What’s the Beef with Chick-Fil-A?

Over the recent decades, Chick-fil-A has reshaped the American fast-food industry and taken the nation by storm. Fitting with Chick-fil-A’s rapid take-over, Emery has joined in the Chick-fil-A craze, but should its latest controversies define its role in students’ lives? 

For Junior Ava Cotta, Chick-fil-A has always played a major role in her weekly eating habits. “As long as I can remember Chick-fil-A was my favorite restaurant. The joy I felt getting into my mom’s car after school knowing we would be on the way to have my favorite meal was the best part of my day,” Cotta recounts. “ Now it has become a staple in my weekly diet, I’ll have it at least three separate times a week either for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.”

For Cotta, Chick-fil-A has had an impact on her life, but just as a fast food company. Nevertheless, when taking into account where to eat, should people reconsider their opinions on Chick-fil-A due to its surrounding controversies?

With their deep-rooted faith in Christianity, Chick-fil-A has been found in LGBTQ+-based controversies from as early as 2003. According to Yahoo Life, Chick-fil-A has been supporting anti-LGBTQ+ organizations by donating around 7 million dollars to them from 2003-2012. Over the past decade though, Chick-fil-A has responded to the backlash by remaining unbiased on the topic across all social media platforms. However, their owner has not been on the same page as he has been noted for continuing to donate to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations and preventing a bill that would expand LGBTQ+ rights from being passed. 

However, if someone were to stop eating at Chick-fil-A due to their unethical decisions, should they stop consuming and supporting large brands like Nike or Apple as well? For an anonymous Emery student, their solution is to remain unhypocritical.

“You can’t pick and choose which companies to support these days since each one has its own ethical issues. To choose not to support one large corporation because they are immoral, but to support another that is too, is hypocritical…in today’s world you have to live with the bad to get the good or decide altogether to stop consuming from large out of line corporations.”

Overall, Chick-fil-A’s popularity is undeniable. Thus, the debate on whether or not students should eat there will continue as long as the fast food chain stands.