NEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 22, 2011: A vegetarian lawyer has sued Chipotle Mexican Grill for selling a bean dish that contains pork. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses the national fast food chain of duping the public into believing its pinto beans are vegetarian.
The plaintiff Kevin Shenkman “reasonably assumed Defendant’s ‘Pinto Beans’ were not prepared with and did not contain bacon and/or pork since there were no representations made to the contrary,” the complaint said. In-store menus made no mention of meat in the beans. And when Shenkman asked, Chipotle servers told him that the beans did not contain bacon or pork, the suit said.
“Throughout our 18-year history, our pinto beans have always been made with bacon, and we have not described them as being vegetarian,” said Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold. He said a better option for vegetarian customers was the black beans, which are labeled as vegetarian on the restaurant’s menus and website. To avoid any confusion, the company plans to roll out new menu boards that highlight the use of bacon in the pinto beans, Arnold said.
Shenkman, who is Jewish and a vegetarian, sued on behalf of a class of California customers who, like him, cannot eat pork because of “ethical, religious, moral, cultural, philosophical or health-related” concerns, according to the complaint.
This lawsuit is similar to the one against McDonald’s for its “natural flavored” fries — the additive is actually bovine meat. The fast-food chain was sued by a Hindu and paid $10 million to several Hindu institutions.