(NaturalNews) Earlier today, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., reportedly told Bloomberg.com that it was considering expanding its supply chain to include sick animals treated with antibiotics. As Bloomberg shockingly reported:

If Chipotle allows sick animals treated with antibiotics to remain in its supply chain, it will increase the amount of beef available to the company, said John Nalivka, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture economist and president of commodity researcher Sterling Marketing Inc. in Vale, Oregon.

"That opens up their supply quite a bit," he said. Chipotle will be able to buy cattle outside the USDA's Never Ever 3 program, which says cattle may never be given antibiotics, growth promotants or fed anything with animal byproducts.

This announcement seems to run counter to the longstanding philosophy of Chipotle which has, for years, sought to focus on more "naturally" raised meats rather than the usual factory-farmed products. But the company ran into serious supply problems on its cuts of beef, largely due to the growing commercial success of the food chain.

Chipotle apparently reverses itself hours later

Later in the day, however, Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold told NPR that he had made a mistake. "I gave Bloomberg incorrect information," he said.

NPR goes on to say that "...the company is currently evaluating if this strict 'never-ever' antibiotic protocol is best for the animals, or whether animals can be treated when necessary and allowed to remain in the herd."

A victory for food consumers everywhere

The big news in all this, however, is the very fact such a conversation even took place about animal antibiotics. This proves that food consumers are winning when it comes to heightened awareness about meat sources used in their fast food.

Awareness of the widespread use of antibiotics in animals is at an all-time high (and rising). Simply put, food consumers don't want to eat meat harvested from cows pumped full of antibiotics.

Today, Chipotle received that message loud and clear. Rest assured that if the company crosses that line and lowers its standards, it's going to be pummeled by a backlash of angry consumers who will find their burritos somewhere else.

Because, let's face it: as far as fast food goes, Chipotle is a cut above the rest in terms of ingredient quality and freshness. I'm not endorsing the restaurant; I'm just saying you can do a lot worse. If you really want to uncover some mystery meat, ask yourself what's in a Taco Bell beef burrito...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/13/211717907/chipotle-change...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-12/chipotle-to-allow-some-antib...

http://www.naturalnews.com/z041613_Chipotle_sick_cows_antibiotics.html