Never before in history has humanity been so in need of those who challenge conventional thinking, tear down barriers and take a sledgehammer to preconceived ideas. This is especially true in the economic sector concerned with food production and distribution.
While a growing number of individuals and small companies are willing to step outside the box to help create a new food culture, large corporations have by and large dug in their heels in favor of the toxic status quo. Shareholder profits and excessive executive salaries continue to be the overwhelming focus rather than creation of quality products that won’t harm the consumer in the short or long term.
A well known exception to this is the Chipotle chain of restaurants, where founder, Chairman, and co-CEO Steve Ells continues to push the envelope in the direction of changing the face of fast food in America for the better. Only one year ago, I wrote this post about the genetically modified ingredients on the Chipotle menu, despite the fact that much progress had been made with many local, pastured options available.
Now, Ells has done what no other large restaurant chain has yet been able to accomplish in America: go GMO free with all of its supply chains for prepared foods. The only exceptions are the selection of beverages still manufactured using genetically modified corn and GMO animal feed used by some of the chicken and pork farmers.
Here’s what the Chipotle website said of the announcement:
While some studies have shown GMOs to be safe, most of this research was funded by companies that sell GMO seeds and did not evaluate long-term effects. Evidence suggests that GMOs engineered to produce pesticides or withstand powerful chemical herbicides damage beneficial insect populations and create herbicide resistant super-weeds.
While health advocates and foodies across North America emitted a collective shout of joy at the Chipotle news, one reader hit the nail on the head when I posted about it on the Healthy Home Economist Facebook page.
Mark M. wrote:
Monsanto will probably sue them.
Bingo. While it seems impossible that the GMO titan could do anything about Chipotle’s free market decision to abandon all supply lines that include genetically modified crops and foods, the pessimism is not so far fetched.
Improbably, Monsanto has for years been suing and winning court cases against organic farmers who have had their livelihoods destroyed by GMO cross pollination contamination through no fault of their own. Even the United States Supreme Court upheld the biotech giant’s claims on genetically-engineered seed patents and the company’s ability to sue farmers whose fields are inadvertently contaminated with Monsanto materials (1).
Monsanto arrogance extends to a contempt for the rule of law as well with attempts to stop state legislation to require labeling of genetically modified ingredients. Vermont and Hawaii are most prominently in the crosshairs as of this writing.
The Vermont lawsuit by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) of which Monsanto is a member asserted: “Act 120 imposes burdensome new speech requirements — and restrictions — that will affect, by Vermont’s count, eight out of every ten foods at the grocery store.”
Most shockingly, however, the gargantuan food lobby asserted that the new GMO labeling law violated its right to free speech (2)
In Monsatan speak, this is translated as the right to evade, deceive and lie.
In Hawaii, Monsanto and Dow are suing to stop implementation of a voter backed initiative in Maui to ban the cultivation of GMOs. Monsanto Vice President John Purcell said the law is a violation of state and federal laws that allow for the safe and legal cultivation of GMO products (3).
Monsanto and its biotech allies have even pulled out the stops to put a halt to the approximately two and a half dozen other state initiatives to require GMO labeling by pushing for a law at the Federal level that would outlaw local GMO food labeling laws while permitting “voluntary” labeling of genetically modified ingredients (although voluntary labeling is already allowed by the Food and Drug Administration) (4).
With both organic farmers and state governments in its crosshairs, what’s to stop Monsanto from suing another corporation?
I, for one, think it is highly probable if not likely.
While such a lawsuit would certainly be outrageous, Monsanto has long ago set a precedent for such presumptuous litigious behavior.
Chipotle’s GMO free announcement is a very decisive nail in the coffin for GMOs in North America with or without labeling. One thing is for sure, however: Monsanto is not about to go quietly. Astroturfed news stories about the “safety” of GMOs and how they are going to “feed the world”, Chipotle smear campaigns, takedown pieces about how Steve Ells is a “science denier”, and potential lawsuits are the likely result of the restaurant chain’s “no GMOs” line in the sand.
So sit back and watch the drama unfold. Just be sure to do it from the comfort of your local Chipotle while enjoying a GMO free burrito.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
Independent Experts Identify Lethal Viral Gene in GMOs
11 Scientific Reasons to Avoid GMOs Now
The Real Reason Wheat is Toxic (it’s not the gluten)
GMO Executives Receive Tainted Nobel Price for Agriculture
“Natural” Sodas Made with GMO Sugar Scam Consumers
The Dirty Little Secret About Gluten Free
Roundup and Glyphosate: Quick Death for Weeds, Slow and Painful Death for You
Tossing this out there. Seams a little ironic that Chipolte announces it’s intent to go GMO-Free and now all of a sudden several of it’s restaurants just experienced E.Coli outbreaks. Hmmmm
Could it be, gasp, sabotage? Very much Monstanto’s style too.
I was thinking the same thing. Now they say they found no cause after extensive testing. Where did in come from Monsanto?
The day I first heard of the e-coli issue, my mind went to Monsanto right away. This is why people are losing their minds and losing their faith in humanity.
Meanwhile, in support of Chipotle, I have eaten there virtually every day since the news broke and I haven’t suffered so much as a hiccup.
GMO foods are manufactured to be their own pesticide, or to withstand being sprayed with Roundup and have the plant not die. What does that mean ? You are eating pesticide you cant even try to wash off, and you are eating food that has been sprayed with Roundup – but didnt die, but went on to become your next meal. E coli is from a bacteria, which is why all restaurants have a sign up telling employees its state law for them to wash their hand after using the restroom. ‘GMO food has nothing to do with it causing it to have E-coli. Maybe Monsanto should look into making a way for our food to be safer and resistant to E-coli instead of resistant to dying when sprayed with Roundup. Why have they not made it a priority ? Because the focus is on the food growers getting the most out of their crops, while killing nearby weeds. The food industry nor Monsanto is not trying to make our food safer for us to eat ! Its all about the mighty dollar for the food growers, and Monsanto making mone ! Our health is not a priority for Monsanto
Hi, Sarah,
i just read this:
consumerist.com/2015/09/01/lawsuit-alleges-chipotle-misleads-customers-about-use-of-gmos/
what do you think?
regards,
Yes, I saw this! I think it might be an astroturfed lawsuit with Monsanto behind it. Yawn, Monsanto is soooo predictable.
Hi, Sarah,
you’re probably right;
the plaintiff claims seem rather petty to me.
The case against Chipotle for lying about GMO’s was dropped. As for the e coli outbreak: “The outbreaks have been linked to a bunch of different pathogens: E. coli O157:H7, E. coli STEC 026, Salmonella, norovirus, and, possibly, hepatitis A. This means they are due to different causes at different outlets.”
Is GMO really the issue or is it the use of pesticides like Round-Up that GMO foods are designed to be resistant to? Is it the cancer causing pesticides really the root cause of the bad in the food supply chain and not necessarily because GMO? There are other reasons to hate Monsanto but GMO doesn’t appear to be inherently ‘bad’. I know it’s not popular to say but the anti-GMO movement appears to be based on bad science — similar to the anti-vaccine movement.
well for me that is the biggest issue. Food should not be bathed in Round-Up. But GMO’s and corporate farming in general are not good for the people of Earth. There is so little food diversity today compared with 100 years ago. Seed patents have killed that. If the president wanted to make a real “change” he would have the balls to outlaw GMO’s and potassium bromate in bread. A lot more people would have jobs if just those two things were made into law.
Please go back and research exactly what GMO foods means. You are correct it means they are meant to be sprayed with Roundup and the plant not die. But you better believe you are eating that Roundup when you eat the plant that was sprayed with it. Roundup is meant to kill weeds, not bugs – there for IT is NOT a pesticide. Your comment mention the GMO foods, and the Roundup they are sprayed with but seem to confuse that with pesticides and say maybe it is the pesticides causing cancer and not the crops being sprayed with Roundup which we KNOW causes cancer just by being around it spraying it. So I would imagine eating plants sprayed with it Roundup even worse.
You mention the cancer causing pesticides, BINGO !! GMO food is genetically modified to be its OWN pesticide. It doesnt need pesticides sprayed on it because it is in the genetics of the Monsanto seed that becomes the food you are eating. So you are eating the plant, and part of the plant is a pesticide. That is even worse than spraying plants with pesticides and hoping it can be washed off.. When the seed patented by and sold by Monsanto it is manufactured so that the pesticide is as much a part of the plant as the seeds, and leaves, you can believe the pesticides are making people get cancer. I can not imagine people thinking we can eat these plants that contain a pesticide and sprayed with roundup are not causing health issues
Count me in on the Chipotle! With enough support from the little guy, Monsanto can be beat!
Thanks for raising awareness and helping the cause!
Hopefully, Chipotle has started a trend that others will follow. I congratulate them for making a stand. When I found out that the majority of corn produced was GMO, I stopped eating corn. It is great to know that I can now go to Chipotle and have non-GMO corn on my burrito. Rock on Chipotle!
Its not just the corn. What about the animals that are fed corn, then we eat the animal. Sugar beets are also genetically modified, there is an article somewhere on here about the amount of sugar beets that are GMO. The majority of our sugar does not come from sugar cane like it used to. You may avoid corn or corn chips and tortillas, but what about any food with gravy which may have been thickened with cornstarch. According to the FDA ” many GMO crops are used to make ingredients that Americans eat such as cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, or granulated sugar” A few fresh fruit and vegetables are available in GMO varieties, including potatoes, summer squash, apples, papayas, and pink pineapples. Although GMOs are in a lot of the foods we eat, MOST of the GMO crops grown in the United States are used for animal food” Here is the FDA link where the information above came from:
https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-crops-animal-food-and-beyond