make a buck.

Whether you're a Chipotle fan or not, we can all be confident that ALL American beef -- natural, organic or conventional -- is safe for consumption and is antibiotic-residue free. If you want more facts, check out this resource.

I'm still not eating there - I don't understand what the big deal is, it's just a burrito joint.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

p.s. clearly, the photo above is not from Chipotle but it goes to show that a fresh, tasty burrito/taco can come from anywhere. Pork sausage tacos and garden fresh veggies at the Frobuzz ranchero. Easy peasy.