is your partner a vegan or vegetarian?

Question

if your a veg*n and they are not, how do you handle that? i don't think i could.

Answer 1

There just wasn't any chemistry with any of the veg*an guys I'd met (there aren't too many around, anyway). I was already veg*an when I met my (omnivorous) husband and he always respected that choice. If he'd been the sort who pushed me to eat meat, or expected me to cook it for him, we would never have gotten anywhere. Without mutual respect, a relationship doesn't stand a chance, regardless of what both of you eat. I do wish he'd become veg*an, but I accord him the same tolerance for his choices that he shows me.

That doesn't stop me, however, from turning him on to good food. He enjoys sizzling tofu in stir-fry, tempeh nuggets, seitan, etc. Because of this, his meat consumption has decreased, so that makes me happy.

He does a lot of the grocery shopping, keeps an eye out for new veg*an items I might like, and is an avid label reader. He also knows how to select a good artichoke, as well as other produce, even if it's not something he'll eat. When he bought an outdoor grill, he designated one side of it vegetarian-only, although I didn't ask him to.

We'll be celebrating 20 years together this December :).

Answer 2

I am a new vegan, was a lacto-ove vegetarian for several years before switching to vegan. My husband is a meat-eater. It has not caused any problems whatsoever. He does not expect me to cook any meats, and will eat whatever I make (except tofu) as a side dish to the meat he cooks. My only rule is no pork in the house. I abhor all meat, but pork is especially offensive to me, and he understands that. As a matter of fact, he's so unaffected by it, that when we eat out, he frequently asks if I want to taste his meal, forgetting that I don't partake. I was a vegetarian when we met and married, and he has always been very supportive. When I had a lapse years ago, he actually encouraged me to go back to vegetarianism because he said he could tell I felt guilty every time I ate meat. I met a woman once who told me that she used to be a vegan, but had to stop when she got married because her husband forbid it. How sad. I have to be honest and say, though, that I could never date anyone who hunts, so I can't judge anyone who says they could never date a meat-eater. Everyone has their own criteria I guess.

Answer 3

I have been with my boyfriend since before I was a vegetarian, We get along pretty well, most of the time... I would just feel like an idiot to give up our relationship because we eat different. I completely understand not wanting to be with someone if they eat meat, though... But I guess in my situation, we were already together for a while...
When I became an ovo-lacto vegetarian, he was supportive, but forgot sometimes that I didn't eat things... he would offer me some of his nasty chicken wing(i never liked those things to begin with) and I would be like::gag:: no thank you...lol
He was always supportive especially when I became a vegan. He always makes sure that there will be stuff for me to eat at places.
I guess we just respect each other and that's how we don't bother each other... like when he is gnawing on a rib...I just turn my head... and when I complain about not having soy milk for my coffee... he just gives me 3 dollars to buy some...lol That's love!... :)

And about a month ago... he told me that he was seriously thinking of becoming a lacto- vegetarian in the near future... (:

Answer 4

I was a vegetarian for three years with no problem. I started dating a meat eater who nagged me day in and day out. I'll be honest I gave in. I didnt eat red meat or pork however I ate fish and chicken on occasion. I am now with a vegan, and I slowly went from eating fish, to being a vegetarian, and here I am now full fledged vegan and I love it. Its sad to know that people could have so much infuence over my decisions, but it is also difficult when you are sharing your entire life with someone. Will I continue being vegan if we ever split up? Absolutely! I love everything about it. The funnest part is discovering everything I never knew about what we consume and the way humans live their lives. If everyone put more thought and research into what they fed themselves, this society would surely see a huge turnaround...

Answer 5

My bf became a vegetarian recently. I'm a vegan. We dont live together though, so I never found it that hard. When he wanted to eat meat, he made it at his home.

When we first started dating he told me he was interested in becoming a vegetarian one day, which was one of the reasons I decided he's worth the trouble. :) He is interested in enviromental issues, like me and generally very aware and openminded. Now when he's a vegetarian, he says he's thinking about becoming a vegan soon, and that my lifestyle inspired him. So there you go. :)

I never pushed him into anything, but I guess I had it easy since he was always an openminded person. I dated meat eaters in the past, (never lived with one though) and even though they always accepted my choice, it's SO much better being with someone who shares same values and has a same goal in life.

I'm not talking only about veganism. All the important things in my life that I cant compromise, are not worth sacrificing for a bf. I would never date a racist, so how could I be with a specisist who reasons in the same way?

Answer 6

I'm vegan, and my fiance is not. He's very supportive of my diet, however. He's my number one advocate actually, terrorizing waiters to make sure I'm fed. J/k, he's not that bad, but he does ask a lot of the obnoxious questions so I don't have to. :-) What he says is that he agrees that I'm right, but he doesn't exactly say that he's wrong. He grew up in the French countryside and is used to his family growing their own vegetables and whatever they didn't grow coming from small family farms. Therefore he doesn't feel he every really supported the factory farm system in a significant way.

Anyway, when I met him he was living in England and pretty much eating vegetarian because of the low quality of the meat here. He hardly ever eats meat in front of me, although I haven't asked him to do this. In turn, I haven't asked him to become a vegetarian or vegan. I think mutual respect is important in a relationship. With the two of us, it's been a non issue I guess. He's enjoyed learning about new foods, we cook vegan meals together every night, and even brings me vegan pancakes in bed on the weekend.

I think in any relationship, there are things that you will disagree on, and beliefs each of you hold that will be different. In all those cases, respect and understanding is key. If he didn't respect my diet, the relationship wouldn't work. The same if I didn't respect his or if I didn't respect something else, like his political beliefs.

All that being said, I've been with veggie guys before, and I have to say I have more respect for my fiance's position on food then I do for most ovo-lactos'. My ex-vegan bf and I didn't work out because of a lack of respect on other issues. Plus, there aren't that many vegans out there, something like 1% of the States and about the same in England. Less in the whole world. Why should I have limited myself to searching that pool for a suitable partner? So, no I don't think dietary similarities are necessarily important.

Answer 7

No, he's not and I wish he was because I think he would feel better. He has stomach problems all the time. I did too until I became vegan. However he does not have any attitude over me being vegan. I get the feeling he thinks it is a little weird and he can't understand how I can eat 'that way' but he accepts it; he knows that's just how I am lol

Answer 8

I've been to two weddings where the bride was vegetarian and the groom wasn't. In the households I believe no meat is cooked unless the man does it for himself. If two people actually respect each other it shouldn't be a huge issue. If they don't they they probably shouldn't be together. Although logistically it could be an issue at times.

Answer 9

I just became a lacto-vegetarian a little over two weeks ago. My boyfriend is very ... not into it. He totally supports me but there is no way he would go veg. We just talked about this last night. But, we've been together for two and a half years, and as long as he supports me and doesn't pressure me to eat meat, I won't pressure him NOT to eat meat. I just brag to him how my meatless substitutes taste better and are way healthier ^.^

Answer 10

No. I am, he's an all out carnivore. He respects my decisions, I respect his. It works quite well. For me, it was a very personal decision. I didn't go vegetarian to change the world or convert the masses. It was just for me. So I'm fine with him not having the same views as me. He understands and doesn't bug me about it or try to get me to eat meat. He's great... :D