For those who have visited Chipotle lately, you might have seen the signs informing customers that there are no carnitas because of short supply.

You might have wondered why. During a recent audit, Chipotle discovered that one of its pork suppliers was cutting corners.

Because they have high standards for animal welfare, the popular restaurant requires its suppliers to make sure the pigs have access to outdoors and deeply bedded barns so they can move freely.

They do not allow antibiotics to be used on them either. Company spokesman Chris Arnold described how conventionally raised pigs spend their lives in crowded and uncomfortable conditions, which the company and its consumers do not approve of.

In the company’s statement, he said, “We would rather not serve pork at all than serve pork from animals that are raised in this way.”

The restaurant is highly selective about who its suppliers are because they refuse to serve conventionally raised meat. They demand high quality products, which is unusual for a fast food restaurant.

Chipotle immediately stopped receiving pork from the supplier that was cutting corners until they meet their standards again, which meant that they would not have enough to serve in their restaurants.

In the meantime, they are currently looking for other suppliers that meet their standards.

Chipotle’s philosophy, called Food With Integrity, is very popular with their customers. Many people enjoy getting the food they love while knowing that the animal was treated properly and not given harmful medicine to enhance its growth and keep it from feeling sick.

Chipotle is well-known for their stance on animal welfare. Their decision to pull pork from their menu until they were sure it was raised in a healthy manner was clearly a business conscious decision.

They kept their consumers in mind when they made this decision and it seems to have paid off. According to Business Insider, Chipotle shares initially crashed early Wednesday, when they pulled the pork, then rebounded.

The stock was down less than 1% in mid-morning trading. The New York Times reported that last year, Chipotle’s sales rose 19.8 percent while McDonald’s, which is not known to serve unconventionally served meat, dropped 3.3 percent.

This shows that people are beginning to truly care about where their food is coming from. It certainly seems like society is moving towards a more conscious diet.

Because of its beliefs in treating the animals correctly, Chipotle has a wonderful reputation and rarely do people ever worry about what they might be eating.

The public has a growing desire to have healthier and better quality food and by abiding by their Food With Integrity philosophy, Chipotle is quickly rising in terms of popularity.

The restaurant is expanding rapidly. In the last nine years alone, 1,100 restaurants have opened in the US and now Europe as well. The obvious growing popularity of a restaurant well known for its burritos and high standards of raising the meat seems to show that society is moving towards a healthier diet.