Airport Food: Burger King Provides Veggie Burgers, Starbucks Strikes Out
In PCRM’s latest ranking of airport food offerings, San Francisco, for the second year in a row, landed the highest marks with 96 percent of all its restaurants offfering a healthy option. Chicago took a nosedive from last year’s number three ranking to finish at number ten—the airport with the least healthy choices. Scores were based on which restaurants offered the most low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free (that is, vegan) meals.
“While a number of restaurants made healthy changes to their menu, the most significant addition was Burger King’s BK Veggie, a veggie burger which debuted last May. Some airports have as many as six Burger King restaurants, making it much easier to find a low-fat, vegetarian option, even where you’d least expect it,” says PCRM dietician Brie Turner-McGrievy, M.S., R.D.
On the other hand, Starbucks’ line of entirely unhealthful sandwiches tarnished its upscale image.
| Airport |
Score |
No. of Healthy
Restaurants |
Total
Restaurants |
| San Francisco |
96% |
25 |
26 |
| Denver |
79% |
26 |
33 |
| Los Angeles |
54% |
32 |
59 |
| Dallas |
53% |
33 |
62 |
| Houston |
50% |
16 |
32 |
| Atlanta |
49% |
25 |
51 |
| Phoenix |
48% |
19 |
40 |
| Las Vegas |
45% |
20 |
44 |
| Minneapolis |
44% |
20 |
45 |
| Chicago |
42% |
25 |
59 |
Note: A restaurant was rated “healthy” if it offered at least one low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free entrée. To get the percentage score, PCRM divided the number of “healthy restaurants” by the total number of restaurants.
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