Get to Know Ariana Yett

For decades, many restaurants across the country have relied on unsustainable agricultural methods --like monocropping, excessive water use, and pesticides--to meet the needs of a growing customer base. Bloomberg Fellow Ariana Yett is working to develop new strategies to promote sustainable food systems in her role as a senior procurement analyst at Chipotle Mexican Grill. 

We sat down with Ariana to learn more about her work and her journey into public health:

 

What brought you to where you are today?

I grew up internationally, moving to a new country every two to five years. Each move meant a new culture to explore, and provided glimpses into food customs, histories, and regulations. For example, Fiji has an abundance of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables that grow in its local  ecosystem. It also has one of the highest rates of non-communicable diseases worldwide, resulting from a legacy of food dumping, and the reorientation of local food production towards cash crops. Immersed in these contradictions, I realized just how much I take for granted with our dietary habits in the U.S., when in reality they are the byproduct of political, social, and economic relationships. This made me eager to dive into these complex systems both in the US and in international contexts. 

I have spent the last three years working with the procurement team at Chipotle Mexican Grill. I was drawn to Chipotle because of its commitment to “Food with Integrity.” Chipotle has built its brand sourcing sustainable ingredients, free of preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors. In short, food that is better for both consumers and the health of the planet. 

I am currently a senior procurement analyst and manage the sourcing and manufacturing of our beans, salsas,  limited-time sauces, and other products. In this role I spend much of my time collaborating with our suppliers, including our farmers, to contract ingredients, optimize our food processing and production, and develop sustainable sourcing guidelines for new menu items. 
 

What does your day-to-day look like?

Everyday looks different at Chipotle. I spend much of my time in meetings with our growers and culinary partners discussing growing practices, recipe reformulations, and market trends. 

I also work closely with our food safety and sustainability teams on a myriad of projects. These include onboarding new suppliers to support Chipotle’s growth and mitigate risk; developing and testing climate-change resilient recipes for our core menu items; and exploring alternative ways to grow and process our foods to achieve our sustainability goals and improve our customer experience. 

Can you tell us a story about your work?

Early on in my tenure at Chipotle, I visited one of our major dry bean suppliers. Standing seven feet off the ground in the cab of a combine, I listened as the farmer described his hesitation towards using cover crops (plants grown to improve soil health and protect the soil between cash crop plantings). Although planting a secondary crop after the beans have been harvested may improve overall soil health, the farmer said this practice is often expensive in the short term with minimal visible returns. This was unfortunately not new feedback. Many of the other bean growers I met during my multi-day trip shared similar concerns –sustainable growing practices such as organic certification are expensive, often require additional resources and produce lower crop yields than “conventional” growing practices. This raised an important question for me: How can we ensure that sustainable food is affordable and accessible to all, including to farmers? It is this question and others that I aim to answer through my Bloomberg Fellowship.

Chipotle is not who we usually think about when we think about public health. How have you found your place in this landscape? 

The food industry plays a key role in shaping consumer, animal, and environmental health. Chipotle is at the forefront of a larger movement to revolutionize the restaurant industry. Since its inception, the company has been at the leading edge of setting standards, particularly in spaces such as animal welfare policy, that have catalyzed meaningful and beneficial changes in the broader food industry. It is this mission to “Cultivate a Better World” that first drew me to work at Chipotle. 

I wish people better understood the impact of institutions, and specifically the impact of corporate food purchases on food systems. Corporations have massive buying power and can influence the supply chain in ways that individuals cannot. When they choose sustainably produced, locally sourced, or fair-trade foods, they drive demand for responsible practices, helping to reduce environmental damage, support fair labor, and promote animal welfare. Additionally, corporations that set high standards for food sourcing often inspire others in the industry to follow suit, creating a ripple effect that can elevate practices across the sector. By making mindful choices, institutions can help create a food system that’s not only more sustainable but also more equitable, resilient, and responsive to the needs of people and the planet.

What do you like most about being a Bloomberg Fellow?

One of the things I like most about being a Bloomberg Fellow is having the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded peers working on issues related to food systems. My work at Chipotle exposes me to the restaurant industry’s side of food production, so I enjoy engaging with fellows tackling food system issues from a wide range of collaborating organizations. 

I have learned so much from my peers and having the chance to engage with them on coursework, capstone/practicum topics, and during the annual summit has enhanced my overall learning, making my MPH experience much more rich. 

What prompted you to apply to the Fellowship?

After working in the food industry for a few years, I realized I wanted to go back to school to study the wider ramifications of food production so that I could contextualize the impact of my work. I was struggling to figure out the right program that would teach me how to think more critically about food systems, while also giving me the opportunity to apply my skills in practice and interact with different facets of the foodscape.

The Fellowship was the perfect opportunity. It gave me the opportunity to continue to engage with the food industry while working in the private sector, immerse myself in academia, and most importantly develop relationships with individuals working to address food issues in the public sector. 

In short, the Fellowship gave me the skills necessary to  facilitate conversations between the public and private sectors, both of which I believe are needed to tackle the pressing public health crisis. 

How do you hope to make an impact in your community in the future?

I want to empower consumers to learn more about the supply chains behind our food. Very few people stop to think about how our food is grown, harvested, processed, and distributed. In an industry where power is increasingly concentrated amongst a handful of corporations, consumers can and should do what we can to enact change.

This starts with voting with our wallets and buying products that contribute to healthier diets, stronger local economies, and more sustainable food systems. In addition, increasing knowledge about food supply chains will help consumers advocate for regulations and policies that encourage corporate transparency, ensure fair wages, and create an equitable, accessible food system.

Using my expertise in supply chains and my training in public health, I want to normalize conversations about food systems, create resources to help people understand the journey their food takes, and inspire consumers to cultivate a better, healthier, world.