More than half of Scottish children under two are now fed an exclusively organic diet - even when their parents are unable to afford to buy organic food for themselves.
Organic baby food sales accounted for 43 per cent of the total market in 2004, at a value of £63 million. But sales show that more than half of all Scots parents now buy organic for their youngsters.
The huge growth in the organic market is being fuelled by the success of ready-made products made by companies such as Hipp, which supplies parents with organic purées for weaning babies on to solid food.
The supermarket chain Asda, which admits its sale of organic produce to adults accounts for less than 2 per cent of overall sales, has even begun stocking luxury frozen meals for babies to cope with the demand for organic quality baby food.
Anna Ashmole, the head of the Soil Association Scotland, confirmed that recent statistics showed more than half of Scottish children under two are now fed an exclusively organic diet.
"Having children can be a wake-up call for parents in more ways than one. People naturally want the best for their children and more than half of baby meals sold are now organic.
"The health implications of diet are particularly crucial for children as they have a higher intake of food and water per unit of body weight than adults, and their relatively immature organ systems may have limited ability to detoxify substances such as pesticides," she said.
"On the positive side, organic milk can contain up to 71 per cent more omega 3 than non-organic milk and has a better ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 than conventional milk."
