Major food trends start in the most obvious of places -- at the top of the food chain -- at places such as McDonald’s and other leading and influential consumer food brand companies.

So if you are wondering if the trend toward antibiotic-free foods -- including seafood -- is for real or just a passing fancy, consider this: Last year McDonald’s unveiled a policy to serve only antibiotic-free chicken in all of its 14,000 US restaurants.

A few months later, Perdue, one of the world’s largest poultry providers, announced that over half of the chicken it sells is now completely antibiotic free.