Saturday, November 19, 2011

Chipotle Cultivate Foundation



Thanks to my brother, Ray, for sending me this video.

This video is fantastic!  Yeah, it is ultimately an advertisement for Chipotle (which I must admit is one of my favorite restaurants), but the message behind the video is powerful.


Chipotle is literally putting their money where our mouths are... in sustainable agriculture.  They have created the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.  From their website:


The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation is committed to creating a more sustainable and healthful food supply and to raising awareness concerning food issues. This is realized through the support of family farmers and their communities, educators and programs that teach younger generations about food matters, along with support for ranchers and farmers who are working to develop more sustainable practices. 


Over the last several years, Chipotle has contributed more than $2 million to help fund initiatives that support sustainable agriculture, family farming, culinary education, and innovation that promotes better food. The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation is a non-profit organization established by Chipotle Mexican Grill to continue and strengthen its philanthropic efforts. 




This idea, philosophy, is directly in line with what Permaculture is all about.  Check out their website if you get a chance!





3 comments:

  1. It’s funny with all the food security issues arising and the known problems with current agricultural models that even though sustainable methods are a viable solution, many people have developed some strange mental blocks to 'thinking outside the box', for example in just looking at their whole idea of gardening, starting at the most basic bottom level.
    I had friends once, envious of my salads and vegetables and growing areas ask me what to do with their rather pitiful-looking set of raised beds. The "weeds" alone discouraged them to give up. So beginning there...Weeds? I started pointing out nettles and mallows and chickweed and clovers...Every "weed" they saw was actually a wild edible, so rather than fighting them, why not eat them I suggested, then plant your desired garden plants? Sigh, her family recoiled at the thought of eating 'weeds' regardless of their nutritional profiles, much less going through the 'hard work' of trying to identify them. (If (ewww) WEEDS are good for you, how come they don't sell them at the grocery store? I was asked.) OK, use that plot with a 'living mulch' of clover...oh, NO, it attracts bees that sting us. OK, what about composting your weeds?...Oh, they didn't have a 'professional' set-up to do that 'stinky' stuff.... Sigh. People ask for help, but how to help them when you're fighting ingrained paradigms?
    Just trying to introduce some people to the absolute basics can be very difficult because on one hand we're fighting the 'big box Home Depot garden center plants' mentality and squeamishness towards 'off the beaten path thinking’ while on the other the expectation of instantaneous results, i.e., permaculture/sustainable agriculture sounds great but I want it NOW, the perfect Sunset Magazine-type garden seen in the glossy magazine to magically appear overnight.
    Thanks for putting up articles like this that remind us that there are people out there willing to do what’s necessary to effect change, both mentors and willing learners, who refuse to be crippled by the status quo ways of thinking. Never give up!
    Beth

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  2. Beth,
    That is one of the most intelligent comments ever left on my site. Thank you so much for your insight and your kind comments.

    John

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