Organic food costs more and is generally harder to find than
conventionally grown food — but that hasn’t slowed its growing
popularity among consumers. Many shoppers assume organic
products are more nutritious and safer to eat, but these
perceptions are based more on hype than hard science. “Some
supporters of organic food production promote it as being
‘better’ without any supporting science,” said Penny Kris-
Etherton, Ph.D., a registered dietitian and Distinguished
Professor of Nutrition at the Pennsylvania State University’s
College of Health and Human Development. “In terms of both
nutrition and safety, organic food is no different than foods
produced by other contemporary food production practices.” In a
2010 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
researchers reviewed 12 major studies on organic food from the
past 50 years and found “evidence lacking for nutrition-related
health effects that result from the consumption of organically
produced foodstuffs.” Some consumers buy organic produce