I did not watch the Grammys, but did not have to in order to learn about the Chipotle controversy. Shortly after the ad for Chipotle Mexican Grill aired, my social media channels exploded with outraged ag folks venting on the commercial that discredited modern agriculture. The posts were filled with outrage over the misrepresentation of farmers in the ad and the misinformation conveyed to consumers. While I agree the ad was extremely offensive to most farmers and misrepresented modern food production, after some reflection and a few interesting developments, I have come to the conclusion this ad may have done more good than harm.

First, the ad was masterfully done. Using simple graphics and powerful music, it evokes an emotional response. For me, the emotional response was revulsion and a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. But for most consumers, it likely evoked a feeling of sympathy. With Willie Nelson singing “Oh, take me back to the start,” the ad makes untrue statements about how our food is produced today and suggests our food would be better and safer if we went back to the way it used to be produced: free range and natural. The ad implies that this kind of food is what is served in Chipotle restaurants. It also shows a farmer being sad about modern agricultural methods and knocking down the barns and setting the animals free. While this ad has produced some righteous ag outrage, I would like to suggest a different perspective.

First of all, keep in mind that this was not an attack on agriculture or farmers. This commercial costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to make and hundreds of thousands of dollars to place in the Grammys. This investment was made to sell a restaurant image and perhaps sell few more tacos. Farmers and agriculture are simply being used to set this chain apart from their competition. The commercial was not designed to scare people about the food they eat but to scare people into this restaurant that they say is different and better.

What the commercial was not intended to do was to get people to ask, “Is this all true?” Yet, that is what many people did. Today’s consumer is very cynical and skeptical of almost all claims made in advertising. Americans are bombarded all day every day with thousands of advertising messages. As a result, most people have learned to tune out much of the noise. A good portion of those who viewed this ad were amused by the cute graphics and totally missed the point of the ad. Others got the point and reacted by asking, “Is this true?” This is just the question we want them to ask! When people ask an honest question about food, that is our opportunity to tell them what really happens on a farm. 

For several days after the Grammy incident, I heard many stories of farm folks being approached by their city neighbors asking how food is produced. An Illinois farm girl who is attending my college alma mater, a liberal arts college in the heart of the Chicago suburbs, was approached by staff members asking her about the Chipotle ad. She was able to share the truth about agriculture and farmers with the very people Chipotle was trying to brainwash. 

The important part of this scenario is having farm folks who have relationships with non-farm friends and are willing to speak up at the right moment. There is nothing we can do to stop the anti-agriculture scaremonger messages in the media. We can, however, connect with people in our world and engage them in a dialogue about food and agriculture. As for what you should do when these commercials show up on your favorite show, I suggest that yelling at the television really loud helps.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.