What about your partner?

[H3Dakota]

If you have a partner, is he/she also vegetarian or vegan?

If you don't currently have a partner, would you get involved with a meat-eater?

For me, since becoming a vegetarian, I have only met something like 4 vegetarian men, 3 of whom were married & the 4th was in a relationship when we met (not to mention, he's a relative by marriage!). All my relationships have been with meat-eaters - and my vegetarianism has been an issue in pretty much all of them! Anyone else?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. My husband is a big time carnivore.

His diet is mostly meat. I don't mind. I don't nag him about it and he doesn't nag me about my vegetarianism. He has made strides on his own, such as stopping his use of leather. It just works out more easily if I leave him to discover things on his own, rather than trying to force him.

[Gothic Sponge]

2. I would go out with a meat-eater, but i would really prefer a veggie.

I am single, but haven't started dating. My marriage ended over a year ago. My wife was a meat-eater, but it wasn't the main staple of her diet. I hope to meet a vegetarian, but the chances are slim.

[flvegan]

4. Have you looked at veggiedate.org?

Might be worth a look. I think it's free to look through.

You might get involved with a veg cooking group/class or a local animal rights org (if you have one).

[flvegan]

3. Vegan

My housemate is the one who really helped me go veg in the first place. She had been vegetarian for a long time. When I decided that I wanted the same, she helped me along. We went vegan together very shortly thereafter. We were standing in the kitchen and I said that it was odd that we altered our diets due to the cruelty in the system, yet we still ate eggs/dairy (horrid industries, to say the least). That was it, right there.

Personally, I wouldn't date anyone that wasn't open to the idea of a veg life. I couldn't spend my life with someone so very different than I, filling our home with the smell of death.

[Ranec]

5. My wife eats meat...

I understand why she does, and it hasn't been big issue.

She was vegetarian for a while a little after we first met, but the diet was not good for her.

I think that fact that she respects my thoughts on this makes a big difference, and also she is very suppportive of animal welfare issues.

-R

[Elad]

6. My last girlfriend was also vegan

We had made the switch together.

I could date a meat-eater, but I would prefer a vegetarian. If I did date a meat-eater, they would have to be very respectful about it. And brush their teeth a lot.

[sbj405]

7. My bf is mostly vegetarian

I do the cooking and shopping at home, so it's all veggie here. He orders fish and chicken occasionally when we go out. He usually ends up with an upset stomach, because he's not used to it.

[Piperay]

8. My boyfriend is a meat-eater

not big-time though, when we are together he usually goes vegetarian and saves the meat-eating for when I am not around. It's never been a big issue with us, when he found out I was a vegetarian he was kinda freaked out. He was afraid I would get self-rightious on him but I never have and he has never putdown my reasons or anything like that (actually he respects me for my choices and I think he would like to go all vegetarian too) and so we don't have a problem. :-)

[curse10]

9. My boyfriend of 4.5 years is a meat eater

in the worst sense. His idea of heaven? Chicken wings covered in bacon and blue cheese. Luckily he eats what I cook. I make him cook his own meat, and then he can't cook hamburger in the house because it makes me wanna puke.

[kayleybeth]

10. My husband is now pesce-pollo

He was vegetarian for about 4 years (he went veg 2 years after I did). He lost 25-30 pounds over the course of a couple of years and felt great.

A few months ago he said he was feeling "weak" and decided he wasn't getting enough protein (yeah, I know, but try telling him that). Anyway, he started eating chicken and turkey once or twice a week. He'll also have shrimp or crabmeat once in a great while but no pork, beef, etc.

I'm not particularly thrilled about it but I try not to give him a hard time. I hate having the stuff in my fridge but as long as I don't have to cook it or touch it or clean up the dishes after it, I can deal.

[livinginphotographs]

11. Partner is a meat-eater.

She's cool though. Doesn't give me shit about it at all, even though sometimes I have to leave the table because the smell of meat makes me nauseous.

[Cobalt Violet]

12. Mine is a steak eatin' Texan.

I keep having to buy new pots and pans. I had a well seasoned cookie sheet that had never seen mest. He used it to warm up a steak sub. All the meat grease contaminated the seasoning in on the cookie sheet. He boiled eggs in my pot the other day too.

I'm always having to get new food storage container too. Once he uses them I can't.

[smurfygirl]

13. Hubby is vegan.

But, he occasionally will eat fish. He only eats wild salmon. I don't mind, when we met he was a serious carnivore. Every meal was meat and cheese. Now he only eats veggies and grains. He loves soy milk , a big change and it was never forced. He just gradually started reading my books and learning for himself. Then he found out about madcow and never touched it again. I'm really proud of him.

[H3Dakota]

14. Interesting!

I'm surprised by the number of veggies that have relationships with non-veggies. I suppose that I shouldn't be, though, considering the difficult time that I have had over the years trying to meet other vegetarians!

I went to a vegetarian group one time over a year ago - they have monthly meetings at various restaurants around the Tampa Bay area. The speaker was quite terrible and I got stuck sitting in this booth with one of the MOST obnoxious men I've ever met. He was horrid!! We were eating a Chinese restaurant and he was so very insulting. That was my last time trying out the group - I know I should have given it another shot, but with my luck? I'd be stuck next to him AGAIN. LOL

Out of 3 major relationships in my life, just the last one was with someone that considered giving up meat. He did try for awhile & he pretty much ate everything that I cooked, but he really felt that he needed animal protein. I was SO hopeful that I'd finally found someone to share this part of my life with, but sadly, it wasn't to be after all.

[curse10]

15. I've never dated a veggie- I wonder if it's harder for women

most veggies I know are women. There seem to be less vegetarian men out there. :shrug:

[6000eliot]

16. My partner went vegetarian about 6 years ago

but he became severely anemic last year and iron supplements weren't helping, so he reluctantly went back to meat. It makes dinner a bit more difficult, but we're okay.

[smbolisnch]

17. My husband is a meat eater too....

He doesn't bug me about being a vegan and I don't bug him about his meat eating. If he wants meat, he has to buy it, prepare it and eat it on his own. He made hot dogs the other day and the smell wafting through my house was sickening! He is usually great about it though. :)

[vinessa4freedom]

18. My hubby was a meat and potatoes kind of guy

until I went veg. He kept asking me why and how questions, and was open-minded enough to say "I never looked at it that way before." He went veg shortly thereafter.

[MoonRiver]

19. He's vegan too, along with our kids.

My other family members, however, are mainly meat eaters. There was a conflict this Thanksgiving with my husband and some cynical/sarcastic carnivores. :mad:

[smbolisnch]

20. That's great!

We don't have kids yet, but he is really open to raising our kids veg too, so that's great. :)

[MoonRiver]

21. Actually, it was our daughter who got us to go veg.

She wrote a paper years ago about corporate farming that simply horrified me. My husband had already stopped eating dairy, beef and chicken for health reasons. But I went cold turkey (ha, ha) after being convinced about the evil of meat eating. He eventually gave up fish also. We're all healthy and happy as can be! Btw, children, including babies and toddlers do very well on a plant based diet. Read Dr. Spock's last book for the evidence, if your husband needs some convincing in this area. The issue of what growing children "need" to develop properly is one of the most misunderstood areas surrounding vegetarianism.

[vinessa4freedom]

23. Good for your daughter!

That's awesome. My parents tended to not take my ideas seriously. I tried to go veg as a youngster, but I got the Italian mother meatball guilt trip. Good for you, too for being so open to the idea. Great Parent Award!

[MoonRiver]

24. Thanks!

Even when I ate meat it always kind of grossed me out. I tried to become a vegetarian as a little kid, because I hated the idea of pigs being killed. But with no good alternatives I kept eating meat. But I wanted my meat to look as unlike meat as possible. I hated hams, which often had the animals veins inside, and wouldn't eat steaks or chicken legs. And my meat always had to be well done. I ended up eating what is probably the worst thing health wise: ground beef. YUK! I don't even like to remember those carnivorous days!

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

22. My partner is a veggie

the past person i was with wasn't and it was too hard...its much better being able to share food all the time with the person you live with