Dear Reader-
I remember a while back when that movie Unstoppable came out… ya know, that one about the run away train…
Most people were a buzz, talking about what a great movie it was. Thrilling, heart-stopping, emotionally-driven action flick at its best.
Around my house on the other hand, my 10 year veteran of the railroad of a husband was singing a much different tune…
“The dispatcher didn’t do that…”
“A yardmaster would never be in that situation…”
“It is physically impossible for the train to even do that…”
For weeks, he shared his frustration over how Hollywood got it wrong and how no one cared or noticed.
Thankfully though, for now, railroader jobs, ethics and livelihoods aren’t being called into question over Hollywood’s tendency to shape the details the way the want them to make for a “good story”. For the most part people see my dispatcher husband in a GOODe light and I appreciate that… Hollywood’s gotta make their money, right? So they tweak the details to sell their tickets and we all let the details slide a little.
*****
But what if someone called the ethics and the livelihoods of your husband or your best friends or your neighbors into question… for the sake of making a buck or two (or say millions).
Enter Chipotle…
https://youtu.be/aMfSGt6rHos
Yahoo claims they almost stole the Grammy show with their commercial and from the looks of Twitter and Facebook, they might be right.
Although I have to tell you being someone who grew up a farmer’s daughter and currently works with farmers everyday, my streams were filled with a much different message than the cheers for the brilliant marketing score by the altruistic burrito maker.
Words like “disappointed”, “grossly distorted”, “misrepresentation”, “fiction”, “mis-characterization” filled my streams.
To put it plainly, my friends feel they have been lied about.
Not only that, but that their integrity and morals had been called into question by this two minute cautionary tale that was served up as the truth to a hungry public.
*****
My heart goes out to them.
I can only remember one occasion where someone told a bold-face lie about me to cause me harm. Man did it sting. I felt so helpless. It wrecked me because I realized that when that person decided they could make up their own truth about me, there was no foundation of integrity to rebuild trust or work together to find solutions to our differences. Someone stood up for me that day, thank heavens.
I can’t imagine how it feels to have a company’s marketing budget thrown at you- demonizing and demoralizing what your family works hard for 365 days a year- all for the sake of selling burritos, albeit to the tune of $178M.
And, truth be told, at least for now, that is what this seems to be all about…
Turns out farmers are claiming that not only is Chipotle not sourcing their food from the types of farms they are serving up to me and you as ideal, but even when given the opportunity, Chipotle is NOT practicing what they preach.
******
I might be wrong, but I personally feel the biggest misrepresentation here is that Chipotle isn’t talking about some immoral misguided farmer some place somewhere.
No… if you live in a rural area or grew up there, Chipotle is calling into question those farmers who happen to be your school teachers, your church deacons, your neighbors and your friends and you may not even realize it. (You may have missed it because they don’t have a huge vat of green goo outside their farm… just sayin’.)
Ya see, commercial/traditional farming is not some face-less industry to me.
It is the girlfriend I can chat for hours with.
My youth group leaders growing up.
A former colleague turned friend.
An accidental blogging bud.
A shoulder I cried on.
One of the most creative people I know.
The blogger I stalk and the friend I stalk with.
My Blissdom Roomie.
The farmer that took hours to show me around his farm.
A friend I think about often.
One of the sweetest people I know.
The friend that everyone wants to hang out with when she comes to town.
One of the funniest bloggers I know.
A mother I can relate to.
I could go on and on.
Let me say that I think the emotions the commercial stirred up are good. I think people deserve to know where there food comes from. I walk among those folks everyday and I feel a sense of pride–not shame.
And, if someone wants their food raised “all natural“, grass-fed or organic, I support their right to choose and the farmers that provide that choice to them.
But here is the thing… I don’t like being lied to and while that commercial paints ideal imagery of the way they think things should be for everyone, I have been on farms of all sizes all over Indiana and not once did the negative imagery in that commercial fit a single large farm I have been on…nor does the positive apparently reflect Chipotle’s real life situation either.
And while I would love to think that a burrito company is interested in changing the world, their approach of serving up fiction as truth to simply to sell their product is personally causing me to pause.
If you can’t trust what they say about others, how can you trust what they say about themselves?
I get that they are trying to make money. But lying about my friends ain’t cool Chipotle… it just ain’t cool.
(Steps off soap-box)
About Cris
I am the mama behind GOODEness Gracious and the owner of Cris Goode Solutions. Here at GOODEness Gracious, we like to keep it light and fun as we cook up family meals, share our super mommy secrets and chat it up about the GOODe life:) So come on in and sit a spell.
Anonymous says
I saw that commercial online months ago. It made me a little ill then, but I didn’t see much buzz about it. I’m sad to see that it has resurfaced. It definitely paints “modern” farmers in a very poor light, and idealizes what farming “should” be. Are farmers perfect? Absolutely not. But no one is. As farmers, we try our hardest to do what is best for our animals, our farms, our families, and your families. Instead of villainizing farmers, we should be thanking them. I love Chipotle burritos, but I haven’t purchased one since I saw this commercial. I’m not sure I can support a company who would betray the farmers that provide their food.
Jennifer Campbell says
Good Job and Thank You! <3
Katie Olthoff says
c&P part of Marybeth’s comment below and sharing this on facebook. You’re right – we were lied about. I’m on a mission to get the truth out – thanks for the support!
Lana Wallpe says
YOU ROCK CRIS! Thank you!
Katie @Pinke Post says
Thank you for sharing and getting your message across Cris in such a clear manner. You’re right. It’s not the truth and a marketing tool. We need more people like you countering and media that is willingly to listen to the whole story. Keep sharing and connecting. As a farmer’s daughter myself there are no “faceless” farmers to me. Large to small farmers are all farmers and we all have different practices. It takes all kinds to make burritos and to most importantly feed us beyond just a fast food option!
Brian Scott says
Some of the comments I saw yesterday on the Chipotle Facebook page were asking why farmers were so upset. These consumers thought that you would only need to get mad if your farm operated like the “factory” farm in the video, implying you have something to hide. That was interesting to see because there were definitely a lot of farmers making their voices heard on Facebook. Made me wonder what the average consumer reading those posts thought.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t be upset, because I think they have every right. I didn’t post directly on their page, but I made my thoughts known throughout the day. We are out of the hog business now, but there are a lot of large hog barns here in Indiana. Maybe it’s time for me to visit a neighbor and see the inside of one of these buildings for my own eyes.
Anonymous says
Brian-
I think you hit the nail on the head about visiting your neighbors. This conversation has to be two-sided. People deserve to know where their food comes from and farmers and the ag community need to be open and willing to share with them.
It is okay to call foul, however, there is a much bigger discussion to be had and if we don’t speak up and offer a welcoming opportunity to those interested in learning about where there food comes from, others will gladly do so (while making money off of their fears) and speak on behalf of our community.
Jeri says
I think you read way too much into this. It is not the farmers that are in question, but what happens after leaving the farm. According to an article at tasteofcountry.com it was supposed to represent, “In the two-minute commercial, a peg-person farmer becomes distraught when he sees what happens to his family-farmed meat after it leaves the property, as it’s pumped with chemicals and altered to become something it isn’t in an industrial factory.” I think that many of us are unaware of the genetically modified foods we eat that become that way once they leave the farm. So many of the commercials, movies, television shows, and music we see and hear don’t really represent reality, because most reality is not exciting or glamorous and most of us aren’t competing for any prize beyond a happy, healthy life. Everything taken from media sources (i.e. Internet, movie, commercial, etc.) should be taken with a grain of salt.
I do agree that if Chipotle doesn’t follow these ideals then shame on them for the misrepresentation.
I think that most farmers are respectable and commendable. It takes a lot of work and sacrifice to run a farm. Thank you farmers for the food we eat!
Anonymous says
Jeri- Thank you for having an overall positive attitude toward farmers. Unfortunately, however, I see this commercial differently. The concept is that the farmer himself is becoming a “factory farmer” and sees the “error” of his way and then returns back to a more natural way.
They imply he’s pumping his animals full of needless hormones and antibiotic–something no profitable producer would do as they know the need to preserve the efficacy of such products by using them only when necessary. Also, I’m curious to know how a food can become genetically modified after it is harvested. I’m not a scientist, but I’m pretty sure that’s completely impossible.
Farmers get upset because people believe these skewed messages and then are swayed to legislate to control farmers and prevent these supposed injustices. When people create laws based on lies there are terrible consequences.
The farmers I know (and I know a lot of them) are extremely intelligent people. They continuously educate themselves on how to best use antibiotics, fertilizers, etc., how to steward the environment, how to ensure the safety and productivity of their animals and much more. They have to be knowledgeable about chemistry, medicine, biology, physics, know how to fix machinery and much more to be successful at their jobs. Agriculture is extremely complicated. Beware those that try to boil down into 2-minute clips an industry that has been thousands of years in the making.
Please continue to learn about where your food comes from. The technology and thought that goes into the industry is amazing and if you want to go meet with a farmer you will find most would be glad to tell you their story.
Anonymous says
Thanks so much for sharing your insight.
I can understand why some folks might be a little confused as to why good family farmers would be upset or hurt by Chipotle’s approach. It is an attractive piece that seems to celebrate farms, however, as you point out the a lot of farmers feel they really crossed a line.
The main issue as I see it is that Chipotle’s commercial draws a line as something good vs. something bad when in reality, there are good people raising healthy food in modern ways.
It isn’t the size of the farm that determines whether it is good or bad or even always the techniques for the most part, but rather the ethics of the people farming and in Indiana and across this nation we have a lot to be proud of big and small. Chipotle’s simplistic good vs. evil approach did not honor that in my opinion.
Anonymous says
This is totally not an attack on you – but I do want to clarify the definition of genetic modification because so many people don’t understand genetics! While some foods are processed after leaving a producer, foods are not genetically modified once they leave the farm. You cannot change an animal’s genotype after they are born. An animal’s genotype is determined from the moment of conception, whether it be by natural or artificial matings – An animal is not genetically modified unless you alter an egg or sperm’s DNA prior to conception. A plant’s genotype is determined during the fertilization process and cannot be changed once the seed is formed. Same principle – you have to modify the DNA of an ovule/egg and pollen grain prior to fertilization.
Anonymous says
Thanks so much for the clarification Sara. The words and terms that are being thrown around these days cause so much more confusion than clarity I’m afraid.
Anonymous says
Jeri-
I tried to follow the link, but I didn’t see where the quote came from. I did re-watch the commercial with your view in mind and I can see how it could seem like it wasn’t the farmer, however the ending where the farmer “comes to his senses” makes me feel like they were pointing the finger at the farmer.
While food may eventually find its way to some form of processing, I think terms like genetically modified are being thrown around these days and confuse a lot of people. Food can be processed once it leaves the farm, but it can’t be genetically modified… but again, I totally understand the confusion.
I really appreciate your confidence in today’s farmers and I agree that everything online should be taken with a grain of salt.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Sam Wildman says
Very well said!
Paul Melanie Fritsche says
As a family who’s sons represent the 4th generation working with our registered herd, and have dairy farming on both sides of the family, I applaud you for putting the message out there. I saw Chipotles ad that night and my first reaction was cute until they turned (in my eyes) nasty in the automative impression of farming they were leaving. Chipotles message seems to be that we in agriculture should never embrace technology, changing practices and hEAVEN FORBID modern medicince and health safety. If they operated that way I guarrentee they would not be profitable nor would they pass health inspections in their resturants!