Veggie/non-veggie relationships?!
Answers: What's other vegan/vegetarians views on whether they think it's ethical or not to have a non-veggie partner? I've heard of veggies saying they couldn't consider dating a non-veggie and a lot of veggies in a relationship seem to have a veggie partner. I was thinking about this and reckoned that when I was single, had I insisted on finding myself a veggie man, then nothing would have changed in the world. Had we never met, we would both be veggie anyway - no extra animals saved there if I did hook hook up with such a veggie. I live with a meat-eater guy. Before he met me he ate meat 2 or 3 times a day and ate loads of dairy and eggs. Now he gets meat a couple of times a week, has developed a liking for lentils and soy, etc, I dont buy eggs, I buy vegan cheese and he puts a little cows milk in coffee, but has soy milk in cooking and for milkshakes. Does any veggies out there think veggies should only hook up with other veggies?
I've been vegan for 10 years and I'm dating an omnivore. I've tried dating other vegans, but for me at least it's not enough to have a political belief and a lifestyle in common. When you love someone, you love someone. My guy cooks for me - even makes me vegan waffles - and he only eats meat occasionally, like for his lunches at work. I would say it's a much bigger deal for us that he's a conservative and I'm a liberal, but we manage to make that work too. We've been dating for over a year now.
Is it ethical? I believe it's not ethical to consume animal products, so I don't. I don't believe it's ethical to try to force my beliefs on others, especially because it's likely to backfire! If I was dating a vegan, it's true, nothing would change, except that we might become more narrow in our social lives. Now I've "half-converted" a dedicated meat eater, to the point that he worries about his friends' cholesterol levels and teases them about their poor diets.
Actually, there was a story about that in the health section of our newspaper a couple of weeks ago. The consensus seemed to be that not only was there conflict in a vegetarian/carnivore relationship, but also vegan/vegetarian relationship. Alot of people were not completely satisfied if the person didn't eat meat but still ate cheese, eggs and fish. I believe they interviewed 4 couples for the article. As if it isn't hard enough finding someone these days!
There is no ethical problem with "hooking up" with a non-veggie. As you note, if there are two meat eaters and two vegans, and they pair off according to shared diets, the meat eaters are going to keep eating a lot of meat, while the vegans eat none. If they pair off with their dietary opposites, the meat eaters will eat less meat. Still, many vegans and vegetarians prefer to share their lives with partners who share their core ethics (especially if they are going to have children), and I don't think this is in any way unethical, either.
It's a personal preferance I think. I became a vegetarian long after meeting my boyfriend but if we weren't together, I would prefer a vegetarian (or vegan) like myself.
My wife is an Organic Veggie, I am a non-veggie. No problems at all.
If someone is so close minded about their eating habits that they can't even be with someone else, they need some therapy.
Absolutely not! My husband is a meat eater and I have been veggie for over 10 years. I never let that get in the way of our relationship. I'm in love with the person and not what he eats!
Some nights we eat out and some we cook. When we cook, we always make a dish where meat is optional. That way, he can add it if he wants. He's actually been eating alot of my veggie meals too and i have got him stuck on morningstar chicken patties and nuggets! Sometimes though, he will just eat a sandwich with meat in it on the side with whatever else we eat that is veggie. It can work!!!
my girlfriend and i have no clashes regarding the situation.
we do however have a no kissing directly after meals rule
I was vegetarian for 15 years before I met my boyfriend, who was mostly a meat eater. He is very adapting, and didn't mind changing his diet and now eats a mostly soy-based diet-when I do the cooking. The great part is that we now have a 2 year old son who gets to experience both worlds and can decide for himself what he wants to become when he's old enough.
Side note: this man must brush his teeth after meat eating/before he gets a kiss.
I am a strict vegetarian of 11 years and I am dating an omnivore. We have been together for a year now and he eats more of the veggie dishes that I cook than when we first got together. He cooks for me too and when he wants meat, he will prepare his food in a separate "meat designated" pan. We also have a rule about him brushing after non-veg meals otherwise no kiss.
I don't think that ethics really plays into this. You fall in love with who you fall in love with. You simply work out the things that you need to work out in your own relationship while keeping to your vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. That's all there is to it.
I'm married to a meat eater, and our relationship is fine. What we eat, doesn't influence how we feel about and treat eachother.
Secondly, I would never tell him to become a vegetarian. I'm his companion, not his mother. At the same time, he never tries to get me to eat meat, because he's my companion, not my father.
I wouldn't trade him out, with his great personality and big heart, for someone with a different diet. That just seems really shallow to me. There's a little more depth to someone than what they eat.
That's a pretty petty issue for as many other things couples have to wade through in a relationship.