Don’t all freak out at once, but there’s a litttttle carnitas problem at Chipotle

I’m sorry if you’re already freaking out — I know that Chipotle is in your Top 5 Priorities list. But yes, it’s true. Chipotle is currently going through a shortage of carnitas, aka pork, at many of its chains across the country. While this seems like the perfect time to panic, let’s all take a deep breath, and realize that the reason behind the shortage is totally justifiable.

There are countless reasons why we love Chipotle, but one of them is simply their belief in “food with integrity.” That means they’re only going to use the best of the best to make our burritos. That integrity includes animal integrity, too. As Chipotle’s own website states, “The best way to treat animals with dignity and respect is to allow them to display their natural tendencies. When sourcing meat, we work hard to find farmers and ranchers who are doing things the right way.” That basically translates to this: Chipotle exclusively uses farmers who raise their animals humanely, and that includes access to outdoors, rather than being cramped up inside of pens all day.

WELL, turns out that Chipotle recently did a routine audit of one of their suppliers and learned that the pigs there were NOT being raised to their standards. As soon as Chipotle learned of this “violation,” they stopped using the supplier immediately. Animals being raised inhumanely is a big no-no for the company. This, however, has consequently caused a shortage of carnitas as Chipotle figures out the next steps. It’s sad, but like, we get it. 

Chris Arnold, a spokesperson for Chipotle, said that they’re looking into a “variety of ways to remedy its carnitas shortage.” He then added that he hopes, “the supplier in question would fix its issues and eventually come back on board.”

This shortage won’t affect all locations, but it will impact many. Twitter, as you’ve probably guessed, is freaking out. There’s also no timeline as to when carnitas will be back in full supply. Please let me apologize immensely if this news has ruined your Thursday. I imagine support groups will start popping up soon, and I’ll see you all there.

Image via here.