RICHARD BERMAN: Chipotle not as healthy as it seems

OPINION:

It hasn’t been the best couple of weeks for Chipotle Mexican Grill. Earlier this month, a California woman sued the burrito corporation for misleading advertising about its use of animal feed made from genetically modified crops. And a nonprofit organization that my company manages recently began a public education campaign to inform the public that Chipotle’s advertising doesn’t cover up their “chubby” products.

Chipotle uses a devious marketing strategy based on irrelevancies to make people believe their food is way healthier than it actually is. Big Burrito’s cynical pandering preys on the fears of an aging consumer base. Each day, about 10,000 baby boomers turn 65, and as they (and all of us) get older, past feelings of invincibility fall away. Chipotle’s “healthwashing” turns food fears into cold, hard cash, with consequences not only for customers’ waistlines, but also for commonly accepted farming practices.

Consider the use of antibiotics in livestock farming. Anti-meat and left-wing environmental activists have called for ending the treatment of livestock animals with any antibiotics, leading Chipotle to glom onto a supposed trend with its “No antibiotics, ever” policy. But wait — Chipotle actually does allow antibiotics to be used in its meat, as long as it comes from Europe. (So much for buying local.)

The company’s hypocrisy aside, there’s very little to fear from farm antibiotics. Most antibiotics used in farming (by weight) aren’t used in human medicine, and the Food and Drug Administration requires that antibiotic regimens be stopped a certain time before a animal enters the food supply so that no antibiotic traces are left in the meat. And banning antibiotics could have a harmful effect — since some infections don’t show symptoms until a certain threshold. Banning preventive treatment might even increase the pathogens in the food supply.

It’s a similar story with genetically improved foods, commonly called GMOs. For all their hype, you can find products produced using GMOs at Chipotle — the sugar and sweeteners in soft drinks are often produced using the technology. And the livestock that later become Chipotle burrito filling eat genetically modified animal feed until the day they are slaughtered. There isn’t even a withdrawal period, so you’re consuming more “GMO feed residue” in Chipotle beef any antibiotic residues in conventional supermarket steaks.

That’s nothing to worry about, as a scientific consensus holds that genetically improved foods are equally safe as organic foods. (This position on GMOs is backed up by a consensus of the American Medical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Britain’s Royal Society of Medicine, the World Health Organization and the American National Academy of Sciences. But who knows: Perhaps Chipotle’s marketing department knows more than the scientists.

And while their burritos use “organic” lettuce and tomatoes, what most people miss is that these veggies are grown in animal manure, which has been known to transmit deadly E. coli bacteria.

Chipotle is not the only company playing at this pseudo-healthy marketing game. We’ve seen it with the “no high-fructose corn syrup” craze, the entire organic food industry, and the long-past “low-fat” fad. By ignoring science in the pursuit of higher sales, the creators behind these trends are creating profits while providing angst for consumers. This marketing niche for companies also results in a healthy dose of intellectual dishonesty that often gives business a bad reputation.

• Rick Berman is president of Berman and Co., a Washington public affairs firm.