Lawsuit Alleges Chipotle’s GMO-Free Claim is False

Last month, a woman named Colleen Gallagher filed a class action suit in California against Chipotle on the grounds that the chain restaurant’s “Farewell to GMOs” campaign is false, misleading, and deceptive. In April, Chipotle vowed to phase out GMO ingredients from its menu and began running an in-store billboard campaign saying adios to GMOs. The lawsuit claims Chipotle’s advertising tactics—specifically, representing to customers that all of its ingredients, including its meat and dairy products, do not contain any GMOs—are deceptive and done purely for profit. According to the suit (and by Chipotle’s own admission), the restaurant sources animals that consume genetically modified food and sells soft drinks with corn syrup that is laden with GMOs. This lawsuit raises the question of whether any large operation such as Chipotle can ever really be GMO-free within the constructs of factory farming.