Are you sure that's natural?

Last month, a very popular restaurant based in Denver that sells Mexican food across the United States posted a video on YouTube has raised controversy amongst its seven million viewers. This restaurant is known as Chipotle. The animated three minute and twenty three second short film consisted of a scarecrow farmer that moves to the city to find a job. When he gets there he comes to realize that many of the things that are labeled “All Natural” and “Farm Fresh” are nowhere close to being natural. The animals are given chickens are given different types of injections to make them twice as large, and the cows are hidden in dark places completely opposite of their natural habitat. However, the consumers of these “natural” foods are completely oblivious to what is happening behind the scenes and continue to support and buy food from these companies and businesses. But don’t just take my word for it… watch the video for yourself:

Now how exactly do you feel after watching that? Do you feel like you have been lied to or taken advantage of? I’m sure however you feel is far from honesty. At the end of the film, the scarecrow went and discovered new ways to not only help the people, but also his environment. If he could do it by himself, why can’t we all come together and make a change? I’m sure it won’t be simply that easy, but once we start the world of food evolve leading us to a much better future.

                Currently, the most disputed part of the debate is the genetically modified organisms- also known as GMO’s- in foods. Last year, Chipotle became the first national company to post on their website which items on their menu contain GMO’s, soon after that, Whole Foods and Ben and Jerry’s followed. Because of this, consumers are becoming more interested in what exactly they are eating, which does not seem illogical at all. Chipotle decision to list this is a good start to changing the way we eat.

                Many companies have lacked using all natural products because of the costs. It would be more expensive and time consuming. This is the same issue that consumers face with making the choice between buying fast-food and buying items to cook a home cooked meal. The healthier option not only costs more money, but also costs more time. However, what they don’t realize is that the time and money they are saving now through buying fast-food will hurt them in the future.