Chipotle announced the launch of an accelerator program today designed to find new and innovative companies in the food and farming space, primarily ones that focus on technology-focused solutions to problems in the agriculture industry. The program, called the Chipotle Aluminaries Project and sponsored by the company’s foundation, will last seven months and fund growth-stage companies “with a shared vision to cultivate a better world.”
“Chipotle has been committed to the future of food with integrity since opening our first restaurant 25 years ago,” said Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol in a statement. Niccol joined the company in February from Taco Bell, where he helped architect the fast food chain’s resurgence over the last decade. “By sponsoring the Chipotle Aluminaries Project, we’re looking to advance the work of the next generation of entrepreneurs who are disrupting the food landscape,” Niccol added.
Chipotle is looking for non- and for-profit ventures to join the program, and its working with Uncharted, a non-profit partner that will help Chipotle host the program and select its first eight participants. Entrepreneur and restaurant owner Kimbal Musk, the brother of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a board member of Chipotle, will be one of the mentors alongside Top Chef star Richard Blais. According to BuzzFeed, Chipotle’s foundation is investing $200,000 into the program, and the company said it’s open to acquiring any of the participating ventures or in some way integrate their technology into its existing supply chain.
For Chipotle, it’s not clear how the accelerator program will help its ongoing issues, including declining popularity and an repeated food safety crises — the most of recent of which occurred in Ohio last week — that’s crippled the companies sales and stock price since its 2015 high. Chipotle’s Caitlin Leibert, its director of sustainability, told BuzzFeed that it anticipates seeing at least some applicants for the program that are focused on food safety, but that it’s not a core focus. It’s also a possibility that investing in technology could help Chipotle rethink solutions to problems that eventually lead to food safety issues, like more sustainable agriculture practices and plant-based foods that are more resistant to bacteria.
Comments
I feel like GMOs are an innovate technology with the potential to solve a lot of problems in this space, but what do I know.
By TSellers on 08.22.18 8:10pm
Anti-GMO is just as dangerous as anti-vaxers.
By TK-093 on 08.22.18 10:55pm
That’s a ridiculous statement.
By hefferj on 08.23.18 8:22am
Yes and no. I wouldn’t say one is "more" dangerous as the other. Certainly anti-vax is more immediately impactful, and more in the news recently. That said, without GMOs, a solid percentage of the world would starve (not that we don’t already have a solid percentage of the world starving, but it would compound exponentially). GMOs in food are protecting us from all kinds of things, not just starvation. To quote an article in NatGeo:
Link:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/06/what-would-a-world-without-gmos-look-like-/
There’s also the argument that not using GMO would mean an increased use of pesticides; many of which are, of course, safe, but many are not, and come with pretty severe health consequences if consumed.
Point being – if we were to completely stop using GMOs, the consequences would be slower than that if we stopped using vaccines, but no less far reaching in magnitude.
By adamrnope on 08.23.18 9:34am
Vegetables ‘enriched with cancer-fighting chemicals’? Now I’ve heard everything.
By hefferj on 08.29.18 12:10pm
Also, that starvation claim is very dubious. Moreover, the bottom line is that we don’t need GM crops to feed everyone on this planet.
By hefferj on 08.29.18 12:14pm
It’s not ridiculous at all. Science is settled on GMOs and vaccinations.
By TK-093 on 08.23.18 2:13pm
Maybe they should launch a food safety and sanitation accelerator program so they can stop inadvertently poisoning their customers.
By starcrasher18 on 08.22.18 8:12pm
Came here for this, was not surprised to see a like sentiment in the first couple comments.
By hfm on 08.22.18 9:40pm
Excellent. Innovate and make food production cheaper. Why should poors have to miss out on E. coli?
/s
By korhoden on 08.22.18 10:21pm
I believe we have tracked the outbreak back to its source….
By DondeEstaLaBiblioteca on 08.23.18 1:25pm
I think maybe they should just work basic stuff like insuring they have plastic knives at all their locations. Went in there two days ago. Sat down to eat my burrito bowl. No plastic knives. Was told it would "be a few weeks" before they got new compostable knives required by new legislation.
That’s just unacceptable for a national chain focused on fast casual dining. Maybe helps to explain some of the food safety stuff as well. If you can’t get this kind of basic detail right, it bespeaks larger problems imho.
Maybe everybody doesn’t need a knife and fork to eat a burrito bowl without spilling it all over the table, but I do. I suspect I’m not alone in that.
By kingsinger2001 on 08.23.18 4:36pm