The Giving TableBloghttp://www.givingtable.org/blog/2013-05-21T22:31:03ZSquarespaceWhy Chipotle's GMO Labeling is Good for Consumershttp://www.givingtable.org/blog/2013/5/21/why-chipotles-gmo-labeling-is-good-for-consumers.htmlgivingtable2013-05-21T12:30:39Z2013-05-21T12:30:39Z

AN OPEN LETTER TO CHIPOTLE

Dear Chipotle,

We've come to know you as a leader in sustainable fast food. Your business model includes unconventional practices in the fast food industry, including sourcing ingredients from local farmers, avoiding antibiotics in your meat, and cooking food fresh, on-site every day. We hope to see more companies embracing these strategies in the future.

When you released your ingredients statement yesterday, including a listing of the GMOs found in your products, my first reaction was anger. How can a sustainable fast food company use GMOs? Isn't it against everything they stand for? Chipotle is the only fast food chain I'm willing to eat at. What will I do on nights when I don't want to cook?

When I realized that the ingredients I often consume, including brown rice, crispy chips, and tortillas, contained GMOs, I contemplated what my life might look like without Chipotle. I'll boycott Chipotle, I thought! I'll make burritos at home instead, using ingredients I can source back to the farm they came from! I'll make my own tortillas from scratch! I'll start a petition! This went on for several minutes, but after reading through your statement and really considering it, I came to a different conclusion.

Transparency across all sectors is something consumers are demanding and companies are wrestling with. It's easier to hide behind websites and office buildings, and not come clean. But you chose the path of resistance. You risked losing customers. You chose to do the right thing.

Not only have you clearly stated which ingredients contain GMOs, you also outlined the measures you're taking to eliminate GMOs from your business. Switching from soybean to sunflower oil, working to improve the shelf life of tortillas naturally, and reducing artificial preservatives are important steps.

But even more importantly, you gave me a choice. As a consumer, your transparency has empowered me to make informed decisions about which toppings I'll choose for my salad bowl, or whether I'll eat at your restaurants at all.

Thank you for your honesty, for acknowledging the areas where you can do better, and for actively taking steps to improve your business practices, the fast food industry, and our food system.

Sincerely,

A loyal customer

 

]]>New Regional Cookbook Supports Vermont Food Bankhttp://www.givingtable.org/blog/2013/5/13/new-regional-cookbook-supports-vermont-food-bank.htmlgivingtable2013-05-14T02:29:00Z2013-05-14T02:29:00Z 

This month, a fresh-from-the-farm cookbook has been released by Tracey Medeiros, who moved to Vermont nine years ago for her husband's airline job and fell in love with the food culture in the process. Small, independent farms are the lifeblood of Vermont's agriculture, and the farm-to-table movement has been a staple in local life for generations. As a state, Vermont exemplifies a standard of small-scale, community-minded, unadulterated agriculture that has become a national model.

She said in a recent interview that her hope with this The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook is "to keep these farmers employed and help them succeed. I also want to excite the younger generations, to plant that seed in our youth that says, ‘Maybe I will try to be a farmer one day.’"

In an effort to continue supporting local organizations, 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Vermont Food Bank to help sustain the important work they do. This is a wonderful opportunity to get your hands on a new cookbook and do some food philanthropy in the process.

Inside, you'll find classics like Vermont Cheddar Soup alongside fresh ideas like Ramp Dumplings or Raisin Hell Pie. No matter where you are in the country, you'll enjoy incorporating a piece of Vermont into your weekly menus.

Resources

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]]>Friday Food for Thought: Michael Pollanhttp://www.givingtable.org/blog/2013/4/26/friday-food-for-thought-michael-pollan.htmlgivingtable2013-04-26T14:00:33Z2013-04-26T14:00:33Z

Michael Pollan's latest book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, hit the shelves this week. He's since appeared on many news outlets, blog posts, and television shows discussing what it means to cook and why it's critical to helping change the food system.

Today's Friday Food for Thought comes from an interview Pollan did with The Atlantic, where he shares that the now-famous Wendell Berry adage, "eating is an agricultural act" is what inspired him to pursue food. Buried deep in the interview is a quote befitting our recent event, Food Bloggers Against Hunger. "When people are more conscious about their food choices," he says, "they can change the food system." This optomism is inspiring, and I hope it starts your weekend off on a good note.

"When people are more conscious about their food choices, they can change the food chain. They can change what happens on the farm. I think it's one reason that so many people are finding their way to food as an interest and as a focus of their political energies. Food issues have a tremendous bearing on everything from the environment to public health to monopolization of the economy, and food activism is producing results that you can see. At a discouraging time, it's a very empowering issue."

-Michael Pollan

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