As a kid I grew up working on a dairy farm and even today, all these years later I still think that was one of the best times of my life. It wasn’t a big modernized farm factory but rather what is quaintly referred to today as a family farm where hard work was the norm and mechanization was carefully considered before implementing.
It definitely wasn’t what most people consider farms to be today with their massive amounts of modern technology used throughout all aspects of the farm, to the point it more closely resembles a factory than it does a farm. I have watched many documentaries that look at the so-called benefits of these huge businesses that gave up any pretense of being a family farm a long time ago and I wonder what we have lost in the process.
This is a question is one that apparently Chipotle is asking as well and in order to find out, as well as find ways to help bring the small American family farm back, they have launched a new initiative called The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, thought its Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant chain.
In their mission statement Chipotle says it is committed to creating a more sustainable and healthful food supply as well as trying to raise awareness concerning our food supply issues. Part of that means finding ways to help support family farmers, their communities, educators, and programs that will help teach future generations about food sustainability. They are also committed to helping farmers and ranchers who want to move to a more sustainable food supply model.
To this end Chipotle has donated over $2 million to help fund initiatives that support sustainable farming, family farming, and innovations that help innovation in the food supply.
As apart of their awareness campaign Chipotle has been getting musicians to create music videos that highlight the program’s mission. The first one was released in August 2011 with Willie Nelson doing a cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” in an animated music video that traces the move by a farmer that goes from being a family farm to a farm factory and back to a family farm.
The newest video from the foundation has Kathy O from the band the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s doing a cover of the Willie Nelson and Waylon Jenning’s hit “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” where the song is used as the backdrop in a video of three boys exploring an abandoned house.
The house turns out to have been that of a farmer who had his farm foreclosed on and the one boy realizes that what he finds isn’t all that different than his life could be like.
