Your head may already be spinning when trying to remember the differences between food labels including “organic,” “fair trade” and “non-genetically modified.”
Here’s one more you may start seeing at your local restaurant. It’s called “Eat REAL,” and it will let you know how animals were treated during food preparation. A nonprofit, the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC), first started working on the label five years ago and announced earlier this month there are nearly 500 restaurants and foodservice providers who are “REAL” certified in 32 states. Those restaurants include chains such as Bareburger, Fresh & Co. and Sweetgreen, as well as some one-location restaurants. REAL stands for the words “responsible,” “epicurean,” “agricultural” and “leadership.”
The label doesn’t only signify that companies treat animals well. “Eat REAL” is a points-based system, and each restaurant must receive enough points to qualify in several categories, including whether they serve whole grains to customers, whether the seafood they serve is sustainable and whether they serve healthy food in “appropriate” portion sizes.
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