Tom Philpott, grist.org: “Chipotle grilled — Burrito chain’s Food, Inc. sponsorship generates off-screen drama over farm-worker issues”

While investment and food bloggers tiptoed around Chipotle’s failed efforts to hitch its brand to the hard-hitting new documentary “Food, Inc.” (scroll down to the following story for more on the blogosphere’s collective thumbs down for the fast-food giant), it took a true food justice blogger to get the full story, including powerful quotes from everyone involved in the convoluted drama.

Tom Philpott’s story, posted today on grist.org, is a must-read. Here’s an extended excerpt, with quotes from Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner, co-producer and director, respectively, of “Food, Inc.”:

“As for Schlosser and Kenner, as you might expect from writer/filmmaker types, they have strong opinions. Schlosser wrote the following in an email:

I like the food at Chipotle. I think their efforts on behalf of sustainability, animal welfare, and the misuse of antibiotics are terrific. But I care more about human rights than any of those things.

If Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King, and McDonald’s can reach agreement with the CIW, I don’t see why Chipotle can’t. It will not cost much—and it will help to end human trafficking in Florida.

Although I’m grateful for the support that Chipotle has given to Food, Inc., my views haven’t changed since I signed that letter.

Kenner took a similar position in a phone conversation. He said he admires Chipotle’s commitment to sustainability—in fact, he seriously considered featuring it in Food, Inc. as an example of a large player that’s “moving in the right direction.” “I don’t regret that they’re sponsoring the film,” he emphasized.

But he made clear that he disagreed with the company’s position on the CIW. “In a sense, the film is really about workers’s rights,” he said. “People are aware that animals are being abused [in the food system]. There’s a lot less consciousness about workers.”

The story concludes:

“Ironically, by embracing Food, Inc., Chipotle is highlighting the whole vexed issue of how America treats the people who harvest and prepare its food—which is exactly what Kenner intended the film to do in the first place.” don’t miss the rest of this must-read post

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A giant has passed: On a sad — and decidedly less serious note — a giant of the food industry has passed. Today came the unhappy news that Gidget, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, died at age 15 in Los Angeles.

Many will recognize Gidget from her countless “Yo quiero Taco Bell” commercials, but few realize that, late in her career, she turned her back on the fast-food giant and joined the growing call for not just fast, but fair food.

That’s right, like the actor who portrayed the Marlboro man who campaigned against the tobacco companies before his untimely death from lung cancer, Gidget switched allegiances and joined the movement to reform the food industry and demand full respect for human rights in the fields where fast-food tomatoes are picked.

She even posed for several photos (above) on this website — many, many years ago — to accompany a post that took a critical look at Taco Bell’s PR strategy and the company’s somewhat cynical perspective on its younger customers at the time. We provide a link to that post today, so that those who remember Gidget for the good that she did with her immense talent — and not her early days when she was young and new to Hollywood — can take a moment to reflect on her memory, and on how far Taco Bell and the rest of the food industry have come thanks, in part, to her selfless efforts.