Regular carrots vs. baby carrots

I was feeling virtuous, and bought myself a big bag of baby carrots to snack on. What a grim snack - I gave up after eating several. Now I have lots of baby carrots sitting in the fridge.

So, can I use these baby carrots interchangeably with regular carrots in cooking - e.g., throw them into a stew or a stir-fry?

What the heck are baby carrots, anyway? Are they normal carrots machine-peeled and machine-cut to look like cute, itty-bitty things? Or are they like franken-vegetables that should be avoided?