Would you date a vegan? A third of people say they wouldn’t

Sorry vegans, apparently a plant-based diet isn’t the food of love
Dating a vegan: is it a huge missed steak?
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Liz Connor12 October 2016

Veganism is one of Britain’s fastest growing lifestyle movements - there are now over half a million plant-based dieters living in the UK and that figure is set to rapidly rise over the next decade.

But despite the number of cruelty-free consumers increasing by more than 360 per cent over a ten year period, a new study has found that a third of meat eaters would be put off by dating a vegan.

While most singles consider looks, personality and career success as some of the top qualities to look for in a potential partner, a new survey by dating app TrueView has found that for many people, eating habits can make or break a relationship.

In a survey of 1,000 men and women around the UK, 34% of people said that they would not be up for dating a vegan - a person who omits meat, fish and dairy from their diet, among other animal-based products.

Men tended to be more bothered by a partner’s veganism than women, showing less enthusiasm at the prospect of giving up a hangover fry up or a roast dinner on a Sunday.

Let’s face it, the majority of our early dates tend to center around food, and while we’re willing to make major exceptions for our partners during the rose-tinted honeymoon period, food choices are clearly a deal breaker most of us simply aren’t willing to compromise on.

Researchers also found that 77% of people wouldn’t be up for giving up meat for a partner, so vegans - if you do manage to find a non-vegan to go to dinner with you, trying to convert them to your plant-based ways over the aperitif might not be the best way of securing a second date.

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“I dated a vegan for six months”, says Lucy, a meat-eating media executive from London. “It really isn’t as difficult as people think - it opened my eyes to how easy it is for Londoners to give up meat these days, but it does make eating out on a regular basis difficult.”

Hollie, a stylist from Hackney, says she can’t see herself getting serious with a vegan: "I don't have an issue with the lifestyle choice, I just think I would feel guilty eating meat in front of someone who disagrees with it so strongly.”

It’s not just super-healthy eaters that are putting us off swiping left. 28% of us also find eating junk food the most off-putting diet habit a potential partner can have - so if you’re solely concerned about upping your matches, society's paradigm of the perfect date says you need a healthy balance between the two.

But it’s not all doom and gloom if you are vegan and single. The rise of so-called ‘vegansexualism’ means that vegans are more likely to date in an exclusive pool of likeminded eaters, actively rejecting meat eaters as sexual partners.

Just think of the awkward grimaces you won’t have to contain when your partner indulges in a lamb chop opposite you at dinner, plus there’s the inviting prospect of shared moral superiority as you defiantly stroll past the meat aisle in Tesco.

So really? Everyone's a winner.

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