See Food, Inc., for free, on Chipotle

Food, Inc., a film by Robert Kennar

If you haven’t yet seen Food, Inc., a provocative and informative documentary about the big business of Food in America, then you should. But thanks to fast-food restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), you can now see it for free.

Chipotle is revolutionizing the way America grows, gathers, serves and eats its food. “Doing all these things better, from start to finish, is our mission,” states Steve Ells, the Founder and Chief Executive, in the company’s manifesto. “We call it Food With Integrity.”

Mr. Ells’ vision came to him one day while reading acclaimed food writer Ed Behr's newsletter, The Art of Eating. In it he wrote about Niman Ranch and Paul Willis, a farmer in Thornton, Iowa who ran his hog farming program and raised pigs the old-fashioned way. The way it was done for many years before factory farms grew prominent in the 1960s and 70s. “In short, these farmers relied on care rather than chemicals, and practiced animal husbandry the way their parents and grandparents had, and their parents and grandparents before that,” writes Mr. Ells.

It wasn’t long before the CEO of Chipotle was Iowa-bound to visit the hog farms he had read about. In 2001 Chipotle began buying pork from family farms that raise pigs humanely and without antibiotics.

Today, in addition to all of the pork and all of the chicken Chipotle serves, more than 50 percent of their beef is naturally raised -- although the company has plans for all the meats they serve to someday be naturally raised.

The folks at Chipotle think that the more people know about their food, and its origins, the more they will appreciate Chipotle’s “Food With Integrity” philosophy. That’s why Chipotle would like all their customers to see Food, Inc., and will pay for them to do so.

Whether it’s their sizeable burritos loaded with organic ingredients, their chunky guacamole, or their vision to change the way the world thinks about and eats fast food, Chipotle is doing something right. According to the company’s most recent annual report, while 2008 was a challenging year for restaurant companies, including Chipotle, they were able to increase their revenue by 22.7% to $1.3 billion.

Chipotle has sponsored free screenings of the documentary in 32 cities nationwide beginning July 14 until the end of the month. Click here to see where and when you can see the film on your time, and Chipotle’s dime.