Are organically grown foods the best food choice?The adventages claimed for such food over conventionally grown and marked food products are now being debated.Advocates of organic food----a term whose meaning varies greatly-----frequently proclaim that such products are safer and more nutritions than others.The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development.However,much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional needs,Although most of these claims are not supported by scientific evidence,the preponderance of written material advancing such claims makes it difficult for the general public to separate fact from fiction.As a result,claims that eating a diet consisting entrely of organically grown foods prevents or cures diseasor provides other benefits heath have become widely publicized and form the basis for folklore.Almost daily the public is besieged by claims for"onaging"diets,new vitamin, and other wonder foods.There are numerous unsubstiated reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones,that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better then fumigated grains,and the like.One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods.But in many cases consumers are misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods.So there is real cause for concern if consumers,particularly those with limited incomes,distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.