Everything but the boy/girl

It’s hard enough looking for tall/short, dark/blonde and handsome/er…not so pretty without adding ‘veggie’ as another search term. Steven Lockhart, 23, from Nottingham is more tolerant: “I’ve been vegan for three years and I’ve never had a vegan or even veggie partner. This is mainly due to my social group being predominantly meat-eaters. There are vegans that don’t specifically require their partners to be vegans also. It would be nice, convenient even, but it isn’t something I personally need from my particular female friend.”

Sam McMahon, 29, a vegan in Bristol is on the fence – kinda: “Of course I would rather be in a relationship with a fellow vegan/vegetarian. However, that’s not to say that I would definitely rule out a relationship with a carnivore altogether, particularly if I feel that my view on these matters might be an influence upon them. In my last relationship I became a vegetarian before my then girlfriend, and she then became a vegetarian shortly afterwards. Since we split up over two years ago she has gone back to eating fish, but she doesn’t eat meat anymore, wish I guess means that I have had some sort of positive long-term effect on her.

“I have encountered people, both male and female, who find it hard to believe that a straight male can be a vegan/vegetarian. I guess for them being a vegan or vegetarian is equated with being effeminate and sentimental. This is another reason why I would prefer to be in a relationship with a vegan or vegetarian female, as they (hopefully) don’t see a problem!”

Some men may even find it works in their favour, according to Erica Lopez, : “A work colleague of my husband’s, after knowing us for many years, decided to become veggie to make himself appear more sensitive to women (!). It must have worked as he has just had a positive answer to the question. Isn’t that a good reason to become veggie for all those single men out there?!”

Meeting of minds

Whatever your reasons to go veggie or vegan, then there’s someone out there for you. And the growing number of veggies in the UK means it’s less like finding a needle in a haystack but more like finding tofu in your local supermarket – easy peasy these days:

• Joining a vegetarian dating agency! Established in 1980, Veggie Matchmakers (VMM) is a personal service run by vegetarians helping straight and gay vegans, veggies and those aspiring to become either all over the UK get together over the web, by phone or by post – for relationships and friendships. Also see Veggie Romance – who donate 10 per cent of their membership fees to Viva!.
  
• Get involved in your local animal rights/veggie group. It’s a great place to make new friends as well as help a worthwhile cause, from joining in demos and giving out leaflets to letter writing meetings and attending local talks. Check out Viva!’s regional contacts list to find like-minded folk near you.
• Check out your local college’s/art centre’s/catering school’s veggie cookery classes – a great way to meet veggies or wannabes as well as pick up some culinary tips. Restaurants such as Demuth’s in Bath and also the Vegetarian Society run courses so look through the web and your local newspaper or prospectuses.
• Log on to Vegan Village and their list of forums, events and contact groups. And if you’re not on the web, independent health food shops often have noticeboards with similar information posted up as well as veggie magazines complete with helpful listings of local events you can get involved in.
• Put your glad-rags on and have a wander to your local veggie pub – the perfect place to pull! And why not see if your local veggie café or restaurant are running a singles’ or speed-dating evening (and if they’re not, encourage them to!).

• Viva!’s supporters’ magazine, Viva! Life, also has a personals column in the Classifieds section, helping our supporters (virtuous vegans and mindful meat-eaters and everything in between) meet their perfect match. To receive Viva! Life, join Viva!. To book an ad, contact Justin Kerswell for more info on 0117 944 1000 or justin@viva.org.uk

Wear your heart on your sleeve! | Go veggie – get va-va-voom! | After your own heart | Everything but the boy/girl | How loved up are you? | More info