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That slightly shrivelled plum, bruised apple and less-than-perfect tomato in the organic produce section of the supermarket might not look as fetching as their non-organic counterparts -- and they almost always cost more. But an increasing number of shoppers are gravitating toward them, especially when it comes to feeding their children.

While scientific data are scarce on the measurable health benefits of eating produce grown without chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides, studies that show increased chemical contamination in humans have many parents investigating alternatives.

It's a "better-safe-than-sorry" approach, says Laura Telford, executive director of Canadian Organic Growers in Ottawa.

"The latest reports on food contamination show that 22 per cent of fruits and vegetables have a detectable level of pesticides," she says. "Over a lifetime, we don't know what the cumulative effect is going to be or the effect of the interactions of the various chemicals."

Children are more at risk than adults, she says, because they are young and still developing. Some studies have shown that barriers that keep chemicals from entering the body are not fully formed at birth, which makes babies more susceptible to pollutants. The brain and nervous system continue to develop into adolescence.

"Why not take care of the youngest members of society and feed them organic?" she says. "We don't make the claim there's no chemicals in organic food. Chemicals are ubiquitous in Canada, but the studies that have been done show that there are a lot fewer residues in organic food."

Here's some advice for those who want to start navigating the barrage of sometimes-conflicting information about organics:

Do what you can and start gradually. "You don't have to make life too hard," Ms. Telford says. "If budget is the most important consideration, I suggest creating a relationship with farmers directly or going to farmers' markets." She pegs the organic premium at about 25 per cent in supermarkets, but says you can do better going directly to the source.

Make a list. U.S.-based Consumer Reports magazine says organic produce still costs about 50 per cent more than non-organic, on average. Organic meat, produced without growth hormones, antibiotics and feed additives, is about twice the price. Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's testing of pesticide residue, the most important fruits and vegetables to buy organically -- known as the dirty dozen -- are apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach and strawberries.

Watch labelling. According to Canada's National Standard for Organic Agriculture, a product may be labelled organic if it consists of 95-per-cent organic ingredients. When it contains at least 70 per cent, the proportion of organic ingredients may be listed on the main label. If the total is less than 70 per cent, organic claims may be made only on the list of ingredients. The government is in the process of updating the rules.

The lack of hard evidence of health benefits, however, has some health-care professionals reluctant to recommend that parents feed organics to their children.

Children are eating too much unhealthy food, but organics aren't necessarily the cure, says Daina Kalnins, an academic and clinical specialist and registered dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. "Generally speaking, I would say that organic foods are not necessarily nutritionally better than non-organic food," she says. "The important thing for children is making sure that they get balanced nutrition first."

Children need to drink more water and milk, to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to eat more fibre and less processed food, she says. Taking the leap to organic is a matter of personal choice and should be kept in perspective. Most importantly, it should not be done at the expense of a healthy, balanced diet.

As she puts it: "An organic biscuit does not outdo a non-organic orange or tomato."

Regarding pesticides in food, Ms. Kalnins is of the opinion that the Canadian regulatory agencies can be trusted to monitor the food supply to keep it safe.

She worries that pesticide scares and unsubstantiated claims from the organic industry can leave parents feeling guilty about not jumping on the bandwagon. She adds -- perhaps reassuringly -- that her children, aged 6 and 7, are not being raised on organic food.

"I feel sorry for the parents because of the guilt," she says. "There's really a lot we don't know."

Health Canada also cautions against jumping to conclusions. It says three recent studies comparing the nutritional benefits found that nitrate content tends to be lower in organic food, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content tends to be higher in organic leafy vegetables and potatoes, and protein concentration tends to be lower but of higher quality in some organic vegetables and cereals.

It concluded, however, that it is difficult to make valid and strong comparisons because there are few well-controlled studies. "Thus, the scientific evidence cannot support or refute the perception that organic foods are more nutritious than conventional foods and generalizations such as these should be made with caution."

Organic converts, on the other hand, have decided not to wait for more scientific data and government studies.

Rick Smith, executive director of Toronto-based Environmental Defence Canada, notes that so-called organochlorine pesticides used in crop production are recognized carcinogens as well as being bioaccumulative, which means they build up in body tissue. And that's good enough for him.

The not-enough-proof argument "makes me crazy," he says, pointing to the example of DDT and other chemicals once thought safe and then found out to be anything but, after a generation of children was raised ingesting them. He notes that DDT is still found in human tissue after having finally been banned in Canada in 1990, almost 30 years after flags were raised.

Why should it be up to governments and consumers to prove chemicals are safe, he asks. "It should be up to the producers to prove that they're safe before they put them on the market."

For the record, he feeds his two-year-old as much organic food as possible. "There might not be enough studies, but why take the chance?"

Much ado about milk

Alan Greene, a pediatrician at Stanford University and a spokesman for Wisconsin-based Organic Valley Family Farms, has made a third career of promoting on the Internet organic food for children. Here are reasons he gives on why children should drink more milk in general, and organic milk in particular:

A constant theme in the pediatric world is that children are not getting the calcium they need for their growing bodies, which is 800 milligrams a day for four- to eight-year-olds, and 1,300 milligrams a day for nine- to 18-year-olds.

One cup of milk has about 300 milligrams of calcium.

Organic milk is better for children because it doesn't contain antibiotics, so it doesn't contribute to the growing problem of bacterial resistance.

Organic milk, while pasteurized, is produced without the cows being given synthetic hormones to increase production. "Hormones are powerful. Even trace amounts can cause dramatic changes in living beings."

Organic milk reduces pesticide exposure because the cows are not fed food grown with pesticides.

Cows that are fed on fresh green grass produce milk that is higher in conjugated linoleic acids, among the so-called "good fats" that have been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Finally, choosing organic is the right thing to do. "Unlike factory cows, organic cows must have access to open air. This kind of farming is kind to animals, supportive of wildlife, healthy for rural communities, respectful of our air, water and soil, and healthy for children."