Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 9/1/15


A California woman has sued Chipotle Mexican Grill in U.S. District Court in Northern California on the grounds that the chain falsely advertised its food as GMO-free.

“As a result of Chipotle’s conduct, customers like Plaintiff [Colleen Gallagher] have been deceived into buying Chipotle’s food, or paying more for Chipotle products than they would have otherwise paid,” the lawsuit’s complaint said.

Gallagher, in the class-action lawsuit, seeks damages, restitution “and/or disgorgement of Chipotle’s profits,” as well as “injunctive and other equitable relief.”

At issue is Chipotle’s marketing campaign, launched last April, that claims that the company has no genetically modified organisms in its supply chain or ingredients. The campaign uses the tagline “G-M-Over it.” 

Chipotle’s website does include a disclaimer that the feed for the livestock that supplies its meat often contains GMOs and that “many of the beverages sold in our restaurants contain generically modified ingredients.” In her lawsuit, Gallagher contends the disclaimers are insufficient communications when weighed against the reach of the advertising campaign itself.

In a statement emailed to Meatingplace, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said, "This lawsuit is meritless, and the complaint against Chipotle is filled with inaccuracies. Chipotle has always been honest and transparent with its customers, and the messaging surrounding our use of non-GMO ingredients is no exception. For instance, we have always been clear that our soft drinks contained GMO ingredients, and that the animals from which our meat comes consume GMO feed. But, that does not mean that our meat is GMO, any more than people would be genetically modified if they eat GMO foods. We have not done any television advertising concerning GMOs at all, and the lawsuit blames Chipotle for graphics that we did not create or authorize. As we have said, it remains true that all of the ingredients we use to make our food are non-GMO. We will vigorously defend this meritless and unfair claim." 

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