Chipotle made the awesome announcement that it will begin delivering burritos to your door. Now, the Mexican grill restaurant has raised the bar on fast food—again!
Chipotle, known for investing in safer, more humane ingredients, has just announced that it will be the first national fast-food chain to ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from its menu.
The chain has been using organic, non-GMO tofu since 2013, but this new menu-wide ban on GMOs will also boot GMO corn out of tortillas. The soy used in tortillas and cooking oil will also be GMO-free. This isn't easy; more than 93 percent of domestic corn and soy grown in the U.S. in 2014 came from genetically engineered seeds. Also, it will continue to serve soft drinks that include sweeteners made from GMO corn.
Last December, Chipotle announced it was having trouble providing pork to all its restaurants for its popular carnitas after an audit found that one supplier was not meeting its standards for raising pigs.
"Chipotle is really showing that there's a better way to do fast food," Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ells told CNNMoney. "They say these ingredients are safe, but I think we all know we'd rather have food that doesn't contain them.''
Chipotle reps say the company is removing GMOs because the long-term health implications of GMOs aren't clear. GMO crops are often engineered to withstand high doses of pesticides. The popular pesticide Roundup has been specifically linked to antibiotic resistance, gut disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and fertility problems. (Learn The Shocking Truth about Roundup.)
Ellis, the CEO, also said that Chipotle's relatively trim list of ingredients made the move possible. He pointed out that a standard fast-food burrito has about 80 ingredients, while a Chipotle burrito is closer to 40.
"It's relatively easy for us to have non-GMO ingredients because we don't have many ingredients in the first place," Ells said. "Like artificial additives, preservatives—we'd just rather not be a part of that."
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