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In late 2015, Chipotle outlets in multiple states were affected by an outbreak of foodborne illness, and as a result, the chain closed stores in several states while the issue was investigated. (The incidents also reinvigorated fake news rumors about Chipotle's using dog or cat meat in their food.) On 24 December 2015, the web site Real Farmacy published an article (ANALYSIS: Chipotle is a Victim of Corporate Sabotage — Biotech Industry Food Terrorists Are Planting E.coli in Retaliation for Restaurant’s Anti-GMO Menu) attributed to Health Ranger Mike Adams (who previously claimed the government was spreading aerosolized thought control vaccines), that posited pro-GMO bioterrorists had targeted Chipotle: The article's sole attempt at presenting any evidence backing this extraordinary claim (aside from the presence of a rare strain of E. coli) was based on an entirely unrelated scenario involving surgeon, colon cleanse advocate, and television personality Dr. Oz, who once alleged (via an investigation carried out by Oz's own team) that the chat show host had been defamed by pro-GMO propagandists: An axiom commonly dubbed Hitchens' Razor maintains that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Even if that concept didn't apply here, entertaining Adams' claims remains difficult. Aside from a lack of any actual proof, the article did not offer the manner by which such corporate sabotage might have occurred, did not identify and specific parties by whom the misdeeds might have been carried out, did not explain how only foodstuffs destined for Chipotle outlets might have been contaminated, did not posit why the putative saboteurs would have left an obvious trail by using a rare genetic strain of e.coli not normally seen in foods (rather than a more common form of e.coli), did not detail how low-cost laboratory supplies purchased via Amazon would assist in such an endeavor (nor why corporate saboteurs wouldn't be better funded), or explicate what the primary objective of causing such outbreaks might be. While it might seem plausible to those who fear anti-GMO activists are at risk from shadowy forces, no linear motive for such activity was presented in the article — it simply suggested that nebulous biotech terrorists wished to create havoc due to a grudge over an anti-GMO stance. We contacted Chipotle for a comment on the rumor, which a representative confirmed they'd heard and stated: The chain's statement gave no indication that sabotage by corporate interests or any other entities was a cause under scrutiny in their ongoing investigation (although later news reports indicated that Chipotle had been served with a federal subpoena as part of a criminal investigation tied to a norovirus outbreak at one of their restaurants). Had the article provided any details whatsoever about how such Chipotle sabotage might have been planned and carried out, it would be easier to determine the veracity of a such a claim. However, the sole point of evidence offered was that pro-GMO activists were supposedly once mean to Dr. Oz (who is himself a purveyor of dubious medical information) and offered no explanation for how that sentiments translated into pro-GMO saboteurs causing food-borne illnesses among Chipotle customers in several different states.
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