DENVER, March 4, 2008 – Steve Ells, Chipotle Mexican Grill's founder, chairman and CEO, has been named to the board of directors of The Land Institute, a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to addressing sustainable agriculture issues.
“Chipotle is changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food by making gourmet food, made with more sustainably raised ingredients, available to everyone,” said Ells. “Our mission is very compatible with the work of The Land Institute, which is working to develop an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the native prairie and a grain yield that is comparable to annual crops. In different ways, both the Land Institute and Chipotle are working to profoundly and positively change food culture.”
“We've always admired Steve's commitment to sustainable agriculture and how Chipotle is dramatically improving the quality of food that is available to people in this country,” said Wes Jackson, president of The Land Institute. “We value his leadership and his vision of ‘Food With Integrity,' which works in concert with our goal of building ecologically stable agricultural systems.”
Food With Integrity is Chipotle's constant process of searching for food that is raised or grown with respect for the land, the environment, the animals, and the people who produce the food. This vision has led Chipotle to serve more naturally raised meat (meat from animals that are humanely raised, never given antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet) than any other restaurant company; more than 52 million pounds in 2008.
In addition, all of Chipotle's dairy products are made with milk from cows that are not treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), used to stimulate milk production in dairy cattle. Chipotle is also purchasing an increasing quantity of organically grown beans, and exploring opportunities to source locally grown produce.
Ells joins board members Anne Simpson Byrne, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers Financial Services Advisory Practice; Strachan Donnelley, Ph.D., founder and president of the Center for Humans and Nature; Terry Evans, Land Institute Arts Associate; Pete Ferrell, owner and manager of Ferrell Ranch; Mary Laucks, president of the Laucks Foundation; Victoria Ranney, president of Prairie Holdings Corp.; Lloyd G. Schermer, retired chairman and CEO of Lee Enterprises; Donald Worster, Ph.D., distinguished professor of American history at the University of Kansas; and Angus Wright, Ph.D., professor emeritus of environmental studies at California State University, Sacramento. The organization's officers are Conn Nugent, chairman of the board, and executive director at J.M. Kaplan Fund; Wes Jackson, Ph.D., president of The Land Institute; Jan Flora, Ph.D., secretary, professor of sociology at Iowa State University; and John M. Simpson, treasurer, attorney and former Kansas state senator.
About Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG and CMG.B) offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food not only from using fresh ingredients, but ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. Chipotle opened its first restaurant in 1993 and currently operates more than 700 restaurants. For more information, visit www.chipotle.com.
