Chipotle Takes The Stairway to Heavin'

The good news is, well, there really isn't any. That is, if you are an executive at Chipotle.

The company hopped on the anti-GMO scam-wagon too little, too late, and managed to screw it up royally.

This past April, the company proudly trumpeted its earth-shattering decision to remove all GMO ingredients from its food: "Chipotle is the first national restaurant chain to cook with only non-GMO ingredients."

Since then, pretty much nothing has gone right.

The Washington Post jumped ugly on the company not long after the announcement: "Thus has a leading food company added its imprimatur to a global propaganda campaign that is not only contrary to the best scientific knowledge but also potentially harmful to vulnerable populations around the world."

And: "In other words, the anti-GMO lobby has scared people, and burritos can be sold by pandering to these fears."

Yikes. Sounds like something we'd say.

Things have not improved all that much since.

A class action lawsuit that was filed in August in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleged that Chipotle s non-GMO advertising is false, misleading, deceptive, unfair and unconscionable."

Could this possibly be? It would appear so: "Among the problems: the meat and dairy products Chipotle serves come from animals that consume genetically modified food, and it serves soft drinks that contain GMO ingredients."

Oops.

And this sure didn't help. From UPI, Sept. 12th: "Minnesota salmonella outbreak tied to Chipotle locations, heath officials say."

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, at least 45 Minnesotans came down with salmonella food poisoning after eating at Chipotle since the beginning of September. Of the 34 people that were interviewed, 32 had eaten in at least one of 17 Chipotle restaurants during that time. Five have been hospitalized.

Salmonella infection is not something you want to deal with.

Earlier this month, more than 300 people in 30 states got the bug from cucumbers that were imported from Mexico. Seventy of them were so sick that they had to be hospitalized, and two people died.

In what must be up there with the greatest ironies in history, Andrew & Williamson Fred Produce, the suppliers of "cucumbers of concern," recalled all of its product. The brand name (I kid you not) was "Limited Edition," which makes it impossible for you to not wonder what their "Unlimited Edition" products are like.

Holy Chipotle, Batman!