Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 42 to 50.

Are organically grown foods the best choices? The advantage claimed for such foods over conventionally grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Advocates of organic foods- a term whose meaning varies greatly- frequently proclaim that such products are safer and more nutritious 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 evidence, the preponderance of written material advancing. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting of entirely organically grown foods prevents or cures diseases provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized and form the basis for folklore.

Almost daily, the public is besieged by claims for “no-aging” diets, new vitamins, and other wonder foods. There are numerous unsubstantiated reports that natural to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than 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 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.

The word “maintain” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to______.