How do you all feel about dating vegetarians and vegans?

[in_absentia]

Dating a vegetarian would be pretty easy. Dating a vegan would be hard. I don't think I would choose to date a vegan. No products with butter, eggs, cheese, milk, or honey. It would eliminate many if not most restaurants, many of my favorite cuisines (Mexican... yum!!!) and many of my favorite meals (such as the classic Sunday-morning egg-pancake-sausage breakfast).

 

It would mean altering, but not necessarily eliminating most of your favourite cuisines.. I make awesome Mexican food and an ace fry up and vegan alternatives to most regular meals you can imagine...

 

I think if a person likes someone enough, they're almost definitely going to at least give it a try or work around stuff like that in order to be part of the other person's life.

[grkBoy]

I have no issue with dating one provided she's not expecting me to become one.

 

She also has to respect my choices and not ridicule, preach, or condemn me for eating meat.

 

Like others have said, I'm sure we just wouldn't get along. Most vegans I met are the same ones constantly posting images of "poor little cute animals" and how society are monsters.

 

The only issue I've ever encountered when I met someone who is strong about a social issue is they feel the need to look down on those who don't agree with them. Like I'm suddenly the barbarian because I like a good cheeseburger.

[LZ2000]

I think if a person likes someone enough, they're almost definitely going to at least give it a try or work around stuff like that in order to be part of the other person's life.

 

A willing compromise without any form of repayment or compensation must be respected and is sacrosanct.

[FitChick]

I don't care what someone else eats because it goes in his stomach and not mine. I don't like anyone else criticizing my diet for the same reason. My diet isn't that extreme. I just don't eat meat or poultry but I eat seafood, eggs and dairy so there is always something on the menu I can eat.

[123321]

Dating a vegetarian would be pretty easy. Dating a vegan would be hard. I don't think I would choose to date a vegan. No products with butter, eggs, cheese, milk, or honey.

 

No to mention no silk, leather, wool, used inside, etc. - it's a damn religion that includes dietary restrictions, not just a set of dietary restrictions.

[Emilia]

I have no issue with dating one provided she's not expecting me to become one.

 

She also has to respect my choices and not ridicule, preach, or condemn me for eating meat.

 

Like others have said, I'm sure we just wouldn't get along. Most vegans I met are the same ones constantly posting images of "poor little cute animals" and how society are monsters.

 

Indeed.

 

I dated a vegetarian recently because I didn't want to discriminate against him based on his views but - as I told him before we started dating - I found his vegetarianism pure escapism from animal welfare issues. When I feel strongly about something I try to do something to deal with that issue rather than brushing it under the carpet by not participating. My argument was if someone wanted to put an end to bad slaughter practices, he should join a lobbying organisation of some kind rather than just stop eating meat.

 

While we dated he kept texting me asking what I was having for dinner trying to make me change my diet (though not making me a veggie as such), he also kept putting pressure on me to become a less opinionated person (surely judging someone for being opinionated is being opinionated itself??) and he even called me a racist when I pointed out that his 'no international borders' views weren't practical. Then he announced he was going vegan despite the fact that he wore leather shoes.

 

I called it a day needless to say for the reasons above. I would still date a vegetarian if he had dietary issues of some kind but if he was a veggie/vegan for political reasons we just wouldn't mesh

[mitchell]

I married a vegetarian. It's not an issue when we go out. She doesn't push her dietary preference on me or anyone else. The only issue is when we cook at home. I'm basically a vegetarian by default.

[RecordProducer]

I married a vegetarian. It's not an issue when we go out. She doesn't push her dietary preference on me or anyone else. The only issue is when we cook at home. I'm basically a vegetarian by default.

So you don't eat meat because she doesn't cook meals with meat?

[alphamale]

i don't date herbivores any more...most of them were whacko nut jobs

[Cypress25]

I would still date a vegetarian if he had dietary issues of some kind but if he was a veggie/vegan for political reasons we just wouldn't mesh

 

Political reasons? I didn't realize that animals were involved in politics, lol.

 

I found his vegetarianism pure escapism from animal welfare issues. When I feel strongly about something I try to do something to deal with that issue rather than brushing it under the carpet by not participating. My argument was if someone wanted to put an end to bad slaughter practices, he should join a lobbying organisation of some kind rather than just stop eating meat.

 

I don't know what his exact issues were, but most vegetarians object to the slaughter of animals in general. Given that, it would be pointless to lobby against meat production because there's no way the whole world would go vegetarian. It's a lost cause, so the best we can do is abstain from eating meat and wearing leather. I can't control other people, I can only control myself.

 

That's my way of dealing with the issue. It's called a boycott, and it's known to be a very effective form of protest. If everyone did it, we wouldn't need lobbying organizations. Besides, what are we supposed to lobby for? A nicer way of slaughtering animals? That doesn't make any sense to me. I would lobby to stop the slaughter, but I'm realistic and I know that will never happen.

[Nexus One]

That's my way of dealing with the issue. It's called a boycott, and it's known to be a very effective form of protest. If everyone did it, we wouldn't need lobbying organizations. Besides, what are we supposed to lobby for? A nicer way of slaughtering animals? That doesn't make any sense to me. I would lobby to stop the slaughter, but I'm realistic and I know that will never happen.

 

It'd be nice if they banned Halal and Kosher slaughter. I think painful slaughtering for religious reasons, when there are better alternatives,

is unnecessary.

 

That being said, even some modern slaughterhouses use horrible ways to slaughter animals. In the US pigs in industrial slaughterhouses are lead into a metal room. Hundreds of pigs are driven into that metal room and once they're in there, 2 walls start to close in on them and crush/compress them. Then, when maximally compressed, while the pigs are still alive and suffering, they put 10000 Volts on the metal walls. The pigs are then electrocuted to death for 1.5 minutes. They do this, while they have hundreds of other pigs walking around the metal room, so once the walls move away from each other again, then all the pigs can see what happened to their peers. Driving them insane with fear. It's not only a painful way to die for them, it's also sadistic.

 

They could shoot a pin through their brain and kill the pigs in a closed off room away from the sight of other pigs, but then they'd have to pay someone to do it and the pigs would have to be shot one by one, which is more costly. So the industrial slaughterhouses choose to do it more cost effectively, yet more painfully and sadistically.

 

In my opinion, less painful methods of slaughter are at least a step forward. I also don't see the need to have other animals see the slaughter process, knowing they'll be next. I think that's a form of sadism.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Nexus One

[Emilia]

Political reasons? I didn't realize that animals were involved in politics, lol.

 

Ok, spell it out for you: animal welfare is a political issue. More clear? 'lol'?

 

I don't know what his exact issues were, but most vegetarians object to the slaughter of animals in general. Given that, it would be pointless to lobby against meat production because there's no way the whole world would go vegetarian. It's a lost cause, so the best we can do is abstain from eating meat and wearing leather. I can't control other people, I can only control myself.

 

That's my way of dealing with the issue. It's called a boycott, and it's known to be a very effective form of protest. If everyone did it, we wouldn't need lobbying organizations. Besides, what are we supposed to lobby for? A nicer way of slaughtering animals? That doesn't make any sense to me. I would lobby to stop the slaughter, but I'm realistic and I know that will never happen.

 

Erm actually, yes. You sound quite ignorant, have you been to a slaughterhouse? There are several ways to kill an animal and it matters a great deal how it is done. There are also animal transport issues as they are often slaughtered very far from the place where they were sold/collected.

 

It sounds very much like you are one of those that just stick their head in the sand hoping the issue will go away, just proved my point. Another useless townie who has no idea of where food comes from

[Emilia]

Ya, the same here. My gal and I are vegetarians. We don't contribute to the abuse of aniomals. It need not be some crusade in life. I also don't like folks talking on cell phones in line ups...I'm not a hypocrit because I don't spend my life lobbying against their rudeness. One can practice personal behavior without becoming a raging zealot.

 

There is a difference between tolerating an annoying person and knowing that animals' throats are being cut rather than being put down much more humanely.

 

Luckily not everyone feels the same way as you and Cypress do, which is why animal welfare has actually improved.

[Cypress25]

Ok, spell it out for you: animal welfare is a political issue.

 

I don't think of meat production as an animal welfare issue. Animal welfare is making sure that domestic pets and animals in zoos/wildlife preserves are not abused or neglected. Animal welfare is making sure that animals live well, not making sure that animals are killed nicely. People who support any kind of slaughter are not concerned with animal welfare.

 

Compassion for animals is generally the motivation for eating a vegetarian diet. Politics is not the motivation. Anything could be a political issue, but when I abstain from eating meat, it's not because I care about politics, it's because I care about animals. And I don't want them killed, no matter how it's done.

 

Erm actually, yes. You sound quite ignorant, have you been to a slaughterhouse? There are several ways to kill an animal and it matters a great deal how it is done. There are also animal transport issues as they are often slaughtered very far from the place where they were sold/collected.

 

But I don't believe there is a decent way to slaughter animals, so why would I lobby for something I don't support? There is no such thing as humane slaughter.

 

It sounds very much like you are one of those that just stick their head in the sand hoping the issue will go away, just proved my point. Another useless townie who has no idea of where food comes from

 

I know where food comes from, that's why I choose not to eat some of it. I wouldn't eat meat even if I knew that it was slaughtered in the nicest way possible, because that doesn't make it better. The issue will never go away, unless the whole world becomes vegetarian. That will never happen, no matter how much lobbying I do.

 

It's possible to be aware of a problem and still know that there's nothing you can do about it. If I wanted to stick my head in the sand and ignore the issue, I would go on eating meat without a second thought. Instead, I'm doing my part to minimize the damage. I can't stop meat production and I'm not going to pretend that different slaughter practices would make me happy. But my own actions make a difference. I don't buy meat, leather, or fur (or any product that involves animal sacrifice), my money does not support animal slaughter, and I'm one less person consuming dead animals, which lowers the demand. It's a small difference, but it's the biggest difference I can make. If I wanted to be a hypocrite, I would lobby for "better" slaughter practices.

 

Luckily not everyone feels the same way as you and Cypress do, which is why animal welfare has actually improved.

 

If everyone felt the same way I do, then the whole world would be vegetarian. Then meat production would stop and no animal would ever be slaughtered again. I think that would be a major improvement in animal welfare.

[dasein]

If bison, turkeys and whitetail deer didn't taste good, they would be extinct.

 

If God didn't intend us to eat animals she wouldn't have given us incisors and canines, and would have given us 30 molars instead. So not eating meat is sacreligious. I for one do not want to go to hell for disobeying God's will... something we should all think very seriously about.

[OnyxSnowfall]

It'd be nice if they banned Halal and Kosher slaughter. I think painful slaughtering for religious reasons, when there are better alternatives,

is unnecessary.

 

That being said, even some modern slaughterhouses use horrible ways to slaughter animals. In the US pigs in industrial slaughterhouses are lead into a metal room. Hundreds of pigs are driven into that metal room and once they're in there, 2 walls start to close in on them and crush/compress them. Then, when maximally compressed, while the pigs are still alive and suffering, they put 10000 Volts on the metal walls. The pigs are then electrocuted to death for 1.5 minutes. They do this, while they have hundreds of other pigs walking around the metal room, so once the walls move away from each other again, then all the pigs can see what happened to their peers. Driving them insane with fear. It's not only a painful way to die for them, it's also sadistic.

 

They could shoot a pin through their brain and kill the pigs in a closed off room away from the sight of other pigs, but then they'd have to pay someone to do it and the pigs would have to be shot one by one, which is more costly. So the industrial slaughterhouses choose to do it more cost effectively, yet more painfully and sadistically.

 

In my opinion, less painful methods of slaughter are at least a step forward. I also don't see the need to have other animals see the slaughter process, knowing they'll be next. I think that's a form of sadism.

 

Wow... really? :sick:

[123321]

If everyone felt the same way I do, then the whole world would be vegetarian. Then meat production would stop and no animal would ever be slaughtered again. I think that would be a major improvement in animal welfare.

 

Yeah, and lions would lie with lambs I bet.

[Cypress25]

Yeah, and lions would lie with lambs I bet.

 

Well, obviously we can't control wild animals. Besides, lions are carnivores. I'm pretty sure they need meat to survive. Since I'm an omnivore, I have other options.

[Dust]

A lot of what we eat today is completely unatural and unhealthy. For health reasons a lone I think its health to eat a mostly plant based diet. Though I myself constantly eat Butter/cheese/meat. I do see it as a healthy to eat more fruits and vegetables... less animal protien

[thehead]

Both are common out here in California so I'm used to it. It's a non-issue when going out because there are so many items on a menu for them and none have tried to convert me.