“Having been raised on a farm in Wisconsin, I know what real, organic produce should look and taste like,” Dan Howard, manager of Lincoln Park restaurant Range, said. “Since I know the difference between fresh produce and hormone-filled produce, I am better able to serve my customers.”

People are more concerned about what they’re eating and are consequently changing their diets, according to Howard.

We, as a society, have always valued diets, Howard said, but more recently, people are beginning to experiment with cutting out gluten and dairy products. Presently, about 30 percent of the public says it would like to cut back on the amount of gluten it eats, Harry Balzer, vice president at market research company NPD Group, told The New York Times last February 2014.

Howard said that Range’s role as a locally-grown restaurant is to provide new ways to represent these underrepresented diets.

However, cutting specific foods out of your diet may be detrimental rather than beneficial, Wendy Alder, registered and licensed dietician, said. With easy access to the Internet, people are taking matters into their own hands and self-diagnosing themselves with intolerances from research that might not be so reliable, Alder said.

“With the public being exposed to so much that may not be scientific-based literature, unfortunately, the Internet is just becoming a big ocean of misinformation for the lay person,” Alder said.

Diagnosing one’s self with an intolerance or allergy could have effects on one’s vitamin and mineral intake, leading to more issues down the road, Alder said.

“Personally, I have found certain foods that I’ve used for my son with allergies have since changed processing lines, and may now be considered unsafe for his allergies,” Alder said.

Foods are becoming more processed, and people are definitely becoming more concerned with what they are eating for this reason, Alder noted.

Restaurants such as Range recognize this influx in concern and attempt to translate the idea of organic foods and homegrown influence into the design and feel of their restaurant. Walking into Range, guests are welcomed by its fresh, organic style in its usage of nature and raw materials, such as sticks and lanterns to hold lights as