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Not all naturalists seek to control disease through diet; some object to what they consider the artificiality of many food products: the colorings added to enhance their appeal, the chemicals put in to improve their taste, the preservatives to increase their shelf life and the processing that may rob them of their nutrients. Some items pushed by the granddaddies of today's faddists have proved highly beneficial. They long ago touted wheat germ, the vitamin-rich embryo of the wheat kernel, and such health store staples as safflower oil, nuts and unsweetened juices.
But the current interest in organics is unprecedented. In 1965 there were only 500 stores in the U.S. specializing in health foods. Now there are more than 3,000. Virtually every major supermarket chain is either carrying or considering handling a line of health-food items. Some estimate that sales will top $400 million this year and account for 5% of all supermarket sales.
The growth has come despite premium prices. True organic produce costs about 30% more to produce and deliver than conventional items. The extra effort needed to raise certain vegetables organically and the limited distribution may double the retail cost. A pound of Granola, a cereal containing oats, wheat germ and sunflower seeds, can run a customer as much as 89¢, or just about twice the price of a box of "enriched" breakfast cereal. Fertilized eggs, which contain a tiny chick embryo, average 30¢ a dozen more than standard, unfertilized eggs. Yet demand for such products is so great that profits are almost always assured.
Temptation. Abuses also seem inevitable as some unscrupulous merchants seek to capitalize on the fad. Allen Grant, West Coast editor of the late J.I. Rodale's Organic Gardening and Farming, believes that anywhere from 50% to 70% of the food labeled organic is, in fact, no different from that being sold on supermarket shelves. Even if that estimate is too high, most experts agree that more "organic" food is being sold today than actually grown. "The temptation is obvious," says Mrs. Crissy Rose, a research analyst at California's department of consumer affairs. "The market is there, but the food is not, or is more costly to obtain."
What if the food is genuinely organic? Many nutritionists agree that unprocessed, unadulterated products may often taste better than their conventional counterparts. Fruits and vegetables are usually fresher and come from plant varieties chosen for flavor. But all reject the faddists' claim that such foods are necessarily more nutritious. "Plants produce nutrients to aid their own growth, not to benefit those who will eat them," says Dr. Myron Winick, director of the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. "There is no evidence—and no reason to believe—that organically grown plants contain any more vitamins than foods fertilized with nitrates." Nor, Winick says, is there any reason to assume that natural vitamins are better than the synthetic kind. Says he: "The body cannot tell the difference between natural vitamins and those made in the laboratory."