Chipotle Sponsors Free Food, Inc. Screenings

in addition to the sponsorships of the film, are they bringing some burrhittos?

please please!

The free screening of Food, Inc. at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta has been cancelled. Also, it was suppose to be on Thursday July 16th not July 15th.

We fixed any of the dates that were screwed up -- thanks for catching the error!

An unlikely alliance to be sure. Chipotle was largely funded by McDonald’s corporation who was burned badly by the documentary Supersize Me. McDonald’s has fully divested from Chipotle now. It seems to be a smart move on the part of Chipotle to attempt be on the ‘right side’ of this film. However, I do wonder about the decision-making of the film’s backers in accepting this sponsorship which is sure to smack activists working in the food arena, not to mention the millions who read Fast Food Nation with an air of hypocrisy.

Well, the alliance is not that unlikely. Chipotle's Charlottesville store now sources all of its pork from Joel Salatan, the activist-farmer featured in the film (and profiled in Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma). I was stunned to hear that a major chain would reach out to Salatan like that, which definitely speaks to their strong efforts for better food. If they can make it work, the arrangement could be a model for the future. As you can tell from the Paste review of the film, I'm a fan of Salatan and the other farms that he has inspired. One of the treats of the film was getting a brief glimpse of his farm.

You can find more info on the partnership in the Washington Post: http://bit.ly/rN2P0 (I also put a link to a Nightline piece in the comments of review, linked above.)