Healthy Legacy, a website dedicated to healthy eating and healthy living gives suggestions for healthier food alternatives and says that one of the top ten food tips that parents should follow for their children is, "Eat low fat, organic and antibiotic-free meat and dairy products*." The website also says to, "Purchase dairy and meat that has been raised antibiotic-free. Large factory farms routinely use antibiotics as feed additives for livestock and poultry, not to treat disease, but to compensate for crowded, stressful, unsanitary conditions. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that 70% of all antibiotics in the U.S. are used as feed additives for pigs, poultry and cattle. Antibiotic overuse in food animals worsens antibiotic resistance, and can contribute to food contaminated with drug-resistant, disease-causing bacteria, as well as possible air, water and soil contamination*."
Experts suggest that training children early to eat healthy will allow them to make better decisions about eating healthy food as they grow older. With this in mind, it is equally important for restaurants and foodservice venues to make available these antibiotic/hormone free and organic food options so parent's demands and children's nutrition needs can be met anywhere they dine. The trend is growing at a rapid pace and many families are basing their restaurant choice largely on the availability of these healthier options not only on the main menu but the kids menu alike.
So, the question remains for restaurant operators, "Will they be dining with you?"
Source: www.healthylegacy.org
