Why won't Chipotle just use less meat?

Some news in the world of sustainable food: Chipotle is responding to beef supply shortages by considering looser standards. Instead of aiming to avoid all beef treated with antibiotics, the burrito chain and sustainable ag advocate may start accepting cows treated for illness, while still avoiding those given antibiotics as a matter of routine.

It's a defensible place to draw the line. The problem with livestock antibiotics is primarily about overuse, not any use at all.  As Laura Rogers argues, American beef would be far safer if the standard Chipotle is considering were the actual regulatory standard for everyone.

Not that the chain can be expected to follow this standard strictly. They don't follow their current one strictly now. Instead, they get as much of the good beef as they can—and when the supply runs out, they fill out their inventory with other stuff.