Before you get mad at Chipotle for that "SORRY, NO CARNITAS" sign that has been haunting your lunch hour, you should know that the company is holding out for a really good reason: All they want is to find a pork supplier who raise their pigs humanely.
The chain was forced to drop one of its pork suppliers in January because the supplier wasn't following the company's animal welfare specifications. This forced Chipotle to remove carnitas from about one-third of its U.S. restaurants, about 1,600 locations. "We don't know for sure when we'll be fully supplied again," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, finding a replacement pork vendor has been a challenge. You'd think farmers would be lining up to supply Chipotle, but the company's standards are admirably tough to meet. Not only do the animals have to be free of antibiotics and added hormones, but the company requires that farmers treat their animals humanely— the animals must have access to the outdoors or deeply-bedded barns —however raising them that way makes the animals more expensive to care for.
"We as farmers have always responded to what the market wants," Iowa farmer Chuck Wirtz told Bloomberg. "There are added costs to raise pigs that way. And up until recently, the market has not been willing to pay for that."
This means Chipotle has to go farm-to-farm to find pork that will suit its needs, and that takes time. While we miss our carnitas tacos desperately, we can't be too mad at the reasons behind the missing ingredients. Hopefully, it will end up improving the industry overall by making it worth it —as a business decision, instead of just a moral one— to actually treat these animals right. Until Chipotle's suppliers get their act together, you can (and should) make some delicious carnitas at home. Get started with these easy pork carnitas with garlic and orange, and you can consider that carnitas craving satisfied.
