I never thought in a million years that I would give the time of day to a fast food establishment. True, I spent most of my youth gorging on 20-piece chicken nuggets at Mc Donald’s, chocolate shakes and fries at Wendy’s, and occasionally inhale a large cheese pizza at Pizza Hut. This is to say that there was a time in my life where I did give the time of day to fast food. Like a lot of people I know, I just didn’t know any better. It was cheap, tasty and always available.
Nowadays I pride myself on the years accumulated of non-fast food consumption. It’s been at least 5 years, if not 10. And then I move to Portland, OR, where local, fresh food is abundant. It was only a matter of time for this foodie-hub to ignite an admirable fast food eatery. That’s right people, Burgerville is actually really cool and moving in the right direction.
I’d heard of Burgerville after moving here. It’s name came up when others spoke of this city’s food enlightenment. But when I found out that Burgerville was fast food, I immediately condemned it.
This summer though, Burgerville crossed my path in a much finer light. While attending the Oregon Sustainability Experience, a week-long conference covering sustainability in Oregon’s food chain, we visited a Burgerville to see how sustainability was taking form in the mainstream. Right off the bat, there were a number of details that struck. Consider the following,
- the Director of Sustainability (yes! a fast food chain has one) quoted Michael Pollan in her introductory remarks (what can I say?! You know Pollan is one of my food heroes.)
- 67% of food purchasing goes to local producers
- 26% of food costs comes from producers certified by third party groups (i.e. Food Alliance Certification)
- 89% of Burgerville employees are insured on a company insurance program; specifically, anyone working 20 plus hours a week has a monthly premium of $20
- the nutritional characteristics of the food ordered is printed on the receipt!
Burgerville receipt from 10/13/10
So, here we have this local fast food place that wants to be transparent. They want the consumer to know that a burger, fries and shake is unhealthy. Obviously, there is no warning sign about the hazards of consuming their shakes, but this remains a significant move towards putting more responsibility on the consumer.
Add to this, the fact that Burgerville is not that cheap. Our large platter of sweet potato fries was $5! The beef in the burger, the berries in the smoothie and the seasonal fried sweet potato fries are all in touch with the true (or almost true) cost of food.
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I was also impressed by their commitment to waste management. The cups and utensils are compostable; and there’s not one giant bucket labeled “trash.” Instead, they offer a bucket for composting, another for recycling and a third for trash. But instead of labeling trash as trash, Burgerville has humanized the thing we know most.
Not trash. Not Garbage. This stuff goes to the landfill!
The garbage goes in the landfill and that is how they label it. Genius! I think that our relationship with garbage is so twisted that we throw things away with little to no consideration. But when you label the trash as ‘landfill,’ you place a tangible and recognizable face on that trash. This small detail really struck me as a meaningful attempt to change the way people think about waste. They’re doing a great job on challenging conventional fast food standards and I think this waste-related issue is so key.
In a culture that romanticizes sustainability (and rightly so) it’s important to have some institutions that can model a positive path to that end point. Burgerville wants to source its food from local farmers and ranchers; they want to treat their employees with respect; they are focused on the future of waste management and they really value the meaning of local food, albeit local fast food.
Part of me feels like I’m selling out by praising an establishment that sells fast food. But the other side, equally rational and more compromising, is willing to see the changes that are possible in this day and age. If you’re like me and you grew up on fast food and you have that craving for fries and a shake, why not go to a place that sources local milk, local berries and local potatoes but honors the easy-to-cook deep fryer?
For those nostalgic moments, go to Burgerville!
Related posts:
- The Oregon Sustainability Experience
- The Urban Farming Revolution
- A Chance to Join the Food Movement! (If you live in Portland.)
- Wal-Mart, a blessing and a curse for local food
- Local Food Movement Gains Serious Support
Tags: portland, seasonal eating, sustainability