Is Chipotle Still Profiting from Modern-Day Slavery?

Chipotle is something of a beacon in the world of fast food. The company has gone out of its way to source humane, non-factory-farmed meat and an ever-increasing percentage of organic beans and produce. This commitment to sustainability has helped make Chipotle one of the world's fastest-growing restaurant chains, but unfortunately it seems that the commitment does not extend to the workers who plant and pick the Mexican restaurant's food.

As Change.org editor Sarah Parsons wrote last month, modern-day agricultural slavery is unfortunately alive and well. Conditions for the workers who pick our food are bad enough given the lack of labor protections and overtime pay, but in the most extreme cases, the workers are actual slaves. They are kept in debt and controlled with sexual and physical violence, along with the ever-present threat of deportation. In September, federal prosecutors announced forced labor indictments in what the FBI is calling the "largest human trafficking case ever charged in U.S. history."

At least 400 Thai workers were lured here with the promise of guest worker visas, only to have their passports stolen and be forced to work without pay once they arrived. It is the ninth time Florida producers have been implicated since 1997. The Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers labor organization (CIW) has an amazing track record in fighting these kinds of abuses. The non-profit has gotten nearly every major fast food chain — except Chipotle — to sign accountability agreements with the CIW as part of its Campaign for Fair Food.

Restaurants agree to prioritize and reward producers who meet the CIW's standards and code of conduct by paying a penny more per pound of produce. CIW has now turned its sights to supermarkets and food service companies and has already won some big victories on that front. The CIW has earned praise from human rights organizations the world over, and even from the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

In light of Chipotle's stated philosophy of "Food With Integrity," Chipotle's continued refusal to join with the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food, or indeed even to meet with the non-profit, is appalling, not to mention bewildering. Chipotle has tried every tactic from silence to shams to avoid the CIW. Most recently, the company decided to take a go-it-alone approach, claiming that it agreed to the penny-per-pound increase and reviews of labor standards.

News outlets ran with the story and helped Chipotle crow its efforts, but the CIW immediately criticized the plan as lacking any transparency or true accountability, as well as disallowing the workers themselves to have any voice in the process.

It's time for Chipotle to stop the spin and the evasion and live up to its motto of "Food With Integrity."

Sign our petition telling the company so. While you're at it, add your voice to the campaign to get Trader Joe's to sign an agreement with the CIW. It's about time the companies that take advantage of a sustainable reputation actually follow through with their ideals.

Photo: Shane Adams via Flickr