Organic

Organic food is food as it was meant to be grown or raised. It’s a pretty big word these days, but it’s not always pretty. Organic produce, for example, can be smaller in size and look less appetizing than its non-organic counterparts. Still, we believe food raised organically benefits people and the environment, and we know it tastes better.

Currently, 40% of our beans are organically grown, which has a number of benefits including a reduction of more than 140,000 pounds of chemical pesticide since 2005. We have been increasing our use of organically grown beans over the last few years and may use even more in the coming years.

Organic is great, but it’s not always appropriate for the food we serve. Sometimes we can find farmers who focus on responsible or sustainable practices but aren’t certified organic. We make that call market-by-market, ingredient-by-ingredient, always keeping the big picture in mind.

Family farmed

Family farms are slowly disappearing, but we’re doing our best to keep that from happening. At Chipotle, we prefer working with farms that are family owned and operated. We like the idea of family farms, but we also believe the foods they grow taste better.

Family farmers take great care to respect their farmland because it’s the only land they have. If they plant one crop over and over that depletes the nutrients in the soil, they’re the ones who suffer. Family farmers rotate crops, plant multiple crops, avoid pesticides and generally farm in a sustainable way.

But just because a farm is small or family owned doesn’t mean it meets our standards. That’s why we spend a lot of time meeting and speaking with each of our suppliers to ensure we’re all on the same page. We also like putting a face to the name - and a face to the farm.

Local

The less distance food has to travel, the better. It just makes sense. Sourcing local food reduces food miles, supports rural economies, and ensures fresh, great-tasting seasonal produce.

How does Chipotle define local? We have established a clear set of guidelines, outlining five categories of local suppliers. Local areas are defined as sourcing from farms within 350 miles from our participating restaurants. Farms are also evaluated on their adherence to our Food With Integrity standards.

It's not possible or practical for us to source all of our ingredients locally. Still, we believe it's important to do as much as we can.

In 2010, Chipotle plans to serve at least 50% of at least one produce item from local farms when it is seasonally available (more than 50% and more than one item any time we can). Those vegetables include romaine lettuce, red onions, green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, and oregano.