Chipotle's farm satire upsets agriculture industry

• Fast-food chain creates TV show that criticizes industrial farming
• Farmers and farm groups say the show misleads the public about farming practices
• One ad executive says the program is a good way for the company to promote its brand

WASHINGTON — Chipotle Mexican Grill, the rapidly growing taco and burrito chain, has tried to stand out from its competitors in the crowded restaurant industry by selling fast food with a socially responsible twist.

But a recent four-episode comedy show on the streaming-TV service Hulu, promoted as an "original Chipotle series," has drawn the ire of farmers and agricultural groups. They say the show's use of exploding cows and its criticism of industrial farming are misleading — making the program the latest public relations ordeal for the agriculture industry. It comes on top of ongoing concerns over how animals are raised, the safety of genetically modified crops and the public outcry over "pink slime" — the name given to lean finely textured beef.

Since its founding more than two decades ago, the Denver-based Chipotle has not masked its opposition to huge industrial farms while at the same time going to great lengths to promote its support of sustainable agriculture.

To spread its beliefs, Chipotle has employed a unique marketing campaign, highlighted by a pair of animated YouTube videos talking about factory farms and the virtues of fresh foods. At the same time, the company is stuffing its popular torpedo-shaped burritos with sour cream and cheese from cows not given synthetic growth hormones, meats from animals raised in humane conditions without antibiotics and tomatoes and lettuce raised organically.

Now comes the comedy series "Farmed and Dangerous," the latest unconventional marketing tool Chipotle hopes will force people to think about where their food comes from and how it's raised — all while drawing more hungry eaters to its 1,600 restaurants.

"It's a very effective tool for us to engage people who aren't paying attention to these issues or who don't know much about them," said Chris Arnold, Chipotle's director of communications. "The more people that understand food and where it comes from the more likely they are to make choices that are similar to the choices (Chipotle) makes. Down the road we think it will pay dividends."

The episodes, which run about 30 minutes including commercials (some of them featuring Chipotle offering consumers the chance to win free food), satirize the lengths that agribusiness and its image-makers go to create a positive image for industrial agriculture.

The first show features a cow given petroleum-based animal feed that promises to reduce agriculture's dependence on oil to fertilize, irrigate, grow and transport crops.

But after the cows begin to explode, and video of the incident is caught on tape by a supporter of sustainable agriculture, the evil Buck Marshall (played by "Mad Men" star Ray Wise representing the fictional Industrial Food Image Bureau) must scramble to protect the industry's image. Other episodes poke fun at the inner workings of big agriculture including the creation of an eight-winged chicken and use of bribes to get their way.

Iowa farmers and agricultural groups said the comedy series portrays an unrealistic picture of what farmers do.

Larry Sailer, a 61-year old Iowa Falls grain farmer who also manages another operation with 4,000 pigs about 20 miles away, said farmers have significantly reduced the use of antibiotics and many raise animals indoors rather than outside because it is safer for the animals. While Sailer supports niche markets in farming such as organic, he objects to Chipotle's bullying tactics "that pick on someone and knock them down" to stoke demand for their products.

"What I do works best for me," said Sailer, a member of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, who has eaten at Chipotle once but has soured on the restaurant following the recent satire. "Over the years from my experience I've evolved into what I think is best for the animals. They put down big ag but they're big food. I just don't appreciate the way they are going at it."

Chipotle opened its first location in 1993 and has since expanded its operations throughout the United States and into Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Today, the company, which sports a market value of more than $17 billion, has rolled out a Southeast Asian restaurant chain called ShopHouse with the same ideals as Chipotle.

Nicole Patterson, a corn and hog farmer in Decatur County, Iowa, said Chipotle is using fear to market their products and is creating distrust in the country's food supply. "For them it's a smart marketing ploy, but for us farmers it's unfortunate because they are using fear and twisting the truth," said Patterson, 20. "I would challenge Chipotle ... to get out to the farms they are putting down, to the family farms like mine that they are calling factory farms."

Chipotle officials say the company understands that running a farm is difficult and growers have tough choices to make as they decide what's best for their families and operations. "Our intention is always to present choices and tell stories in a way that demonstrates that not everything is the same and you have choices," said Arnold. "The industrial ag folks tend to read it as attacks on them or criticism of them. It's never our intention to produce things where that is the aim."

While the shows go to great lengths to promote Chipotle's mission statement "Food with Integrity," the dining chain itself is noticeably missing from the four episodes, except for a short video clip flashing the company's logo and a mention of the company itself by characters at a cocktail party.

Katie Stocking, the owner of Happy Medium, a Des Moines advertising agency, called the satirical series a "great move" for Chipotle. The restaurant chain and its founder, co-CEO Steve Ells, are able to use the platform to promote the company's agenda in a way that gets people talking about its message, while at the same time promoting the Chipotle brand. Increasingly, Stocking said businesses are looking for ways to break through to a public that views corporations as not caring about their employees or lacking moral convictions.

"This is the beginning of the connection advertising wave and getting you to think about the way you live your life and feel emotion," she said. "I think (Chipotle) is truly trying to change" the fast food industry.

Arnold, Chipotle's communication chief, said the company isn't disclosing how many people have watched the series but so far it is "very pleased" with the response. The program was designed to go beyond the first four shows, but Chipotle hasn't decided whether to release more episodes, he said.