My veganism lasted about six months; after being put on birth-control pills for medical reasons, I began having problems, one of them being food cravings. The hormones in the pills can cause weight gain and overeating (just a warning, if anyone's considering them!). While my weight gain wasn't drastic (about five to ten pounds), I did notice particularly intense cravings for dairy, especially chocolate, ice-cream and yogurt. This became pretty unbearable. After a couple of weeks I couldn't stand it, and purchased something my health-food store had been selling all along - a pint organic vanilla ice cream.

This wasn't ordinary ice cream! It is a (mostly) organic brand, meaning that the milk is produced without hormones, antibiotics or other chemicals. It means the cows have access to grazing and unadulterated water. It means using ecologically sustainable methods. It also means great-tasting ice cream; most people confuse organic foods with "health foods" or vegan foods, in that they won't taste as good, but organic foods often taste better than the normal crap that's available - this was the best ice cream I'd ever had. This is the best ice cream I'm sure almost anyone has ever had. While most people aren't receptive to a bowl of soy ice cream or Tofutti, I'll bet anyone could be swayed by this. Don't get me wrong; I love Tofutti. But the fact is that most people don't, and this raises (for me, at least) a question: would animal-rights advocates have more success touting organic meats and dairy, instead of just suggesting vegetarianism and veganism?

I still think milk is gross - organic or not, I can't drink a glass of milk or use it in cereal (I've got soymilk for that). But I have spent time sampling several organic dairy products. These products all tasted excellent. So after years of unsuccessful vegetarian advocating in school, with about zero converts, I set out to try enlightening people to organics. My first step was to bring organic cheese doodles (and Soy Crisps!) to an Amnesty International meeting; both products got a great response. I gave a little speech about organics. The only thing people were turned off by is the cost of organic foods, and this is usually the initial barrier I get when promoting them. First of all, the cost is not that bad. Paying a little extra for something that is totally worth it is preferable to, say, filling up one's SUV or buying other types of junk-food crap. While a 100% organic diet might not be possible, just buying organic dairy and meats is within the range of most people. So how to convince them...?

But there's more work than just convincing "most people." The animal rights community can sometimes overlook organics. While I don't (and won't) be eating organic meat and poultry, if more people began buying it, there would be an improvement in the animal rights and environmental situation. It's a good compromise; animal rights advocates can fight against cruel factory farming, and other people can still have their meat. It's also a good time to promote organics; paranoia over avian flu and mad cow disease makes people a bit more interested in the concept, since organic meats carry little risk of these diseases (due to the careful management, inspection, and smaller size of herds, etc).

There is also a growing concern over job outsourcing and labor issues, while organic products are American made, and worker conditions at these companies are generally superior to those at factory farms. Even better is that most large supermarkets now carry organic foods, making them no less convenient than their conventional counterparts. The best part? Prices are going down. So if more people buy organic products, eventually they'll be priced like any regular item.

This organic thing is really catching on - organic turkey farmers reported completely selling out near Thanksgiving. But there are still some questions, especially from vegans. This is what I wonder: since a cow has to be pregnant to produce milk, and organic farmers can't use hormones to simulate this, there must be calves being born. While I'm assuming organic cows wouldn't be having babies at an unreasonable rate (such as in the factory farming system), they're still having them; the female ones can be raised to produce milk, but where do the male calves go? Do they stay on the farm? Are they sold to a regular market? Do they go into the organic meat market? And how do we definitely know the conditions for the animals are good, since visitation (at least around here) isn't possible? I tried e-mailing one organic dairy company but haven't heard back yet. Even if I got a response from them, how do we know what kind of management other organic farms use?

And what about health? Most of the world is naturally lactose-intolerant; it is only through a genetic mutation that some people (Scandinavians especially) have the necessary enzymes to digest milk. Drinking or consuming cow's milk isn't really natural, and it's definitely not necessary. Goat's milk is often cited as a healthier alternative, but it's not readily available. Milk just isn't very healthy; it's fattening for one thing. Even the calcium benefits aren't that great, because some scientists claim that dairy calcium isn't really as well-absorbed as it would be from vegetables (there's also the debate that we're not really calcium deficient, we're just lacking the other nutrients necessary to USE calcium, but that's another topic). Dairy is sometimes necessary to help certain individuals keep weight on, and most people will never give up their meat; so there's always a case for organics. But organic milk still has to be taken away from calves, and organic meats still involve killing. So is the vegan movement still worth compromising?

For now, I'll have to say "yes." For there to be any large-scale progress in the animal rights movement, advocates should shift their focus to organic foods. They're vastly preferable to factory-farmed meats and dairy. If you're not having any success promoting vegetarianism and veganism in your community, consider touting organic foods. Organic foods appeal to such a wide base - the environmentalists, the labor-concerned, people paranoid about meat diseases… and people who just want food that tastes great. So until everybody wakes up and stops consuming meat and milk, give organics a try!

--Laura has been a vegetarian since the fourth grade. She says she is a vegetarian-going-on-vegan, hoping to become a vegan by college. She is starting a vegetarian activist club in her school. Read her article Everyday Etiquette for Vegetarian Activists.