ShareThisChipotle Mexican Grill and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ended their standoff this week over a chicken-slaughtering policy.The Denver-based fast-casual restaurant chain agreed to give preference to suppliers that use what the animal-rights group calls a less cruel killing method.PETA said it withdrew a resolution it placed on Chipotle's proxy in light of the announcement. The group was lobbying Chipotle -- and dozens of other restaurants, supermarkets and meat suppliers -- to support controlled-atmosphere killing, a technique that exposes birds to gases that put them to sleep. "While we wish that Chipotle's customers would stick to the great vegetarian items on the menu, the company should be commended for taking steps to improve the dying conditions for some of the animals," PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich said in a statement.Chipotle, with about 700 stores, has been at the forefront of promoting animal welfare, avoiding antibiotics and hormones in its meat and not buying from pork suppliers that use gestation crates. Company spokesman Chris Arnold said Chipotle always intended that humane treatment policy encompass slaughter as well, but the company amended its policy to make that more explicit.The company's policy now says Chipotle will give preference to suppliers who use "the most humane method of slaughter, including emerging technologies," Arnold said.Earlier this year, Chipotle unsuccessfully petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission to bar PETA's shareholder resolution, arguing that it would interfere with supplier relations and micromanage Chipotle's business. Burger King, Wendy's and Safeway are among the companies that also have agreed to give purchasing preference to suppliers who used controlled-atmosphere killing.Most chicken suppliers use a method called electric immobilization, in which the birds are run through an electrified water bath before their throats are slit. PETA argues that the process is cruel because, among other things, the chickens may suffer broken bones or still be conscious when their throats are slit.Chipotle said several of its suppliers are looking "very seriously" at the controlled-atmosphere killing method. E-mail Joyzelle Davis at davisj(at)RockyMountainNews.com.(Contact Joyzelle Davis of the Rocky Mountain News at www.rockymountainnews.com.)
Chipotle, PETA reach pact on humane killing
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