Eater: All Posts by Virginia Chamleehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2017-12-27T11:46:01-05:00https://www.eater.com/authors/virginia-chamlee/rss2017-12-27T11:46:01-05:002017-12-27T11:46:01-05:00How Does Credit Card Fraud Through a Restaurant Work?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rNHV1ZGiths7ANBCEu_-RX-M1VM=/56x0:945x667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58118001/credit-card-forgery.0.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>What you should know and how to protect yourself</p> <p id="a4wkoK">On a typical April evening in Manhattan a few years ago, well-heeled customers were dining at a slew of high-end steakhouses including Morton’s, the Capital Grille, Smith & Wollensky, and the Bicycle Club. They ordered bottles of wine, filet mignon, and the occasional porterhouse. When the checks came, they plunked down company cards, personal Visas, and the occasional American Express Black card.</p>
<p id="nQUvOO">What transpired next, and over the next eight months between April and November 2011, would shock even a New York attorney general. As they handed over their credit cards, at least 50 diners unknowingly handed over their identities, which were stolen by a group of servers in a scheme to buy and resell luxury items.</p>
<p id="wOggXx">As <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/nyregion/28-indicted-in-theft-of-credit-card-data-at-steakhouses.html">the <em>New York Times</em> reported back in 2011</a>, diners signing the check for a steak dinner also wound up picking up the tab for “cases of vintage French wine, Louis Vuitton handbags, Cartier jewelry and even a Roy Lichtenstein lithograph of Marilyn Monroe.”</p>
<p id="SrTCTj">Twenty-eight people were ultimately indicted in the scheme, which involved waiters using <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/all-about-skimmers/">lipstick-sized electronic skimmers</a> to extract data from the magnetic strips of credit cards. As hefty credit card bills weren’t unusual for the diners, many weren’t even initially aware that their information had been stolen.</p>
<p id="pJNWpR">While the above example is not typical, credit card fraud happens all too often. Fraud is especially easy to perpetrate at restaurants, as diners hand over their credit cards without a second guess (and don’t often see where their card goes once it’s handed over). Though in some instances it’s the work of rogue employees targeting specific diners, sometimes the perpetrators are hackers stealing massive quantities of customer data at one time; in recent months, large-scale credit card data hacks have been reported at chains including Wendy’s, Arby’s, Sonic, Whole Foods, and Chipotle. Below, more about credit fraud: Jow it works in a restaurant, and how some are trying to make it harder to perpetrate.</p>
<h3 id="Cv5MyR"><strong>What is credit card fraud, and how does it happen at restaurants?</strong></h3>
<p id="dg862l">“Basically, it’s when a someone steals another person’s credit card information intentionally to use for fraudulent purposes,” says Misty Carter, research specialist for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.</p>
<p id="vuHtYm">There are a couple of ways credit card fraud can occur at a restaurant:</p>
<p id="eJDffK"><em><strong>Skimmer</strong></em>: “A skimmer is a small device that attaches to a reader,” says Yinzhi Cao, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University. “When a credit card is swiped, the skimmer captures the magnetic field, and then collects it, saving the data of everyone who swipes.”</p>
<p id="17CmzB">While skimmers are most often used at ATMs and gas stations, they’ve been used at restaurants before (like in the New York case mentioned above). “It’s starting to become more prevalent at restaurants,” Carter says. “Usually it’s the waitstaff — they get your credit card, and they have skimmers that are so small they can be held in the palm of your hand.”</p>
<p id="T9hPUg">When a diner hands the server her credit card, the server will swipe it through the restaurant’s own point-of-sale system and then through a skimmer, which records the credit card number. “A lot of times, there’s an organized crime ring behind it all,” Carter says. “Usually, the waitstaff would just be a part of the larger ring.”</p>
<p id="VWEWwO">In other words, if your credit card number is stolen at a restaurant, it likely isn’t because of one fraudulent server, but an entire ring of credit card thieves. Carter says that servers in these scenarios usually get paid based on how many card numbers they steal. Once the ringleader gets a hold of the credit card number, they can take a gift card from just about any retail store, demagnetize that card, and then re-magnetize it using the stolen credit card information.</p>
<p id="MWlGF8"><em><strong>Hacking</strong></em>: “Hacking is huge,” Carter says. “When you look at big companies — Home Depot, etc. — their customer information tends to be stolen through hacking.”</p>
<p id="lcICET">In 2015, <a href="https://www.eater.com/2015/12/18/10577288/landrys-restaurants-credit-card-breach">criminals hacked their way into the database of some 500-plus restaurants</a> owned by Landry’s by installing a program on the payment-processing devices at chains including Rainforest Cafe and McCormick & Schmick’s. <a href="http://www.landrysinc.com/pdf/pressReleases/2016/index.asp">According to a company statement</a>, “the program was designed to search for data from the magnetic stripe of payment cards that had been swiped (cardholder name, card number, expiration date, and internal verification code) as the data was being routed through affected systems.”</p>
<p id="vrUfri">According to<a href="http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/86413-of-the-worlds-credit-card-fraud-happens-in-the-us"> a 2015 report from Barclays</a>, the U.S. is responsible for 47 percent of the world's credit card fraud, despite only accounting for 24 percent of total worldwide card volume. And it’s a trend that’s on the rise: Approximately 31.8 million U.S. consumers had their cards breached in 2014, more than three times the number affected the year prior.</p>
<h3 id="Upolgf"><strong>How easy is it to perpetrate credit card fraud through a restaurant versus, say, a retail store or a gas station?</strong></h3>
<p id="pDL0mY">Restaurants offer an ideal environment in which to commit identity theft, mainly because the card is out of its owners’ possession for several minutes. “At restaurants, you still have to give the server your card,” says Carter. “Once it leaves your hands, you don’t know where it goes.”</p>
<p id="inBiss">If a diner’s credit card information is stolen, they likely won’t realize it right away — another boon to fraudsters. “Most people who use their credit card use it at a lot of different places,” says Carter. “So, by the time their charges show up on a statement, it’s been a month or a few weeks. They may not even remember where they used it. It’s very hard to determine whether or not you got scammed at a restaurant.”</p>
<p id="AEtSH2">Restaurants are also an ideal location to perpetrate credit card fraud because cards at restaurants are almost always swiped — even chip cards, which were designed to ward against fraud. “The chip doesn’t really help at a restaurant,” says Cao. “That credit card information is still magnetized, even if it has a chip. Most stores and companies are moving toward the chip — when you use a chip, the card never leaves your hand — but restaurants haven’t gotten on board for the most part.”</p>
<h3 id="keIkP6"><strong>Has newer technology like chip cards or contactless cards made fraud any harder?</strong></h3>
<p id="qnXlBJ">Even chip cards aren’t foolproof. According to Carter, there are ways that criminals can steal credit card numbers without even coming in to contact with the card. “There are devices — some that can fit inside a wallet — that, when they get near to your wallet, can capture your credit card information. Essentially, it send out signals and demagnetizes the area around the card.”</p>
<p id="4rnQ29">Those devices are pretty rare, but Carter cautions that even chip cards and contactless cards (which are <a href="https://www.visaeurope.com/newsroom/news/european_used_contactless_3_billion_times_last_year">popular in Europe</a> but haven’t found much of a market in the U.S.) aren’t immune to fraud.</p>
<p id="1KY8xa">Cao recently led a team of researchers in developing a method to prevent mass credit card fraud using existing magnetic card readers (i.e. the traditional swiping technology). The technique, called SafePay, works through a smartphone, by communicating with a bank’s server and creating a disposable credit card number during transactions. That disposable number is then sent to a card-shaped device, simulating the behavior of a physical magnetic credit card.</p>
<p id="ATQMqw">“Once the one-time number is used, it then expires,” he says. “Even if someone steals the number, it has already become useless.” Chao says that the device is on par with a contactless card or a chip card, in terms of safety; the real advantage is in its deployment.</p>
<p id="Xh97rv">But until a device like SafePay catches on (Cao, a researcher, says he hasn’t secured much funding for the device), there are a couple of tips consumers can keep in mind to ensure credit card numbers stay out of the hands of fraudsters: First, use cash or a pre-paid card. “Cash is pretty much foolproof,” says Carter. “But I also suggest buying a pre-paid card, and loading it with money to use at restaurants. If the number is stolen, your loss will be less so long as you don’t load too much money on it.” Secondly, check credit cards statements regularly. “Make sure that everything appears to be correct on your statements and then contact the bank immediately if you find unauthorized charges,” says Carter. “Usually, if it’s a credit card, the bank will give you your money back while they investigate the charges.”</p>
<p id="f8E60w">Meanwhile, order and pre-pay apps like the ones on offer at Starbucks, McDonald’s, Chipotle, and a growing number of chains mean consumers’ credit cards can stay in their pockets and away from fraudsters. But apps, which may not require two-factor authorization or that consumers change their passwords regularly, can be vulnerable, too. Earlier this year Starbucks’ app — widely heralded as one of the most successful restaurant payment apps on the market — <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/5/5/15556372/starbucks-app-security-hacks">was docked for having a security weakness</a> that allowed a thief to hack into it, load money from a saved credit card, and use it as their own account. Starbucks denied the claims, but issued a statement that read, in part: “...only a tiny fraction of one percent of account holders [were] impacted, significantly reducing fraudulent activity to a level vastly better than industry average. We strongly encourage our customers to follow best practices to protect their accounts.”</p>
<aside id="Y4KnlF"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How Do Criminals Launder Money Through a Restaurant?","url":"https://www.eater.com/2016/9/1/12533030/money-laundering-restaurant"}]}'></div></aside><aside id="A2donn"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater"}'></div></aside>
https://www.eater.com/2017/12/27/13676606/credit-card-fraud-restaurant-how-to-protect-yourselfVirginia Chamlee2017-08-25T16:39:00-04:002017-08-25T16:39:00-04:00Why Do People Want Veggie Burgers That Bleed?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LY5_QDf4rr30JXk19UvalHguhxg=/116x0:1085x727/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57089601/IF_Patties.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Impossible Foods</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meat alternatives are becoming more and more popular</p> <p id="kx95vF">Meat alternatives aren’t new — after all, vegetarianism has its roots in <a href="http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/evolution-vegetarianism/">ancient Greece</a> — but the newest crop of products meant to replace animal protein is more high-tech than hippie. The modern meat-free burger or steak gets its flavor from scientists in lab coats, rather than Birkenstock-wearing cooks thoughtfully forming patties from beans, quinoa, and carrots.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="59spxS">
<p id="v3cteS">Protein is one of the few food groups that rarely gets a bad rap. Unlike carbs and sugar, which have been under attack for some time now, protein is a necessary nutrient; it's associated with energy, muscle, weight management, and satiety. America’s love of protein hasn’t changed much over the years: A 2015 survey conducted by the International Food Information Council found that ninety percent of respondents "strongly or somewhat agreed that it is important to get enough protein in their diet."</p>
<p id="UjpnCj">Despite health warnings from the <a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Eat-More-Chicken-Fish-and-Beans-than-Red-Meat_UCM_320278_Article.jsp#.V4-sdFdizq0">American Heart Association</a> and <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/10/26/9615096/whole-foods-recall-red-meat-bacon-cancer-starbucks-new-frappula">World Health Organization</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2972985/">studies</a> that show livestock production has a negative impact on the environment, red meat consumption is <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2F2017%2F07%2F03%2Famericans-eat-more-beef-and-meat-trend-thats-expected-continue%2F435331001%2F&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eater.com%2F2017%2F10%2F10%2F16455210%2Flab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foods" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">on the rise</a>.</p>
<p id="NpTbqd">But where that protein comes from is changing. According to <a href="http://www.packagedfacts.com/food-beverage-market-c84/">a February 2016 report by Packaged Facts</a>, consumer notions of what constitutes a good protein source are expanding to include a wider variety of plant-based protein ingredients.</p>
<p id="MKF5Tc">A slew of modern meat alternatives are trying to capitalize on this by creating juicy (even "bloody") burgers, chicken strips, and steaks that are meant to appeal to carnivores as well as vegans and vegetarians. This new class of veggie burgers is informed by technology just as much as it is by nutrition and sustainability, and incorporates lab-grown meat as well as high-tech vegetable mashes.</p>
<p id="QR0nui">This week, lab-grown chicken and ground beef purveyors <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/3/15/14933922/lab-grown-chicken-duck-memphis-meats">Memphis Meats</a> announced it had <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Memphis-Meats-raises-17-million-to-advance-11953342.php">raised</a> an additional $17 million in funding from private investors including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Virgin CEO Richard Branson. Gates also backed the bleeding veggie burger from Impossible Foods in <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170801005659/en/Impossible-Foods-Closes-75-Million-Investment-Achieving">a round of funding worth $75 million</a>. <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3069181/in-its-new-factory-impossible-foods-will-make-12-million-pounds-of-plant-based-burgers-a-yea">Back in March</a>, Impossible Foods announced it would be opening a massive new production facility in Oakland, California, and planned to put its burgers on menus at 1,000 restaurants across the country by the end of 2017. But will demand for alternative veggie burgers keep up with the supply?</p>
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3t3KpnBF7rkdjzaC1yLdlVfDH5g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6837691/IF_Half_Burger_Half.0.jpg">
<cite>Impossible Foods</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="eSWf4C"><strong>Why do people want meat alternatives?</strong></h3>
<p id="oe4hIi">The growing interest in alternative proteins can be largely attributed to a few factors: health, the environment, and animal welfare. A spokesperson at Impossible Foods, the maker of a forthcoming burger made from lab-derived meat (more on Impossible Foods below), says the company's aim is to "make delicious meat and dairy products from plants and thereby reduce the impact of industrial animal farming."</p>
<p id="xrrhBc">Proponents of fake meat products say raising livestock is an inefficient use of land and water. Going vegetarian, therefore, is not only better for the human body (the World Health Organization <a href="http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/">classifies some meat products as carcinogenic</a>), but they claim it’s better for the environment, too.</p>
<p id="HR8ZTU">According to the <a href="http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/reducing-your-footprint/">Environmental Working Group</a>, a nationwide vegetarian diet would be the equivalent of taking 46 million cars off the road, or not driving 555 billion miles. Still, it would only make a moderate dent in carbon emissions — about a 4.5 percent reduction overall.</p>
<h3 id="1No8Vy">Who's Who</h3>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="an7MQD"><div data-anthem-component="aside:696875"></div></div></div>
<h3 id="deU6TM"><strong>Why is tech getting involved?</strong></h3>
<p id="AaJhk8">The technology sector has taken this mission and transformed it from a personal diet or animal welfare cause into a global humanitarian issue. The attention from tech firms and venture capitalists has had an exciting effect on what was once a crunchy granola industry. Whether the burger is culled from plant matter or stem cells, technological resources, labs, and scientists are fueling this revival.</p>
<p id="CmG5LY">But why? According to a few venture capitalists, it’s because consumers are demanding it. "If you look at the millennial customers, they’re not really just satisfied to have a meal, they want to have a meal that they feel good about, that the sourcing of those ingredients is aligned with their values — what’s the carbon footprint? Where did it come from?" says <a href="https://trueventures.com/team/tony-conrad/">venture capitalist Tony Conrad</a>.</p>
<p id="rU4I1h">Bill Gates has invested in Memphis Meats, Impossible Foods, and Beyond Meat, while Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams are investors in Beyond Meat. Former Twitter developer Alex Payne supports Next Level Burger in the Pacific Northwest. Google founder Sergey Brin provided some $330,000 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2013/aug/05/google-burger-sergey-brin-lab-grown-hamburger">to fund the world’s first test-tube hamburger</a>. Peter Thiel’s foundation <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2016/03/11/lab-grown-beef-will-save-planet-and-be-billion-dollar-business-430980.html">reportedly donated $350,000 </a>to Modern Meadow’s bio-printed meat efforts.</p>
<p id="yir0Ao">"Everyone is taking note. It might be a small segment [of tech companies investing in plant-based proteins] today," says Conrad, "but it’s a growing segment for tomorrow."</p>
<h3 id="KxSj4J"><strong>What is lab-grown meat?</strong></h3>
<p id="Ciq1U7">Lab-grown meat is also known as cultured meat (sometimes even "in vitro" meat), meaning it’s derived from animal cells.</p>
<p id="ZAzEKy">Mosa Meat specializes in lab burgers made from stem cells. Its $330,000 prototype (bankrolled by Google co-founder Sergey Brin) was taste-tested live in 2013 and the company has plans to offer the meat for sale by 2020, reports the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540193">BBC</a>.</p>
<p id="r1ZRtZ">Memphis Meats is another company growing "real meat" in small quantities using cells from cows, pigs, and chickens. "Our products are not mock meats or plant-based meats," says Memphis Meats co-founder Uma Valeti. "They are real meat, grown from animal cells, without the actual animals. We recognize that people love meat because it’s delicious and affordable. Our goal is to make real meat that is better tasting and more affordable, but also safer and more sustainable."</p>
<p id="Ja8HXd">Valeti says that lab-grown meats don’t come with some of the downsides of traditional meat — by abstracting the animal from the process, Memphis Meats has "eliminated any chance of fecal contamination and other health risks." He adds that the product is also more energy-efficient, as it doesn’t require the energy used to maintain a slaughterhouse: animal slaughter, of course, isn’t necessary to create this meat.</p>
<p id="fRERUX">The company’s first products — hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and meatballs — are now in development, and founders expect to have items to market in less than five years. Memphis fried its first-ever lab-grown meatball in 2016 — a rather pricey endeavor, considering it costs around $18,000 to produce a pound of the stuff.</p>
<p id="G1vgNk">Modern Meadow, meanwhile, specializes in bio-fabricated leather — growing collagen (a protein found in skin) to create "hides." The company hopes to <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/modern-meadow-lab-grown-leather-2016-6">do the same thing with meat eventually</a>, though the timeline is unclear; for now, founders say they are focused on leather.</p>
<h3 id="5sbRZW"><strong>How are newer veggie burgers different from those of past decades?</strong></h3>
<p id="U6nwmz">The newest crop of veggie burgers (those not made from stem cells) are pretty high-tech; thanks to technological innovations, they’re able to mimic the real thing a bit better than the meat alternatives of yesteryear.</p>
<p id="ISOYZP">Beyond Meat is one of the more well-known players in the plant-based protein game, largely because its products already line shelves across the country. (None of the lab-grown meat companies have products for sale yet.)</p>
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_feWpydgg0Yq2sBk5CJy-CCvbtg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6837733/beyond_burger.0.jpg">
<cite>Beyond Burger</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="nTmWjG">The company’s Beyond Burger even bleeds like real meat (though in this case the red substance is actually beet juice). The Beyond Burger is entirely plant-based, but is sold in the meat section of the grocery store — a marketing ploy to get carnivores to try it, too. The primary source of protein in the burger comes from peas. According to Beyond Meat’s website, the burger was created after seven years of experimentation, not by "inventing new materials but by matching the plant equivalent and assembling it in the architecture of meat."</p>
<p id="MfvYes">Impossible Foods makes 100-percent plant-based foods — albeit ones that look and, supposedly, taste, like the real thing. The company has raised over $250 million in equity so far (backers include Bill Gates) and will soon unveil its first product, the Impossible Burger. The burger is made entirely of amino acids, fats, and nutrients from plants. And it bleeds, too — but not real blood or even beet juice: Rather, the company synthesized cow blood using heme, a molecule found in hemoglobin and in some plants. Impossible Foods recently came under fire because though the FDA has approved the product for consumption, <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/8/8/16112326/impossible-burger-fda-approval">the regulatory agency has some reservations about heme</a>.</p>
<p id="WEGQh6">The burger is now available at dozens of restaurants in San Francisco, New York, Texas, and Los Angeles, including chef David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi and Umami burger, a chain based in Southern California. According to a spokesperson, the product will make its way to grocery outlets "at some point," once the company expands its production capacity. "Our first food is called the Impossible Burger and it’s made for true meat-lovers," says a company spokesperson. "It starts out raw and looks, cooks, smells, sizzles, and tastes like animal-derived ground beef."</p>
<p id="solMZd">A spokesperson also says Impossible Foods’ technological approach will eventually allow it to produce plant-based versions of virtually any meat — beef, pork, chicken, or fish — as well as cheese, yogurt, milk, and cream.</p>
<div id="HDda09"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y027yLT2QY0?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<h3 id="02zLWE"><strong>How do these newer burgers taste?</strong></h3>
<p id="oCsFxg">The first lab-grown hamburger got high marks for its "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/world-first-synthetic-hamburger-mouth-feel">mouth feel</a>," though one tester noted that the lack of fat was noticeable. Another said the flavor was akin to "an animal protein cake."</p>
<p id="gg3Nm4">Vox.com’s Ezra Klein called <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/7/12106708/impossible-foods-ezra-klein-show">Impossible Foods’ burger</a> "life-changing."</p>
<p id="qHCCe4"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-07-19/defining-food-technology-the-transition-into-fake-food">In an interview with <em>Bloomberg</em></a>, food writer Mark Bittman called the Impossible Burger "very impressive"; of Beyond Meat’s products, he said they will "fool you."</p>
<p id="pHw3yG">Bittman did point out, however, that products made out of "powders" and other ingredients are really just "processed food" by another name. "Let’s remind people that there is real food that’s grown from the ground, and real animals that are fed real food. And if we treat them right, and we eat fewer of them, we can — not to mix metaphors — have our cake and eat it, too."</p>
<p id="rAevMH">Editor's note: This story was originally published on July 26, 2016. It has been updated throughout to reflect the latest information.</p>
<p id="ahcbKI"></p>
https://www.eater.com/2017/10/10/16455210/lab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foodsVirginia Chamlee2017-08-25T09:32:00-04:002017-08-25T09:32:00-04:00Why Do People Want Veggie Burgers That Bleed?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EtI7pq90c0wsm5GtfWIYMWyhczQ=/114x0:1083x727/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50194079/IF_Patties.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Impossible Foods</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meat alternatives aren’t new — after all, vegetarianism has its roots in <a href="http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/evolution-vegetarianism/" target="new">ancient Greece</a> — but the newest crop of products meant to replace animal protein is more high-tech than hippie. The modern meat-free burger or steak gets its flavor from scientists in lab coats, rather than Birkenstock-wearing cooks thoughtfully forming patties from beans, quinoa, and carrots.</p> <p id="kx95vF">Protein is one of the few food groups that rarely gets a bad rap. Unlike carbs and sugar, which have been under attack for some time now, protein is a necessary nutrient; it's associated with energy, muscle, weight management, and satiety. America’s love of protein hasn’t changed much over the years: A 2015 survey conducted by the International Food Information Council found that ninety percent of respondents "strongly or somewhat agreed that it is important to get enough protein in their diet."</p>
<p>Despite health warnings from the <a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Eat-More-Chicken-Fish-and-Beans-than-Red-Meat_UCM_320278_Article.jsp#.V4-sdFdizq0" target="_blank">American Heart Association</a> and <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/10/26/9615096/whole-foods-recall-red-meat-bacon-cancer-starbucks-new-frappula" target="_blank" style="background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-line: underline;">World Health Organization</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2972985/">studies</a> that show livestock production has a negative impact on the environment, red meat consumption is <a target="_blank" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2F2017%2F07%2F03%2Famericans-eat-more-beef-and-meat-trend-thats-expected-continue%2F435331001%2F&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eater.com%2F2016%2F7%2F25%2F12270698%2Flab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foods" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">on the rise</a>.</p>
<p id="NpTbqd">But where that protein comes from is changing. According to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.packagedfacts.com/food-beverage-market-c84/">a February 2016 report by Packaged Facts</a>, consumer notions of what constitutes a good protein source are expanding to include a wider variety of plant-based protein ingredients.</p>
<p id="MKF5Tc">A slew of modern meat alternatives are trying to capitalize on this by creating juicy (even "bloody") burgers, chicken strips, and steaks that are meant to appeal to carnivores as well as vegans and vegetarians. This new class of veggie burgers is informed by technology just as much as it is by nutrition and sustainability, and incorporates lab-grown meat as well as high-tech vegetable mashes.</p>
<p>This week, lab-grown chicken and ground beef purveyors <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eater.com/2017/3/15/14933922/lab-grown-chicken-duck-memphis-meats">Memphis Meats</a> announced it had <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Memphis-Meats-raises-17-million-to-advance-11953342.php">raised</a> an additional $17 million in funding from private investors including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Virgin CEO Richard Branson. Gates also backed the bleeding veggie burger from Impossible Foods in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170801005659/en/Impossible-Foods-Closes-75-Million-Investment-Achieving">a round of funding worth $75 million</a>. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3069181/in-its-new-factory-impossible-foods-will-make-12-million-pounds-of-plant-based-burgers-a-yea">Back in March</a>, Impossible Foods announced it would be opening a massive new production facility in Oakland, California, and planned to put its burgers on menus at 1,000 restaurants across the country by the end of 2017. But will demand for alternative veggie burgers keep up with the supply?</p>
<div class="chorus-snippet wide-image-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3t3KpnBF7rkdjzaC1yLdlVfDH5g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6837691/IF_Half_Burger_Half.0.jpg">
<cite>Impossible Foods</cite>
</figure>
<p class="caption">[Photo: Impossible Foods]</p>
</div>
<h3 id="MSN4iY"><strong>Why do people want meat alternatives?</strong></h3>
<p id="oe4hIi">The growing interest in alternative proteins can be largely attributed to a few factors: health, the environment, and animal welfare. A spokesperson at Impossible Foods, the maker of a forthcoming burger made from lab-derived meat (more on Impossible Foods below), says the company's aim is to "make delicious meat and dairy products from plants and thereby reduce the impact of industrial animal farming."</p>
<p>Proponents of fake meat products say raising livestock is an inefficient use of land and water. Going vegetarian, therefore, is not only better for the human body (the World Health Organization <a href="http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">classifies some meat products as carcinogenic</a>), but they claim it’s better for the environment, too.</p>
<p id="HR8ZTU">According to the <a href="http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/reducing-your-footprint/">Environmental Working Group</a>, a nationwide vegetarian diet would be the equivalent of taking 46 million cars off the road, or not driving 555 billion miles. Still, it would only make a moderate dent in carbon emissions — about a 4.5 percent reduction overall.</p>
<h3 id="deU6TM"><strong>Why is tech getting involved?</strong></h3>
<div class="float-right hang-right">
<div class="m-entry__sidebar">
<h3 class="p-sidebar-title">Who's Who</h3>
<p>BEYOND MEAT<br><b>Founded</b>: 2009<br><b>Key investors</b>: Kleiner Perkins, The Obvious Corporation (Twitter co-founders Evan Williams, Biz Stone), Bill Gates<br><b>About</b>: The plant-based company specializes in burgers, "chicken," meatless crumbles, and frozen meals. Products are currently available at grocery stores across the country.</p>
<p>IMPOSSIBLE FOODS<br><b>Founded</b>: 2011<br><b>Key investors</b>: Google Ventures, Bill Gates, UBS<br><b>About</b>: Founded by Stanford biochemist Patrick Brown, company develops imitation meats made entirely from plants. Impossible's products aren't yet available in stores. A line of imitation dairy products is also in the works.</p>
<p>MEMPHIS MEATS <br><b>Founded</b>: 2015<br><b>Key investors</b>: NewCrop Capital, Indie Bio, Bill Gates, Richard Branson<br><b>About</b>: A "food technology company," with a goal to produce lab-grown meat for the masses. They unveiled the world's first "cultured meatball" in February 2016, and in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eater.com/2017/3/15/14933922/lab-grown-chicken-duck-memphis-meats">March 2017</a> introduced lab-grown chicken.<br><br>MODERN MEADOW<br><b>Founded</b>: 2011<br><b>Key investors</b>: ARTIS Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tony Fadell <br><b>About</b>: This Brooklyn-based startup's aim is to make leather without livestock. Eventually, it hopes to extend that goal to creating meat products.</p>
<p>MOSA MEAT<br><b>Founded</b>: 2015<br><b>Key investors</b>: Sergey Brin <br><b>About</b>: The company's mission is to create marketable, lab-grown meat — i.e. beef with no butcher. Founder Mark Post has already grown a hamburger from bovine stem cells (to the tune of $325,000) but has said the company will sell lab-grown beef in four to five years.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><span>The technology sector has taken this mission and transformed it from a personal diet or animal welfare cause into a global humanitarian issue. The attention from tech firms and venture capitalists has had an exciting effect on what was once a crunchy granola industry. Whether the burger is culled from plant matter or stem cells, technological resources, labs, and scientists are fueling this revival.</span></p>
<p id="CmG5LY">But why? According to a few venture capitalists, it’s because consumers are demanding it. "If you look at the millennial customers, they’re not really just satisfied to have a meal, they want to have a meal that they feel good about, that the sourcing of those ingredients is aligned with their values — what’s the carbon footprint? Where did it come from?" says <a target="_blank" href="https://trueventures.com/team/tony-conrad/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">venture capitalist Tony Conrad</a>.</p>
<p id="rU4I1h">Bill Gates has invested in Memphis Meats, Impossible Foods, and Beyond Meat, while Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams are investors in Beyond Meat. Former Twitter developer Alex Payne supports Next Level Burger in the Pacific Northwest. Google founder Sergey Brin provided some $330,000 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2013/aug/05/google-burger-sergey-brin-lab-grown-hamburger" style="background-color: #ffffff;">to fund the world’s first test-tube hamburger</a>. Peter Thiel’s foundation <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2016/03/11/lab-grown-beef-will-save-planet-and-be-billion-dollar-business-430980.html" style="background-color: #ffffff;">reportedly donated $350,000 </a>to Modern Meadow’s bio-printed meat efforts.</p>
<p id="yir0Ao">"Everyone is taking note. It might be a small segment [of tech companies investing in plant-based proteins] today," says Conrad, "but it’s a growing segment for tomorrow."</p>
<h3 id="KxSj4J"><strong>What is lab-grown meat?</strong></h3>
<p id="Ciq1U7">Lab-grown meat is also known as cultured meat (sometimes even "in vitro" meat), meaning it’s derived from animal cells.</p>
<p id="ZAzEKy">Mosa Meat specializes in lab burgers made from stem cells. Its $330,000 prototype (bankrolled by Google co-founder Sergey Brin) was taste-tested live in 2013 and the company has plans to offer the meat for sale by 2020, reports the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540193">BBC</a>.</p>
<p><span>Memphis Meats is another company growing </span>"real meat" in small quantities using cells from cows, pigs, and chickens. "Our products are not mock meats or plant-based meats," says Memphis Meats co-founder Uma Valeti. "They are real meat, grown from animal cells, without the actual animals. We recognize that people love meat because it’s delicious and affordable. Our goal is to make real meat that is better tasting and more affordable, but also safer and more sustainable."</p>
<p>Valeti says that lab-grown meats don’t come with some of the downsides of traditional meat — by abstracting the animal from the process, Memphis Meats has "eliminated any chance of fecal contamination and other health risks." He adds that the product is also more energy-efficient, as it doesn’t require the energy used to maintain a slaughterhouse: animal slaughter, of course, isn’t necessary to create this meat.</p>
<p>The company’s first products — hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and meatballs — are now in development, and founders expect to have items to market in less than five years. Memphis fried its first-ever lab-grown meatball in 2016 — a rather pricey endeavor, considering it costs around $18,000 to produce a pound of the stuff.</p>
<p id="G1vgNk">Modern Meadow, meanwhile, specializes in bio-fabricated leather — growing collagen (a protein found in skin) to create "hides." The company hopes to <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/modern-meadow-lab-grown-leather-2016-6">do the same thing with meat eventually</a>, though the timeline is unclear; for now, founders say they are focused on leather.</p>
<h3 id="KxSj4J"><strong>How are newer veggie burgers different from those of past decades?</strong></h3>
<p id="U6nwmz">The newest crop of veggie burgers (those not made from stem cells) are pretty high-tech; thanks to technological innovations, they’re able to mimic the real thing a bit better than the meat alternatives of yesteryear.</p>
<p>Beyond Meat is one of the more well-known players in the plant-based protein game, largely because its products already line shelves across the country. (None of the lab-grown meat companies have products for sale yet.)</p>
<div class="chorus-snippet wide-image-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zMpPZbxUoEYADLKRg3v_bdmu3yY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6837735/beyond_burger.0.jpg">
</figure>
<p class="caption">[Photo: Beyond Burger]</p>
</div>
<p><span><br>The company</span>’s Beyond Burger even bleeds like real meat (though in this case the red substance is actually beet juice). The Beyond Burger is entirely plant-based, but is sold in the meat section of the grocery store — a marketing ploy to get carnivores to try it, too. The primary source of protein in the burger comes from peas. According to Beyond Meat’s website, the burger was created after seven years of experimentation, not by "inventing new materials but by matching the plant equivalent and assembling it in the architecture of meat."</p>
<p id="MfvYes">Impossible Foods makes 100-percent plant-based foods — albeit ones that look and, supposedly, taste, like the real thing. The company has raised over $250 million in equity so far (backers include Bill Gates) and will soon unveil its first product, the Impossible Burger. The burger is made entirely of amino acids, fats, and nutrients from plants. And it bleeds, too — but not real blood or even beet juice: Rather, the company synthesized cow blood using heme, a molecule found in hemoglobin and in some plants. Impossible Foods recently came under fire because though the FDA has approved the product for consumption, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eater.com/2017/8/8/16112326/impossible-burger-fda-approval">the regulatory agency has some reservations about heme</a>.</p>
<p>The burger is now available at dozens of restaurants in San Francisco, New York, Texas, and Los Angeles, including chef David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi and Umami burger, a chain based in Southern California. According to a spokesperson, the product will make its way to grocery outlets "at some point," once the company expands its production capacity. "Our first food is called the Impossible Burger and it’s made for true meat-lovers," says a company spokesperson. "It starts out raw and looks, cooks, smells, sizzles, and tastes like animal-derived ground beef."</p>
<p id="solMZd">A spokesperson also says Impossible Foods’ technological approach will eventually allow it to produce plant-based versions of virtually any meat — beef, pork, chicken, or fish — as well as cheese, yogurt, milk, and cream.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y027yLT2QY0" height="425" width="755"></iframe></p>
<h3 id="02zLWE"><strong>How do these newer burgers taste?</strong></h3>
<p id="oCsFxg">The first lab-grown hamburger got high marks for its "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/world-first-synthetic-hamburger-mouth-feel">mouth feel</a>," though one tester noted that the lack of fat was noticeable. Another said the flavor was akin to "an animal protein cake."</p>
<p>Vox.com’s Ezra Klein called <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/7/12106708/impossible-foods-ezra-klein-show" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Impossible Foods’ burger</a> "life-changing."</p>
<p id="qHCCe4"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-07-19/defining-food-technology-the-transition-into-fake-food">In an interview with <i>Bloomberg</i></a>, food writer Mark Bittman called the Impossible Burger "very impressive"; of Beyond Meat’s products, he said they will "fool you."</p>
<p><span></span><span></span></p>
<p class="end">Bittman did point out, however, that products made out of "powders" and other ingredients are really just "processed food" by another name. "Let’s remind people that there is real food that’s grown from the ground, and real animals that are fed real food. And if we treat them right, and we eat fewer of them, we can — not to mix metaphors — have our cake and eat it, too."</p>
<p class="end"><span><span>Editor's note: </span><span>This story was originally published on July 26, 2016. It has been updated throughout to reflect the latest information.</span></span></p>
<h3>A Timeline of Modern Burger Alternatives</h3>
<div data-analytics-viewport="autotune" data-analytics-label="eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years:2979" id="eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years__graphic"></div>
<div id="eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years__graphic" data-analytics-label="eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years:2979" data-analytics-viewport="autotune"></div>
<p>
<script type="text/javascript"><!--
(function() { var l = function() { new pym.Parent( 'eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years__graphic', 'https://apps.voxmedia.com/at/eater-meat-alternatives-through-the-years/'); }; if(typeof(pym) === 'undefined') { var h = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0], s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = 'https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/pym/0.4.5/pym.js'; s.onload = l; h.appendChild(s); } else { l(); } })();
// --></script>
</p>
<br><br>
<p class="credit">Editor: Daniela Galarza</p>
<hr>
<h3 style="margin-bottom: .6rem">Can't get enough of Eater? <a href="http://www.eater.com/pages/newsletter">Sign up for our newsletter.</a>
</h3>
<form id="subForm" method="post" action="http://newsletters.eater.com/t/d/s/burktu/"> <fieldset style="margin-bottom: .5rem; border: 0; padding: 0;"> <input style="min-width: 240px; display: block; margin-bottom: .4rem; padding: 8px 10px 4px; line-height: 1.2; background: #eeeae6; border: 2px solid #eeeae6;" placeholder="Enter your email address" class="p-input__text" type="text" name="email" id="fieldEmail"> <input style="min-width: 240px; display: block; margin-bottom: .4rem; padding: 8px 10px 4px; line-height: 1.2; background: #eeeae6; border: 2px solid #eeeae6;" class="p-input__text" placeholder="Zip or postal code" maxlength="7" type="text" name="cm-f-kiiydd" id="fieldkiiydd"> </fieldset> <input class="p-button" value="Subscribe" type="submit" style="margin-top: .4rem; letter-spacing: .05rem; background-color: #70002a;"> </form>
https://www.eater.com/2016/7/25/12270698/lab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foodsVirginia Chamlee2017-01-20T13:02:19-05:002017-01-20T13:02:19-05:00What President Donald Trump Will Mean for U.S. Food Policy
<figure>
<img alt="Donald Trump Is Sworn In As 45th President Of The United States" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sSRdGrpG3Okf9VJW7R8W0HYW49E=/0x0:3500x2625/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51752439/632185186.1484269525.jpg" />
<figcaption>Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new president’s plans for farmers, workers, and food safety</p> <p id="bkuomk">Donald Trump made a few issues central to his campaign: immigration, taxes, and healthcare among them. Food policy has gone largely ignored, though Trump’s views on other issues and his Cabinet picks are already<strong> informing the way food policy will look for the next four years</strong> — and possibly beyond that.</p>
<p id="wdkoRk">President Trump has been especially vocal about immigration. His plan to build a wall on the southern border of the U.S. will likely hit the agricultural and restaurant industry hard. He has called climate change a “hoax,” which means it likely won’t be high on his list of priorities; this could be devastating for farmers. </p>
<p id="NzZv6V">When it comes to minimum wage, Trump believes it’s an issue best left up to states, while his labor secretary nominee has spoken out against raising the federal minimum wage above $9. And regarding employee benefits, Trump plans to repeal (and, eventually, replace) President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but is seemingly in favor of paid maternity leave (though it’s unclear if that plan will cover single mothers).</p>
<p id="FB1Vs9">Below, a closer look at where Trump and his Cabinet nominees stand on policies related to food safety, agriculture, and workers’ rights.</p>
<h3 id="SI5sJt"><strong>Labor</strong></h3>
<p id="Xn753f"><strong>Minimum Wage</strong></p>
<p id="6TUfXm">As a business owner, Trump has a spotty history with his employees. He’s been accused of <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/10/11902306/trump-upaid-wages-employees-lawsuit">stiffing workers out of wages</a> and insisting that only <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/sns-na-trump-women-20160929-story.html">young and attractive</a> women staff his restaurants. Under President Trump, though, he and his surrogates say employees will have better access to child care and equal pay. As for higher wages, well, things are a bit murkier.</p>
<p id="FwFpN3"><a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/28/donald-trump/donald-trump-gets-full-flop-stance-minimum-wage/">In the past</a>, Trump has said the federal minimum wage “has to go up.” But the official GOP platform suggests that minimum wage, which restaurant workers around the country would like to see rise, wouldn’t be a priority of the Trump presidency: "Minimum wage is an issue that should be handled at the state and local level."</p>
<p id="epTPMy">Meanwhile, Andy Puzder, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/12/8/13881532/labor-secretary-andy-puzder-carls-jr-restaurants">Trump’s nominee for labor secretary</a> and CEO of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains, has publicly opposed any significant hike to the federal minimum wage, calling California’s plan to raise its minimum wage to $15 “<a href="http://www.hughhewitt.com/cke-ceo-andy-puzder-15-hour-minimum-wage/">horrific</a>.” If a fast-food executive takes the reins at the restaurant industry’s most powerful regulator, it’s safe to say the results won’t be favorable for low-wage restaurant workers.</p>
<p id="QrlfCK"><strong>Worker Benefits</strong></p>
<p id="1UyPxH">Trump has <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/09/501203831/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress">repeatedly expressed his desire to “repeal and replace”</a> the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare and a provision that many restaurant workers say is <a href="http://www.eater.com/2017/1/12/14251330/obamacare-aca-restaurant-industry-health-insurance">crucial to maintaining their everyday well-being</a>. The Senate has already <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/health-care-congress-vote-a-rama.html">taken the first step</a> toward repealing it. Beyond promising to repeal the ACA, Trump has given mixed messages on universal healthcare: He previously stated he <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/03/news/economy/trump-health-care/">will not require everyone to buy health insurance</a> unless they want it, but more recently stated that his Obamacare replacement will provide “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-vows-insurance-for-everybody-in-obamacare-replacement-plan/2017/01/15/5f2b1e18-db5d-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html?utm_term=.0c377efca337">insurance for everybody</a>.”</p>
<p id="QVt6Mf">Meanwhile, labor secretary nominee Puzder has <a href="http://www.wsj.com/article_email/why-restaurant-automation-is-on-the-menu-1458857730-lMyQjAxMTE2NDI4NTgyMDUyWj">expressed opposition to paid sick leave and the ACA</a>, arguing that they’re costly to employers and could put an end to “the traditional full-service restaurant model” (which is why he’s interested in opening <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/3/17/11254072/carls-jr-robot-restaurant">an automated restaurant</a> free of human workers). </p>
<p id="fzH295"><strong>Parental Leave</strong></p>
<p id="i7zHkU">Trump has also proffered a paid maternity leave proposal, though some reports have suggested that plan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/20/donald-trumps-new-paid-maternity-leave-plan-might-exclude-single-mothers/">would not extend to single mothers</a>. When introducing her father at the Republican National Convention, Ivanka Trump said he would “change the labor laws that were put into place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce.” It’s worth noting, however, that Trump hasn’t expounded on those plans other than <a href="http://time.com/4441052/donald-trump-women-issues/">making vague references</a> to childcare and equal pay.</p>
<h3 id="LQcZ50"><strong>Food Safety</strong></h3>
<p id="GaJyC1">Trump, a self-described germaphobe, has an affinity for fast food and has been photographed dining on buckets of <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/2/12351014/trump-kfc-eating-fast-food">KFC fried chicken</a> and <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/5/27/11796092/donald-trump-mcdonalds-private-jet">McDonald’s hamburgers</a>. Those meals are certainly not the most nutritious choices for someone who has made his opponent’s health a central part of his campaign but — maybe even stranger — he apparently chooses fast food because it’s “cleaner” than food from non-chains.</p>
<p id="y0wIqS">Trump elaborated on those views in a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/donald-trump-fast-food-love/">February interview with Anderson Cooper</a>: “I think you’re better off going there than someplace you have no idea where the food is coming from. It’s a certain standard. The one thing about the big franchises: one bad hamburger, you can destroy McDonald’s. One bad hamburger, you take Wendy’s and all these other places and they’re out of business.” </p>
<p id="eRXGOM">Later that same month, however, he <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/09/15/trump-targets-the-fda-food-police-calls-for-elimination-of-food-safety-regulations-in-new-tax-plan/">unveiled a plan that would effectively slash food safety regulations</a> in the United States.</p>
<p id="ZlHpgd">Trump’s tax plan, which was highlighted in a speech to the Economic Club of New York in Manhattan, would limit the scope of what he calls “the FDA Food Police.” The FDA is otherwise known as the Food & Drug Administration, the entity tasked with protecting public health and the nation’s food supply. Republicans argue that stringent rules are a burden on businesses and job creation; others argue FDA regulations are necessary to ensure the health and safety of Americans.</p>
<p id="uyjcQT">A <a href="http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/trump-to-limit-role-of-e2809cfda-food-policee2809d/">campaign fact sheet released</a> last September (which has since been removed from the Trump website) suggested FDA regulations go too far in governing “the soil farmers use, farm and food production hygiene, food packaging, food temperatures and even what animals may roam which fields and when.” According to Trump, the agency also “greatly increased inspections of food ‘facilities,’ and levies new taxes to pay for this inspection overkill.”</p>
<p id="iohgy9">While Trump has yet to put forth an official nominee for head of the FDA, a rumored pick, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/309539-trumps-rumored-fda-candidate-strikes-nerve">a Silicon Valley investor named Jim O’Neill</a>, has no experience in the medical field and has previously made some controversial statements regarding the FDA’s role. In a 2014 speech, he argued that the FDA should not consider whether drugs are effective before approving them for use in the U.S., and instead should only evaluate them for safety. O’Neill would mark a sharp left turn for the FDA, which has been <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-07/trump-team-is-said-to-consider-thiel-associate-o-neill-for-fda">headed up by scientists or doctors for the past 50 years</a>.</p>
<h3 id="mOdwyP"><strong>Agriculture</strong></h3>
<p id="9cPyl4"><strong>Migrant Farm Workers</strong></p>
<p id="qWLhjo">Immigration was central to the Trump campaign, with shouts of “Build that wall!” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGSAhNZnisk">often permeating his rallies</a>. Trump intends to build a wall on the southern border of the U.S. that he says will keep undocumented immigrants out of the country. He’s argued time and again that <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37241284">Mexico will pay for the wall</a>, though Mexico’s president has vehemently denied that:</p>
<div id="6dF0JU">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="es" dir="ltr">Repito lo que le dije personalmente, Sr. Trump: México jamás pagaría por un muro. <a href="https://t.co/IJNVe0XepY">https://t.co/IJNVe0XepY</a></p>— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/EPN/status/771423919978913792">September 1, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="VIzaRU">Since winning the election, Trump has backtracked on that somewhat: Now it appears U.S. taxpayers will be footing the upfront cost for it, though Trump promises Mexico “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/11/politics/trump-border-wall-mexico-payment-presser/">will reimburse us for the cost of the wall,</a>” potentially through import taxes that could have serious economic consequences.</p>
<p id="aEIFB8">Trump’s immigration policies would likely do have a negative effect on more than just immigration numbers (though some argue <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2015/10/23/myths-half-truths-about-immigration-reform-382855.html">it wouldn’t even do that</a>). As most of the produce grown in the U.S. is picked by undocumented workers, many farmers have said a Trump presidency could <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-2016-farmers-fear-argriculture-213201">decimate American crops</a>.</p>
<p id="azJgar"><strong>Farmers</strong></p>
<p id="lAdK1B"><a href="http://www.fb.org/newsroom/nr/nr2014/02-10-14/labor-study14c0207.pdf">According to a 2014 study commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation</a>, an immigration policy focused on closing the border would not only send jobs out of the U.S., it could be detrimental to U.S. farmers. That “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall” could lead to: a three percent reduction in grain production; a 27 percent reduction in meat production; a 31 percent drop in vegetable production; and a 61 percent drop in fruit production.</p>
<p id="fVZfLY">Closing the border would lead to a large-scale restructuring of agriculture: wages would go up as a result, and farmers could face the loss of 30 to 40 percent of their net revenues due to lower production and higher costs. Consumers could see food prices go up some five to six percent, and face smaller supplies of fresh products at the grocery store. The greatest change, according to the AFBF, would be to fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.</p>
<p id="XyHfoU">Like most conservatives, though, Trump says he wants to fight against regulations, a message that’s largely resonated with farmers. During an <a href="http://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-palm-beach-county/boynton-beach/donald-trump-holds-farmers-roundtable-in-boynton-beach">October roundtable with a group of Florida farmers</a>, Trump called the Environmental Protection Agency "a disaster" whose "regulations have been a total catastrophe."</p>
<p id="Q1LQeI">Trump’s pick for agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, is the former governor of Georgia and has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-19/trump-said-to-nominate-sonny-perdue-as-agriculture-secretary">a strong farming background</a>. (Perdue made headlines back in 2007 when, in the midst of a record-setting Georgia drought, he led a group at the state capitol building in <a href="http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/01/10/that-time-sonny-perdue-prayed-for-rain/">praying for rain</a>.) Having supported legislation in his home state aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants, Perdue would likely align with Trump’s proposed immigration policies. </p>
<p id="4tD0pM">The AFBF is pleased with Perdue’s nomination, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-19/trump-said-to-nominate-sonny-perdue-as-agriculture-secretary">saying</a>, “He is a businessman who recognizes the impact immigration reform, trade agreements, and regulation have on a farmer’s bottom line.” Meanwhile, multiple environmental groups have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/us/politics/sonny-perdue-agriculture-secretary.html">spoken out against Perdue’s nomination</a>, arguing that he’ll put the interests of big farming conglomerates over the concerns of small independent farmers. </p>
<h3 id="LHGaU5">Government Food Assistance </h3>
<p id="pG2Jbp">The funding of government food assistance programs, like SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (previously referred to as food stamps), hangs in the balance.</p>
<p id="0v4W9y">SNAP is funded via the Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation passed roughly every five years. The marriage between SNAP and the Farm Bill, which funds subsidies for both agriculture and food stamps, has long been an uneasy one, as <a href="http://harvestpublicmedia.org/article/uneasy-marriage-food-stamps-and-farm-bill">Harvest Public Media reported back in 2014.</a></p>
<p id="f6ngvK">Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/">2016 Republican platform calls</a> for breaking the SNAP program away from the Farm Bill, a move largely consistent with the Republican stance on SNAP funding. But, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/21/donald-trump/trump-43-million-americans-food-stamps/">as Politifact notes</a>, taking SNAP out of the Farm Bill would make it more vulnerable to budget cuts. </p>
<h3 id="dxEbZ6">Climate Change</h3>
<p id="QIE8np"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/politics/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy.html?_r=0">During a speech in North Dakota in May</a>, Trump promised to rescind many of the Obama administration’s most ambitious environmental goals. A Trump administration, he said, would call for more fossil fuel drilling and fewer environmental regulations. In his first 100 days in office, he would “rescind” President Obama’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-record/climate">Clean Power Plan</a>, which aims to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants.</p>
<p id="UQsk9A">Which brings us to climate change. During one presidential debate, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that Trump believes climate change to be a hoax — one perpetrated by the Chinese, no less. <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/26/donald-trump/donald-trump-denies-saying-global-warming-chinese-/">Trump claimed that he “did not say”</a> those words, though this 2012 tweet indicates otherwise:</p>
<div id="JWRSt2">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/265895292191248385">November 6, 2012</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="qfktdi">According to the EPA, changes in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods — brought on by climate change — could pose challenges for farmers and ranchers and threaten food safety. <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/11/24/9784832/climate-change-effects-restaurant-industry">Severe weather has a profound impact</a> on some of America’s most important food-producing regions. Beef prices, for instance, <a href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/beef-prices-continue-to-spike/26596462">shot up by 34 percent from 2010 to 2014</a>, largely due to droughts in the cattle-producing states of California and Texas, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service data. Warming temperatures also <a href="http://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/7/8/12111038/climate-change-tea-leaves-flavor">threaten tea and coffee yields</a>.</p>
<p id="n7l7Jy">Trump’s nominee to head up the EPA, Scott Pruitt, <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F2017%2F01%2F18%2Fepa-nominee-scott-pruitt-confirmation-hearing%2F96679106%2F&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eater.com%2F2016%2F11%2F9%2F12930812%2Fdonald-trump-food-policy" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">does not agree that climate change is a hoax</a>, but when pressed in confirmation hearings he also would not say that it’s mainly caused by humans. Pruitt has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-hearing/">sued the EPA more than a dozen times</a> as Oklahoma attorney general in (mostly unsuccessful) attempts to block clean air and water regulations. His supporters say he’ll help ease unnecessary environmental regulations that are burdensome on farmers and small business owners, but opponents argue Pruitt’s ties to the oil and gas industry mean he’ll irresponsibly roll back rules that protect human health and safety.</p>
<div id="XzfjdB">
<div data-analytics-viewport="autotune" data-analytics-label="eater-clinton-food-policy:3581" id="eater-clinton-food-policy__graphic"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var l = function() { new pym.Parent( 'eater-clinton-food-policy__graphic', 'https://apps.voxmedia.com/at/eater-clinton-food-policy/'); }; if(typeof(pym) === 'undefined') { var h = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0], s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = 'https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/pym/0.4.5/pym.js'; s.onload = l; h.appendChild(s); } else { l(); } })(); </script> </div>
<p id="7ReWTd">• <a href="http://www.eater.com/donald-trump">All Donald Trump Coverage</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/presidential-election-race-candidates">All Presidential Election Coverage</a> [E]</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="pNgjxp">
<h3 id="nda6oG">Watch: It’s on America’s institutions to check Trump</h3>
<div id="GvlHsS">
<div data-analytics-viewport="video" data-analytics-action="volume:view:article:middle" data-analytics-label="It’s now on America’s institutions to check Trump |24488" data-volume-uuid="f136ac458" data-volume-id="24488" data-analytics-placement="article:middle" data-volume-placement="article" data-volume-autoplay="undefined" id="volume-placement-186" class="volume-video"></div>
</div>
<p id="FjaJPQ"></p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/9/12930812/donald-trump-food-policyVirginia ChamleeWhitney Filloon2016-12-27T11:19:24-05:002016-12-27T11:19:24-05:00Chipotle’s Biggest Moments of 2016
<figure>
<img alt="Year in Chipotle 2016" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Hv4kn_ZPYWvuQLZC1ExLCGHGaUM=/320x0:3023x2027/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52469147/6234328594_b066dafe77_o.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Angela N./<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/aon/6234328594/in/photolist-auUyG3-7XvYst-ngfSb-7aAUoX-93JpfT-fMXhF-im5Cz-4RYuYk-CUu2T-7fwUwk-54nrg2-6NMLCV-5A7De-z3w5F-8N4Mgv-bJ6KUH-8ch5FP-6Kzgp6-oif4PQ-bJ6Mdi-2Pw7tx-2xsShC-o5VvnZ-2Pw76k-8i9hBP-CUQVM-aFGymi-rdZD7K-aQ4BZD-oH34E9-oH3ziz-oZuSMQ-br6vj5-CCbaw-4SbmBo-oZggv2-6Lj2qJ-oXzNqR-uqkPW-oXyPGn-oXzQT7-azBFAp-oH2TV8-pd37zQ-pf31J5-8LsY95-oXzbdo-5CgkcV-nat4j-6ZDxx4">Flickr</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From burgers to Chiptopia, the most important Chipotle news of the year</p> <p id="8PoW8t">This was supposed to be a comeback year for <strong>Chipotle</strong>, the beleaguered burrito chain whose stock once soared to nearly $750 per share. Of course, that was back before the fast-casual behemoth was socked with one of the most widely-reported food safety scandals in recent memory. The great Chipotle E. coli disaster came to an end in 2015, but the chain has struggled to regain in its footing in the 12 months since. Below, the 10 most important things that happened to Chipotle in 2016, organized into the good, the bad, and the ugly.</p>
<h3 id="Xzq0EM">The Good</h3>
<h4 id="5jyvYQ">Chipotle’s transparency campaign</h4>
<p id="wQZkYQ">In 2016, Steve Ells’ company worked to regain its reputation as a purveyor of “food with integrity.” After a rash of E. coli outbreaks last year, Chipotle <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/12/23/10657568/chipotle-pre-chopped-produce-e-coli-outbreak">changed the way it prepares some of its ingredients</a> in an effort to ensure food safety. That included pre-cooking steaks off-site, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/9/21/12999594/chipotle-chorizo-food-safety">blasting pathogens off of chorizo with “high-powered water jets,”</a> and testing for pathogens at the supplier level.</p>
<p id="FU75Qq">Unfortunately, many Chipotle customers seem less than thrilled by the revamped preparations, with some social media users calling the steak "gross" and "disgusting" and even <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/17/11963224/chipotle-pre-cooked-steak-food-safety-e-coli">comparing it to canned meatballs</a>.</p>
<h4 id="ZGHv4P">Chipotle’s new burger concept </h4>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Tasty Made Building" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DOwICfKcAdGiwB8n2tO7g-qlVmU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7375217/Tasty%20Made.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/tastymadeofficial/photos/a.1116600655054000.1073741828.995412573839476/1119481918099207/?type=3&theater">Facebook</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="KIPc9M">Chipotle got a lot of flack over its decision to break into the already-crowded burger business, with a new concept called Tasty Made. Despite <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/28/13459136/chipotle-tasty-made-negative-reviews">a rather lukewarm reception on online review sites</a>, the Lancaster, Ohio burger joint is, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/11/13602846/chipotle-tasty-made-early-sales-reviews">according to a spokesperson</a>, off to a good start. “The volumes have been strong, the food has been really good, and the team has been doing really well,” he said in an email. </p>
<p id="3hXkJt"><a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/12/13/13935710/tasty-made-chipotle-lower-prices-conventional-beef">So it was weird when, earlier this month</a>, the chain announced it was nixing sustainably sourced beef and lowering prices, thereby rebranding into a more traditional fast food burger concept.</p>
<h4 id="ZXwcKH">The chain unveiled its first-ever loyalty program</h4>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Chiptopia ad" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HAMMl3xdeyLtvL4L7MAzUKZh7JA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6712445/Screen_Shot_2016-06-27_at_12.42.29_PM.0.png">
</figure>
<p id="iUSRKg">Chipotle launched <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/27/12039956/chipotle-chiptopia-rewards-free-food">Chiptopia</a>, a three-month rewards program, in June. All together, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/3/13147362/chipotle-chiptopia-catering-20-million">85,000 people reached “Hot” status</a> — the highest level — in the program, and were therefore awarded free catering for 20 people. The program was a pricey gamble, and it’s unclear exactly how well it paid off for the company: That 85,000 number comes out to approximately $20.4 million worth of catering — that’s a lot of burritos for each of those winners. Overall the program helped get people back into Chipotle locations, though it’s unclear if those customers have continued to dine at Chipotle since the program ended.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A Chipotle chorizo burrito next to a bag of chips and a plastic container of salsa, up against a red backdrop." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2n9UpzqZx1kqVaa-ZIF4gqcZ18U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6723111/CMG_Chorizo_Burrito.0.jpg">
<cite>Chipotle</cite>
</figure>
<h4 id="cvrQ2C">A new menu item was launched (for the first time in ages)</h4>
<p id="sQsmhJ"><a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/29/12061038/taste-test-chipotle-new-chorizo">Professional critics might not be the biggest fans</a>, but Chipotle customers have so far been loving Chipotle’s chorizo, a new protein the chain added to <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/3/13147360/chorizo-chipotle-shonda-rhimes-ice-cream">menus nationwide in October</a>. The chicken-pork hybrid was rolled out as a way to combat menu fatigue (it's one of the only additions to the menu in the company's 23-year history).</p>
<h3 id="MeJoWp">The Bad</h3>
<h4 id="axLnxs">Early Tasty Made reviews weren’t great</h4>
<div id="EiwnKv">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tastymade?src=hash">#tastymade</a> not living up to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chipotle?src=hash">#Chipotle</a> brand. Thin completely undercooked patties. Looks better on the outside than what's on the inside <a href="https://t.co/Aau5EIW4Ly">pic.twitter.com/Aau5EIW4Ly</a></p>— Kimberly Dixon (@momma_dixon) <a href="https://twitter.com/momma_dixon/status/791680192720801792">October 27, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="AudRNx">The menu at Tasty Made is <a href="https://www.tastymade.com/#menu">incredibly simple</a>, with just hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, shakes, and something called "Tasty Bacon Sauce," which is apparently a condiment for fries. Still, the food itself <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/28/13459136/chipotle-tasty-made-negative-reviews">hasn’t been deemed “tasty”</a> by many online reviewers. Some posted their reactions on Twitter, where one user said the new concept did "not live up to the Chipotle brand," citing thin, undercooked beef patties and skimpy milkshakes.</p>
<h4 id="SUwLBT">Financial analysts think the company’s move into desserts is an act of desperation </h4>
<div id="Ahs9r4">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24CMG&src=ctag">$CMG</a>: You're not McDonald's. Your clientele don't want dessert.</p>— John Miller (@Woofdidfly) <a href="https://twitter.com/Woofdidfly/status/791027593667612673">October 25, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="FdSQUX">On a recent earnings call with investors, CEO Steve Ells announced that the chain was <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/25/13409986/chipotle-dessert-mobile-order">testing two new desserts</a>, though he didn’t elaborate. Executives said the company is still in the process of evaluating which dessert will be introduced to menus nationwide. Investors weren’t thrilled with the announcement, taking to Twitter to joke that the move could be the beginning of the end for a once-innovative brand.</p>
<div id="SqZXJX">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dessert should not be the catalyst to drive growth to a Mexican restaurant. Ask any taquiera owner at 8th & Wharton in South Philly. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24CMG&src=ctag">$CMG</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZWB9R09De5">https://t.co/ZWB9R09De5</a></p>— Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/QTRResearch/status/791017831953494016">October 25, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="qsKi8j">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Under $360 and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24CMG&src=ctag">$CMG</a> is going to test a Third dessert option.. Churros? Flan? Or maybe eating CROW?</p>— Option Millionaires (@OMillionaires) <a href="https://twitter.com/OMillionaires/status/791338474595033088">October 26, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h4 id="8caQzI">Chipotle stopped funding its fast-casual Asian concept, ShopHouse</h4>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Shophouse" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QIr_u_31Q6uWTonPumYoYxiwJ5w=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6996155/13413636_1042380945839431_4320438037390546406_n.0.jpg">
<cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/shophouse/photos/a.175356715875196.42693.104925179585017/1042380945839431/?type=3&theater">ShopHouse/Facebook</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="2U3nBu">Saying the brand has not "demonstrated the ability" to show meaningful growth, Ells <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/25/13409986/chipotle-dessert-mobile-order">told analysts on an October earnings call</a> that Chipotle has "decided not to invest further in growing the ShopHouse brand." The company will, however, continue to invest in other concepts, such as its assembly-line pizza concept Pizzeria Locale and the aforementioned burger restaurant Tasty Made.</p>
<h3 id="VvIEqC">The Ugly</h3>
<h4 id="6STX5M">Stocks were messy </h4>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gatH16CMOARDVgn2IoMI-OAPC-w=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7481671/Screen_Shot_2016_06_15_at_11.55.38_AM.0.png">
</figure>
<p id="lUACGl">Despite its best efforts, Chipotle failed to inspire confidence in investors by the summer of 2016. In June, the company's stock <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/15/11944908/chipotle-e-coli-stock-price-recovery-plan">hit its lowest level in three years</a>. Its <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CMG/history?ltr=1">all-time high</a>, in July 2015, was over $742. On June 15, it was trading at around $390 per share. The stock did recover, though, and by November was trading at more than $400. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=chipotle+stock&oq=chipotle+stock&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65l3j69i61l2.1771j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">Today</a> it’s around $390.</p>
<h4 id="G7Jg0c">Investors want to oust founder Steve Ells from Chipotle’s board </h4>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ohKRS-49FVPCZIjbqjZF4s14JAY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3658776/farmed-dangerous-ells.0.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="anEFRX">In November, two Chipotle shareholders <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/1/13491820/chipotle-shareholders-steve-ells-chairman">filed a proposal calling on Ells to be ousted</a> as chairman, and replaced with an independent director. In a statement, Amalgamated Bank CEO Keith Mestrich said Chipotle’s governance poses “a direct risk to shareholders and the public at large.” An independent, outside chair, he added, would allow Chipotle “to provide a more publicly transparent and responsive approach moving forward.”</p>
<h4 id="IpCrec">The company was hit with a number of lawsuits</h4>
<p id="lVWKfG">For Chipotle, 2016 might be viewed as the year of the lawsuit. In January, the burrito chain was <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/1/8/10738696/chipotle-sued-misleading-investors">sued by its investors</a> for allegedly misleading investors regarding its food safety processes. Then came April, when a judge <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/4/21/11481534/chipotle-gmo-lawsuit">green-lit a lawsuit</a> against Chipotle over claims that not all of its food and beverages came without GMOs. </p>
<p id="wovYv9">In August, the company was <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/7/12398486/chipotle-lawsuit-pregnancy-discrimination">ordered to pay $550,000</a> in compensation and damages for allegedly discriminating against a pregnant employee. Later that month, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/29/12696946/10000-chipotle-workers-are-suing-over-unpaid-wages">nearly 10,000 workers</a> announced they were suing, too — alleging the company cheated them out of wages. In September, the chain was <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/9/14/12917356/chipotle-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-california">slapped with a racial discrimination suit</a> and ordered to pay a teen employee and her mother <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/9/29/13104528/chipotle-teen-7-million-judgment">$7.65 million</a> in a sexual harassment case.</p>
<p id="6YZLkZ">• <a href="http://www.eater.com/tags/chipotle?_ga=1.19365617.879833674.1459947648">All Chipotle Coverage</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/year-in-eater">All Year in Eater Coverage</a> [E]</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/12/27/13652870/chipotle-2016-chiptopia-chorizo-stockVirginia Chamlee2016-11-23T13:30:01-05:002016-11-23T13:30:01-05:00Lab-Grown Turkey Could Be Coming to a Thanksgiving Table Near You
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/54tnEg58557K1BOfALRXsX5vvDM=/56x0:945x667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51978367/shutterstock_519458251.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Shutterstock</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Your future holiday bird might be born in a petri dish</p> <p id="Z8RIq1">As if <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/23/13729040/tofurky-history-video">Tofurky</a> wasn’t disruptive enough, now lab-grown meat might be coming to claim its own space at the holiday table. A lab-grown meat company called Memphis Meats, which produced a lab-grown meatball earlier this year, now says it’s interested in growing other proteins, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/22/lab-made-meat-startup-memphis-meats-hopes-to-grow-a-thanksgiving-turkey/">TechCrunch reports</a> — including Thanksgiving turkeys.</p>
<p id="PDpKQD">So far the company has <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiegogo.com%2Fprojects%2Fmemphis-meats-better-meat-better-world-environment%23%2F&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eater.com%2F2016%2F11%2F23%2F13730732%2Flab-grown-turkey-alternative-meat" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">raised more than $53,000 via crowdfunding</a>, which it says will be used to produce more products that will “innovate the meat industry” as well as “save some of the nearly 50 million birds from the slaughter each Thanksgiving.” The turkeys of the future may still be several years in the making, however: Memphis Meats hopes its products will hit shelves in the next five years.</p>
<p id="KWim6k">Meat grown in a lab is also known as cultured meat (or sometimes even "in vitro" meat), meaning it’s derived from animal cells. <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/7/25/12270698/lab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foods">In an interview with Eater earlier this year</a>, Memphis Meats' co-founder Uma Valeti said his company’s products “are not mock meats or plant-based meats. <strong>They are real meat, grown from animal cells, without the actual animals.</strong>”</p>
<p id="9YoDVy">Lab-grown meat producers argue their high-tech food is safer than traditional meat, because production doesn’t introduce the risk of bacterial pathogen contamination. And of course, lab-grown meat also doesn’t require the slaughter of animals, which could lead to a lot more<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/11/25/457253194/the-strange-truth-behind-presidential-turkey-pardons"> pardoned turkeys</a> in the future.</p>
<p id="vSJvz8">But meat grown in a petri dish doesn’t exactly sound appetizing, which is why<a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/9/7/12835766/lab-grown-meat-clean-foods"> some are trying to rebrand it as “clean food</a>.” It is a burgeoning industry, however, and one with financial support from venture capital firms and tech titans like Bill Gates. There are a number of companies looking to compete in the “in-vitro meat” space, though none are offering their products to consumers yet — but perhaps the breakout success of<a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/17/12519908/meatless-impossible-burger-taste-test-consumed-meat-show"> the plant-based Impossible Burger</a> indicates consumers are growing more receptive to alternative meats.</p>
<p id="NGePks">• <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/22/lab-made-meat-startup-memphis-meats-hopes-to-grow-a-thanksgiving-turkey/">Lab-Made Meat Startup Hopes to Grow a Thanksgiving Turkey</a> [TechCrunch]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/10/2/9439795/lab-grown-meat">How Lab-Grown Meat Is Made</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/7/25/12270698/lab-grown-meat-beyond-burger-impossible-foods">Why Do People Want Veggie Burgers That Bleed?</a> [E]</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/23/13730732/lab-grown-turkey-alternative-meatVirginia Chamlee2016-11-23T11:30:01-05:002016-11-23T11:30:01-05:00Watch: How the Tofurky Was Born
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p2DCZbgZ21ceOBPYu0VtH-CQGqk=/63x0:451x291/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51975305/Screen_Shot_2016_11_23_at_10.46.01_AM.0.png" />
<figcaption><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHWcGMBAF5o">Great Big Story</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The soy product was the result of “a long, strange tempeh trip”</p> <p id="Oi5o7j">For vegetarians and vegans, the Tofurky — a beige lump that kinda-sorta resembles poultry, but is actually made of soy — is about as classic as the traditional bird. It’s been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qvwfy0MVJw">mercilessly mocked in pop culture</a>, but the cruelty-free holiday staple has a taste that took years to perfect.</p>
<p id="nq6n92"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHWcGMBAF5o">The latest video from Great Big Story</a> examines the history of this strange culinary invention. Its creator, vegetarian Seth Tibbott, was living in a treehouse (built out of scavenged wood, because why not?) when he began producing tempeh-based products; finding something to eat at Thanksgiving, however, proved problematic.</p>
<p id="O3HPDI">First, he created a stuffed pumpkin which wound up collapsing in the oven. Next came the “gluten roast” which Tibbott says in the video took eight hours to cook and “was too tough to cut.” Eventually, the Tofurky was born.</p>
<p id="AtqoH2">It’s evolved in the years since (Tibbott calls the journey a “long, strange tempeh trip”) but today, it’s a fairly standard Thanksgiving protein — if you’re into that sort of thing.</p>
<p id="NNR3jN">• <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHWcGMBAF5o">This Thanksgiving, Pass the Tofurky</a> [Great Big Story]<br>• <a href="http://eater.com/video-interlude">All Video Interludes</a> [E]</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/23/13729040/tofurky-history-videoVirginia Chamlee2016-11-22T17:00:01-05:002016-11-22T17:00:01-05:0015 Fun Food News Stories to Discuss at Your Thanksgiving Table (Instead of Donald Trump and Neo-Nazis)
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jnMOphHa5B-MofPPlrswOY9l4Xo=/1144x0:5616x3354/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51963641/shutterstock_518604016.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Shutterstock</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This Thursday, just change the subject </p> <p id="5aiReb">Ah, Thanksgiving. The annual holiday when distant aunts, uncles, and cousins crowd around the dinner table to eat their weight in deviled eggs and sweet potatoes, and fiercely argue about politics, religion, and, every four years, our president-elect. This year, when your distant aunt Martha wants to discuss her boycott of the hit Broadway show <em>Hamilton</em> (who are we kidding, she never would have found tickets anyway) or talk about how "that Mike Pence fella is really going to turn this country around," maybe just try changing the subject.</p>
<p id="ArWvi7">Food is a great topic because A.) everyone eats it and B.) that Adele song is now so overplayed it no longer works as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2zyjbH9zzA">Thanksgiving miracle</a>. Also, changing the subject is more effective than giving Gramps the death stare after he waxes poetic about his love of Breitbart, or flipping the table <em>Real Housewives</em>-style when Cousin Rachel starts in with her Hillary Clinton conspiracy theories. Plus, everyone around the table is sure to have passionate opinions about Domino’s new fleet of pizza delivery reindeer, and likely none of them involve politics (unless, of course, Aunt Martha wants to deport the reindeer, in which case, you’re out of luck).</p>
<p id="SKX4bb">Below, 15 ways to sneak a few recent wacky food headlines into Thanksgiving conversation — and none of them involve Donald Trump.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a0uk43zEmj0yMbb1tuhNpanuLkw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7519561/dominosreindeer.0.jpeg">
<cite>Domino’s Japan</cite>
</figure>
<p id="N63VBM">1. "Domino’s is <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/22/13716198/dominos-reindeer-delivery">delivering pizza via reindeer now</a>! That crazy Domino’s — what will they think of next?"</p>
<p id="bgr328">"Soon, it will just land at your doorstep!"</p>
<p id="quZgDi">"Oh no, Grandma, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/25/12640270/pizza-drone-delivery-dominos">Domino’s already does that</a>."</p>
<p id="GWGmif">2. "Cousin Rachel, I see you’ve been Instagramming the hell out of some fall foliage. Did you know <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/9/9/9286337/pumpkin-spice-food-flavor">Wrigley’s even makes a pumpkin spice gum</a> now?"</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Martha & Snoop" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rTZ5KWnM-9P8mq2V9eiImtY24XY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7342959/Screen_Shot_2016-10-25_at_11.10.09_AM.0.png">
<cite>VH1</cite>
</figure>
<p id="ilcRGQ">3. "Grandma, have you SEEN <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/17/13665048/martha-stewart-snoop-dogg-potluck-reviews">Martha and Snoop</a>? Here, let me DVR it for you. Yes, Dad, we all know you smoked weed when you were younger."</p>
<p id="o09btb">4. "Mom, remember your celebrity crush Alton Brown? He has an <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/2/13497796/alton-brown-internet-cooking-show-good-eats">internet cooking show now</a>."</p>
<p id="rbg0jJ">5. "Cousin Brad, I know how much you and your frat bros love Chipotle — did you hear about the <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/1/13439646/avocado-shortage-2016">recent avocado shortage</a>? Guac is already extra enough, amiright?!"</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Cheetos bronzer" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-T6IzApAkSoMlJ2whbfbh_CzCw8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7512339/1477684895061__1244316210564026426.608w.jpg">
<cite><a href="https://shop.cheetosstore.com/colour-de-cheetos-bronzer">Cheetos</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="qlXEmF">6. "Did you guys hear about the <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/21/13705092/cheetos-bronzer-makeup">new Cheetos-branded bronzer</a>? Please don’t give it to me for Christmas, Dad. Seriously."</p>
<p id="EtrgmO">7. "Aunt Edna, I know how much you love your morning tea — did you know you can now <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/9/20/12992624/aerosol-tea-no-more-teabags">spray it directly into your mouth</a> thanks to the wonders of aerosol?"</p>
<p id="cfKELs">8. "Cousin Becky, I heard you’re planning to study abroad in Italy — I dare you to try <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/12/13609152/mcdonalds-nutella-burger">the Nutella burger</a> while you’re there. No, I don't think it’s gluten-free."</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Dog wine" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qeqk4Qb9mbg_KZ34q2UtPzj55TY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6898163/13900111_666189466880339_667522500007978124_n.0.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="D4Ft3H">9. "Mom, have you given Sparky any of <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/8/5/12390758/dog-wine-apollo-peak">that new canine wine</a> yet?"</p>
<p id="aRhkhl">10. "So, Brad, I heard you’ll start looking for jobs soon. Life post-college is tough. Ever think about going the <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/4/22/11490188/banana-decorator-why-didnt-i-think-of-this">professional banana-decorator route</a>?"</p>
<p id="MdmQbM">11. "Did anyone happen to catch that new <em>Ghostbusters</em> movie? Apparently Japan celebrated with a <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/6/24/12027168/marshmallow-burgers-ghostbusters-japan">marshmallow-stuffed burger</a>."</p>
<p id="jBZp68">12. "Aunt Edna, this turkey is ... so interesting. You know, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/21/13680626/butterball-turkey-hotline-behind-the-scenes">Butterball has a help line</a> for this kind of thing."</p>
<p id="HU8oI7">13. "So, Dad, I noticed you’ve been growing a goatee. And is that your sporty new hatchback in the driveway? Look, I know no one wants to think about getting older, but even the <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/10/25/13397654/dos-equis-new-guy-commercial">Most Interesting Man in the World had to retire</a>."</p>
<p id="F3fHPg">14. "Well, it’s official. I’ve decided <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/4/20/11474768/help-rachel-get-tacos-gofundme-please-donate">to quit my job and crowd-fund for my next binge meal</a>."</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="National Recall Prompted Of Thousands Of Sabra Hummus Cases Due To Possible Listeria Contamination" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_IdJj3XRYSSQAtHuDdWygv62NzA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7519577/469058928.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="U0JJvJ">15. "Um, who brought this hummus? Has anyone been eating it?! Okay, Grandma, put down the pita chip. I’ve got <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/21/13699220/sabra-hummus-recall-listeria">some bad news for you</a>..."</p>
<p id="8oWdcX">• <a href="http://www.eater.com/tags/thanksgiving">All Thanksgiving Coverage</a> [E]</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/22/13718036/change-the-subject-thanksgivingVirginia Chamlee2016-11-21T15:00:01-05:002016-11-21T15:00:01-05:00Thousands of Fast Food Workers Will Walk Off Their Jobs This Month
<figure>
<img alt="Fast Food Workers Demonstrate For Better Wages And Benefits Outside Of McDonald's Shareholders Meeting" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-SNfJp_E0Iify-cvNfoMf5UhF4M=/167x0:2834x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51939209/534355134.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Minimum-wage activists </strong><strong>refuse to</strong><strong> back down in the face of President-Elect Trump</strong></p> <p id="O0OYYx">Though Donald Trump’s election has many restaurant workers fearing his policies will be a blow to workers’ rights, union groups say they aren’t backing down. In a conference call on Monday, a group of workers announced plans for what they called “their most disruptive strike and protest yet” — a November 29 walk-off/protest at airports and fast-food restaurants around the country. The workers, members of the Fight for $15 organization, say their demands remain unchanged: a $15-an-hour wage and the right to form a union without the threat of retaliation. </p>
<p id="vCxDie">“Fight for $15 will not back down” in the face of President-elect Donald Trump, said Terrance Wise, a McDonald’s worker on the Monday call. Instead, the organization will “continue to demand that employers pay us a living wage, also let politicians know that any efforts to block minimum wage increases...support racists or racist policies, and deport immigrants” will be fought harder than ever before.</p>
<aside id="VAqmCP"><q>“On November 8, our fight got tougher but it only recommitted our resolve.”</q></aside><p id="IM6xIc">On November 29, workers at a slew of businesses — including more than 320 restaurants around the country and 20 airports — will stage protests. At Chicago O’Hare, airport workers will walk off their jobs and strike, they say, until they are granted higher wages. Thousands of fast-food cooks and cashiers will also walk off their jobs, say organizers, “risking arrest via mass civil disobedience” as they protest in front of their workplaces in cities throughout the U.S.</p>
<p id="y4zvkR">“Our message to President-elect Trump [and other elected officials] is that 64 million workers in the country make less than $15 an hour and we are not backing off,” said Wise, adding that elected officials and companies employing low-wage workers “must act decisively to pay a better wage.”</p>
<p id="qenag9">Wise added that the group would not “stand by and and watch our country torn apart by racism, sexism,” threats of deportation, and threats to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. </p>
<p id="4CZPl2">“On November 8, our fight got tougher but it only recommitted our resolve,” said Kendall Fells, organizing director of Fight for $15. “Just because the election went a certain way doesn't mean we’re going away — just the opposite.” </p>
<p id="yITAl3">Though many restaurant workers see the election of Donald Trump as <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/14/13602756/donald-trump-restaurant-workers-pay-discrimination">a blow to workers’ rights</a>, Fells says his group is energized by the passage of five ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage in different parts of the country. “Even as Donald Trump won, all five ballot initiatives to raise wages passed,” said Fells. “Votes for those initiatives exceeded the total votes for either of the major party candidates.”</p>
<p id="s7D1Gp">But just because Trump is grabbing most of the headlines lately doesn’t mean he is enemy number one for the Fight for $15. “When you look and see that all of the wage initiatives passed, [it’s clear that] raising the minimum wage and economic equality is number one,” said Fells. “Donald Trump is [at the forefront] but Republicans in congress, GOP state legislatures, McDonalds’s ... they’re who our message is directed to.”</p>
<p id="XCGDPn">As for whether he thinks Trump will be <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/9/12930812/donald-trump-food-policy">supportive of a minimum wage increase,</a> Fells said: “I think it’s hard to say. He’s been all over the place. At one point he said wages are too high across the country, and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/politics/donald-trump-minimum-wage/">then he said $10.10</a>.” </p>
<p id="eluVYq">The strike and protests will take place on November 29 to coincide with the Fight for $15’s four-year-anniversary. The organization’s representatives would not comment on the specific restaurants that would be targeted as part of the strike (other than McDonald’s), or whether workers in airports would be protesting inside or outside airport terminals. Regardless, airports like O’Hare might suffer from longer than usual travel delays and general service disruptions due to the strikes. </p>
<p id="IDo4s0">• <a href="http://www.eater.com/tags/minimum-wage">All Minimum Wage Coverage</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/12/3/9732294/minimum-wage-america-by-state">Your Interactive Guide to Understanding the Minimum Wage</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/14/13602756/donald-trump-restaurant-workers-pay-discrimination">How a Trump Presidency Might Affect Restaurant Workers</a> [E]</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/21/13699760/mcdonalds-protest-minimum-wageVirginia Chamlee2016-11-18T15:14:05-05:002016-11-18T15:14:05-05:00Trump Supporters Protest Starbucks by Spending More Money at Starbucks
<figure>
<img alt="Starbucks cup" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Kiwb_g-C9UWlkrxWo5QMPH5Pq4k=/128x0:896x576/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51904999/6727994101_613b311a52_b.0.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/15216811@N06/6727994101/in/photolist-bfwJfi-r7ckqS-5K9VGo-5PeD2U-7oAg1t-4PvW9L-f2pgNL-pW7Xwe-7zXPki-8tfCy2-8tiCVu-B425m-84fqKF-5nJn4c-gPP1D-4z9Q9d-dy94s-5A5vpf-dkBZ7e-dqfTve-7y1oKt-62AgXb-2v8nN-7fg6wY-4z5B84-5SXGFi-eFAHR-4NSue-4z5uFp-kAXsq-4z9TrA-5Sqz9E-a7zDqf-4FXMXd-5V7mMZ-9HKQEk-627zKg-6JTRSM-8prz3Y-Ug922-26W7hF-6vXV5r-e2D2vd-AyYRe-71pKzN-byAunE-8cVG-egqPL3-8xYGnN-6BMMCX">Nicola/Flickr</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’ll show ‘em</p> <p id="DL76hl">Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, angry with Starbucks for supporting a liberal agenda, are protesting the Seattle-based coffee chain — by visiting locations across America and buying coffee there. The protesters are using the hashtag #TrumpCup to instruct followers to place their Starbucks orders using the name "Trump," thereby forcing the barista to write the name on a coffee cup and yell it out once an order is ready.</p>
<p id="VmXDMe"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/living/trump-cup-starbucks/">As CNN reports</a>, the movement gained traction after a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/11/18/i-voted-for-trump-you-lost-white-starbucks-customer-accuses-barista-of-discrimination/?utm_term=.59da3da683c3">video showing a white Trump supporter at a Miami Starbucks</a> accusing a barista of racial discrimination went viral on Thursday. The man, who can be seen pacing throughout the store and demanding his money back, begins yelling "I voted for Trump! You lost!" because his coffee is apparently not made fast enough.</p>
<p id="ovTIsn">He then threatens to punch a fellow customer (who told him not to speak to people that way), though he leaves pretty quickly after the man says he’d be happy to "take it outside."</p>
<p id="sDj6pt">The hashtag #TrumpCup isn't new, per CNN, but it has found a renewed following after the video’s release. Some have claimed the coffee chain will "call the cops" if one uses the name "Trump" to order a drink, <a href="https://twitter.com/Stevenwhirsch99/status/799632049149804544">offering a video</a> (which never actually shows police officers coming to Starbucks) as proof.</p>
<p id="DaEquL">It is worth noting, of course, that the logic behind the "protest" — which isn’t much of a protest at all — is deeply flawed, as it requires throwing financial support behind the very target of the protest. And yet, Trump supporters, including actor Scott Baio, continue to take to Twitter, proudly sharing photos of the drinks they’ve purchased at the chain they claim to hate:</p>
<div id="A5WuCH">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Operation <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpCup?src=hash">#TrumpCup</a><br><br>1) Go to Starbucks & tell them your name is Trump<br><br>2) If they refuse take video<br><br>Pls share & spread the word <a href="https://t.co/huPj4g6cqY">pic.twitter.com/huPj4g6cqY</a></p>
— Baked Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) <a href="https://twitter.com/bakedalaska/status/799487115621007360">November 18, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div>
<div id="QWYHzg">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">If we want Trump written on our cups don't call the cops! Feel free to boycott Starbucks after this. Even Kanye wants to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MAGA?src=hash">#MAGA</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpCup?src=hash">#TrumpCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/YyFv96dhz0">pic.twitter.com/YyFv96dhz0</a></p>
— Irma Hinojosa (@latinaafortrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/latinaafortrump/status/799654921071169536">November 18, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div>
<div id="un4zHx">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Check out this! <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@realDonaldTrump</a> I've started the "give the Trump name" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpMovement?src=hash">#TrumpMovement</a> <a href="https://t.co/7cGSgCSaTH">pic.twitter.com/7cGSgCSaTH</a></p>
— Scott Baio (@ScottBaio) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottBaio/status/716842651094388736">April 4, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div>
<p id="yGbgVA">The new protest takes a bit of heat off Starbucks for its seasonal red cups, which have <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/4/13518936/starbucks-red-cups-2016">been mired in their own controversy</a>. Last year, a Christian internet evangelist wearing a Jesus Christ shirt and toting a handgun argued that the chain’s red cups weren’t Christmasy enough. He fought back by imploring his followers to use the name "Merry Christmas" when ordering their beverages.</p>
<p id="cX1PEN">So, if you’re mad at Starbucks — <a href="http://247wallst.com/retail/2014/03/20/starbucks-targets-100-billion-market-value/">a chain worth some $50 billion</a> — be sure to visit your nearest location, wait in line, spend $5 on a coffee, and take a photo of it. That’ll show ‘em.</p>
<p id="rLihxq">• <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/living/trump-cup-starbucks/index.html">Trump Supporters Launch #TrumpCup As a Protest Against Starbucks</a> [CNN]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/11/4/13518936/starbucks-red-cups-2016">Everybody Chill, Starbucks Is Bringing Red Holiday Cups Back</a> [E]<br>• <a href="http://www.eater.com/starbucks">All Starbucks Coverage</a> [E]</p>
<p id="1h3yXz"> </p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/11/18/13679632/donald-trump-starbucks-trumpcupVirginia Chamlee