I’m a fan of the band Coldplay. If you are familiar with this band, you may remember the popular song The Scientist from a couple of years ago.
The lyrics of this song are nostalgic in nature – about a person wanting to go back to the start of a particular situation so he can relive something over again and “get it right”.
Now, the restaurant chain Chipotle has sponsored a remake of this sentimental song featuring Willie Nelson. Â The music video is awesome, touching on the theme of needing to go back to the start with regard to the horribly destructive, “down the rabbit hole” Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in order to make things right with animals, man, and the environment.
Chipotle’s motto is “Food with Integrity”. Â The recent decision to replace GMO soy oil with rice bran oil indicates they mean business. While I’ve never eaten at a Chipotle to tell you whether this motto is actually incorporated into the realities of running a restaurant chain, I can say that I seem to remember that their Virginia restaurants buy from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm, known to be an example to the world of sustainable, biodynamic, beyond organic farming.
I saw Joel speak at a seminar here in Florida a few years back and I am almost certain he mentioned that Chipotle was one of the local businesses that his farm served.
Whether or not this is still true, I don’t know. Â I did call Polyface to confirm, but didn’t hear back yet. Â I know those folks are super busy this time of year.
Music to Change The Way the World Thinks About Food
So it seems Chipotle is trying to support local sustainable farms. Â Its website says as much and with their sponsorship of this new music video, they are putting their money where their mouth is.
Music has a strange and wonderful way of communicating what plain words cannot.
The scary truth is that 330 farmers are leaving their homes EACH WEEK in America. Â This trend must be reversed with more small farms being created than being lost if we are ever to send the CAFOs the way of the dinosaur.
My hope is that this music video will help to bring the message of the need for more sustainable farms as well as the need for consumers and other businesses to support them so that no more small farms are lost.
Listen, enjoy and pass it on!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Â Willie Nelson Covers Coldplay, Assists Chipotle’s Quest to End Factory Farms
This is awesome – now if we could just get Chipotle to stop using soybean oil!
Chipotle is the only fast food place I can eat in without getting sick. All of my friends know that. I liked the video.
Our Lexington, KY Chipotle uses grass-fed meat from a local butcher shop. I was very happy to learn this! And it is owned by McDonald’s? Now, wouldn’t that be interesting if McDonald’s got into the act….!
I forgot to ask if anyone knows how to get the white spots out of teeth from flourosis?
You can’t get them out. They are permanent. The only thing you can do is whiten the rest of the teeth so that the white spots are less noticeable.
Bye Bye CAFOs: We’re Going Back to the Start – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/GpU4vVVb
I know this is a different topic, but what would you suggest to do about tooth sensitivity and gum issues? I have periodontal disease and had surgery which I don’t want to have again and I’m only 29! I just started taking the FCLO last month but sometimes forget to take it.
Thanks!
Don’t forget that FCLO! You also need butter oil along with it .. the two work best when taken together.
Great post and video. Shared, Tweeted, Stumbled 🙂
Bye Bye CAFOs: We’re Going Back to the Start – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/qOCnhwPx
On Chipotle’s website they state that their pork is 100% sustainably sourced and they provide details on what this means. It is not the same as their generic “natural” term. I feel like they don’t have enough healthy fats there (although my son loves the guacamole), but we go on occasion if we “need” to eat out. Read their website to know what they are really about.
Hi Sarah – I love this video too, I posted it on my FB page about 6 months ago, and I’m so glad to see others also posting it and getting the valuable messages you talk about here. We watched a show on PBS about a year ago which showed the CEO of Chipotle talking about how some of their food is sourced from Polyface, and in particular they highlighted their pork and showed Joel’s happy pigs in the brush of his farm, rolling and lounging happily in their comfortable home environment. Sometime ago I was involved in a conversation on a message board where people were talking about this restaurant and saying that they still use vegetable oil in their cooking. Like most restaurants, they are going for the cost savings aspect, and also apparently there was some indication that the vegan or vegetarian crowd had some pretty big influence on the use of these oils for cooking. Of course, I sent comments via their link on their site right away suggesting they remove vegetable oils and go with coconut oil or even lard from pastured-pigs. After all, they are getting their pork from Polyface, why not the lard too? Again, the vegan/vegetarian card was put in my face from the person who responded, saying that Chipotle is looking into alternatives, but that their discerning customers who choose not to eat meat would not eat foods cooked in lard. So, there is a lot of education to do still, but these videos and discussions are great and go a long way toward making those changes even closer than they were before. Thanks for this great post! 🙂