Why you Really Shouldn’t Eat at Chick-fil-A
by Isabella Zollner
Eight years ago in one of the biggest PR disasters for any fast food restaurant, it became publicly known that Chick-Fil-A’s multi million dollar ‘charity’ campaigns were funding organizations known to be hostile towards the LGBTQ+ community. In an aggressive and unusual move, the Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy doubled down on the company’s “traditional marriage” ideals. This sparked nationwide protests and boycotts, even in Southern states (which make up most of Chick-Fil-A’s sales). However, because of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s public support for Chick-Fil-A, their sales actually rose 12%. Mike Huckabee and other Republican elected officials created a Chick-Fil-A Day and restaurants across the country saw their orders rise past capacity. Their sales rose to 4.6 billion dollars following the massive support for Chick-Fil-A.
And, of course, with all this support for Chick-Fil-A flowing in, Dan Cathy neglected to rescind any statements he had made. He became even more vocal of his hatred for the LGBTQ+ community. In June of 2012 Dan Cathy said,
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, “We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage”. I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”
And in July, the Biblical Recorder published on interview with Dan Cathy where he said,
“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. … We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized. “We intend to stay the course,” he said. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
The narrative of stolen free speech was popular among Dan Cathy and his supporters. Mike Huckabee released his statement while publicizing the Chick-Fil-A Day,
“This is a free country, you could say whatever you want,” he says. “It’s wrong to take it against his company so if we believe in the Constitution and freedom of speech, I don’t think we have to make a big deal out of his comments.”
There are obviously a lot of holes in this defense, the biggest of which is that no one was trying to legally prevent Dan Cathy from voicing his opinion — even with free speech there are still consequences. But conservatives maintained the narrative and it is still one of the leading counter arguments to Chick-Fil-A boycotts.
Even though Chick-Fil-A claims to have reduced their donations, their dark past and refusal to participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) still threatens the LGBTQ+ community. The CEI comprehensively rates corporations on a scale 0 to 100 based on how they treat minority (especially LGBTQ+) employees. The CEI takes into consideration workplace discrimination policies, equal benefits, and public commitment among other things. You can read all of their policies as well as the full 2019 report here.
In the 2019 survey Panera, Burger King, McDonalds, and Starbucks had scores between 90 and 100. These four fast food places all offer an excellent substitute for Chick-Fil-A’s homophobic past and present. So if you know someone who is an avid Chick-Fil-A fan, remind them what’s at stake and what the Chick-Fil-A corporation has done to harm the LGBTQ+ community. And remember that there are always better options for fast food than Chick-Fil-A.
Lastly, while many fast food restaurants offer cheap and, well, fast food, they do not need our support the way small businesses do. So instead of supporting Chick-Fil-A’s blatant homophobia, consider shopping small and local. Small restaurants are closing down at outrages rates because of a lack of action from our government. Voting for a blue wave in our federal and state governments will help small businesses. But what will help even more is our support of small businesses over large corporations.
About the Author:
After being subjected to homophobic harassment in the classroom, Isabella decided to try and use her writing to encourage others to stand up for each other and themselves. Isabella is a high school student in Lafayette, IN.
