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+1 (888) 646-0573More consumers are shifting toward adopting a healthier diet than what they’ve conventionally been eating. Which may be why New York’s ban on the use of trans fats in restaurant food has, generally, been met with praise.
In fact, according to the Associated Press, the city has just released definitive evidence that its belt-tightening legislation on trans fat has had a positive effect. The City’s Department of Health states that trans fats dropped at least 2.4 grams per serving after the ban, with hamburger chains dropping 3.8 grams.
This trend toward healthy food is closely followed by foods that support environmental sustainability, prompting a farmers market in Chicago called the Green City Market (GCM) to only admit farmers with certain certifications.
“To my knowledge, Green City Market is the only farmers market in the country to require independent third-party certification,” said executive director Dana Benigno to the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the Sun-Times, nearly half of the GCM farmers in the market are certified USDA Organic, but many smaller farmers find this coveted labeling to be too expensive and involve too much paperwork. Therefore, the GCM allows products that are Certified Naturally Grown, Food Alliance certified or Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program certified as well as those that are Animal Welfare Approved, American Humane Certified or Certified Humane for the dairy farmers.
Farmers say the biggest consumer concerns are whether produce is sprayed with chemicals or pesticides. After that is concern over antibiotics being used in pork, lamb, beef or poultry as well as the use of genetically modified feeds, use of hormones and animal access to outdoor pastureland.
Oftentimes, the accepted certifications for the GCM address these consumer issues head on.
If other farmers wish to convey the extent of their certifications and the safety measures they take when producing their products, they should invest in a color label printer that can produce these informative custom labels.
