Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ranks second out of 23 of the nation’s busiest airports for offering healthy food options, according to the 2014 Airport Food Review report by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. This is the first time Sea-Tac Airport has been included in the annual report by the Committee’s registered dietitians.
The report shows 90 percent of restaurants at Sea-Tac offer at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based, fiber-packed meal. That’s only two percentage points off the leader in the study, Baltimore/Washington International Airport (92 percent).
“In its first year on the list, Seattle takes off in second place,” quotes the report. “With 90 percent of restaurants offering at least one healthful option, travelers won’t have to look far to find nutritious meals with a Northwest flair throughout the airport.”
The committee’s dieticians specifically listed as examples from Vintage Washington, Seattle Seahawks 12 Club, Starbucks and Kobo items such as steel-cut oatmeal with fresh berries and walnuts, vegetarian fiesta salad, and brown rice bowls with squash, beets, kale, red cabbage, peas and broccoli. Click here to see full report: http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/2014-airport-food-review
“We’re seeing a vegetable renaissance take place in U.S. airports,” says Physicians Committee director of nutrition education Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D. “The demand for healthful meals is creating an artisanal food movement, ripe with beet burgers, quinoa bowls, and Brussels sprouts salads. As a dietitian, I’m excited to see a menu shift toward immune-boosting, disease-fighting foods.”
The Physicians Committee collects airport restaurant menus from the top 30 busiest airports in the United States, based on data from the Federal Aviation Administration. Inconclusive data eliminates an airport from the final rankings. An airport receives a point if its menu includes at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based, high-fiber entrée. The final percentage score divides the airport's number of restaurants serving health-conscious fare by its total number of restaurants. Survey methods include in-person visits, internet research, and phone calls with restaurant managers to confirm menu items.
When compared to 2013, the 2014 report includes five additional airports—Philadelphia, Boston, JFK, LaGuardia, and Seattle—so the national average still reflects a growing trend for healthful fare. In 2001, just 57 percent of airport restaurants offered at least one plant-based option.
