On January 28, 2020, I read in a New York Times article that Chipotle had been fined over $1.4 million in a child labor case. Chipotle had about 13,000 child labor violations in Massachussetts, but I have not heard of Chipotles in other states making these violations.
In the article, it states that Chipotle had workers under the age of 18 work over 48 hours each week, which prevented them from focusing on their school life. Chipotle also hired minors even though they did not have work permits and only give workers sick days for certain illnesses.
When I was reading this article, I was very shocked to realize that child labor was still present in the US. I knew that child labor was still happening around the world, but I did not realize it was happening so close to me.
The New York Times article also talks about how other fast food chains like Wendy’s, Burger King, and McDonald’s had violated the child labor laws in Massachusetts in recent years.
As a person who occasionally eats at these fast food chains, I was shocked reading this article. I was especially surprised about Chipotle since I not only enjoyed eating their food, but supported the restaurant’s values, such as maintaining the health of our planet.
When I was little, I had never really considered how businesses affect those around them. However, as I grew older and learned more, I realized businesses have a big effect in their community. Now, I like to look at the value of the companies that I buy from or eat at and see if they do anything to support a cause.
After thinking about all of this, I asked myself these questions: Should I still eat at Chipotle even though I know that child labor is occuring at some of their restaurant chains? If I do still eat there, would that mean that I am supporting the fact that they use child labor in order to run their business? Even though these child labor accusations happened in another state, does that mean it would be alright to eat at the Chipotle in my state?
I asked myself these questions and came to the conclusion that just because I eat at Chipotle does not mean that I support whatever unethical actions they are doing. There are many companies out there that have some unethical practices that we may or may not know about, but we still buy from them.
As mentioned earlier, the article discussed how other restaurants like Wendy’s and McDonald’s have these food violations, but we still consume their food. Just because we eat their food, does not make us bad people nor mean that we support anything unethical that they have done.
These food chains provide us with convenience, and a lot of us do not have the luxury to stop buying products from certain stores just because they did something wrong.
This is a sad fact, but it is also true. For example, there have been several stories about Walmart mistreating their workers. However, even if the people who shop there do not support what they are doing, customers still buy from them because it may be cheaper than other stores.
I think that even if we do not support a company’s values or actions, sometimes we do not have a choice but to buy their products sometimes.