There Aren't Enough Antibiotic-Free Cows For Chipotle

Antibiotics in your burrito bowl? Could be. Chipotle is considering bending its rules on serving only “naturally raised” beef amid a supply shortage. The company says there just aren’t enough drug-free cows to satisfy our giant appetite for tortillas stuffed with steak and barbacoa.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has developed its menu—and reputation—around sustainably grown food, even committing recently to reducing its use of genetically modified ingredients. Its policy has been to purchase “naturally raised” beef (which means the animals were never given antibiotics or hormones) since 1999.

“We just need more (and it isn’t there),” spokesman Chris Arnold writes in an e-mail. Last year, Chipotle served more than 120 million pounds of responsibly raised beef, pork, and chicken. In a release issued Tuesday, the chain said it currently uses “conventional” beef in times of shortage only and posts notices when this happens. Chipotle is contemplating revising its policy so that meat from animals given antibiotics only to treat illness—not to promote weight gain or prevent disease—could be served at restaurants normally.

“The supply of naturally raised beef is certainly tight,” says Arnold. “So it is definitely a challenge to get everything we need, and right now, we can’t get all that we need.”

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bloomberg Businessweek