Eat Ethical

So what resources do you have if you're not a vegetarian, but you still care about the backstory behind your beef? TravelMuse tips us off to EatHumane.org, a new guide put out by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), which lists over 150 restaurants in 15 U.S. cities that source humanely-raised meat and dairy products. And by avoiding factory farms, research indicates that these restaurants are doing their part to help support sustainable environmental practices.

To create the database, WSPA searched menus for specific wording that signified that humane practices were taken in the raising of the food, then verified the details directly with the chefs. The database is still growing, and WSPA is encouraging restaurants to contact them at restaurants@wspausa.org with information about their menus to help them fill in the gaps.

So how do the cities stack up in terms of humane offerings? We looked at the number of restaurants listed in each city, and it turns out Boston tops their list. Check out the full breakdown after the jump.

Atlanta -- 12
Boston -- 31
Charleston -- 3
Chicago -- 10
Cleveland -- 8
Dallas -- 9
Los Angeles -- 6
Minneapolis -- 12
New York -- 11
Philadelphia -- 9
Portland -- 13
San Diego -- 6
San Francisco -- 11
Seattle -- 10
Washington, D.C. -- 9

We're also glad to see that some of the restaurants featured have already appeared on Intelligent Travel, like Boston's Beehive, and New York's Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Hook in D.C. Not going out to eat? The WSPA also has created a grocery store database to help you find humane labeling in local chains.

For more food coverage, check out our past posts here.

Photo: Rita Crane Photography, via the Intelligent Travel Flickr Pool