Survey: 30% of meat eaters won't date a vegetarian

MSNBC ^ | 07/07/2012 | Linnea Covington

[SeekAndFind]

Is it a dealbreaker if your partner skips the bacon in favor of tofu? For some meat eaters, that’s exactly the case. The recent Love Bites survey of 4,000 singles conducted by TODAY.com and Match.com found that nearly 30 percent of meat eaters say they would not date a vegetarian or vegan.

Writer and omnivore J. Federer told TODAY.com that while he agrees couples should have interests outside the relationship, food is one thing that should be shared. “Food is social, and the dinner table is where a couple gets back together after a day of work or play,” he wrote in an email. “This is where the relationship happens. The ability to provide and share food is part of romance, and I just can't date a person who does not share those moments of life with me.”

Blame it on biology, says Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and Match.com’s chief scientific adviser. She explains that sharing food is integral to courtship throughout the animal kingdom.

“It’s so common in the animal world to give food for sex that it’s called the nuptial gift,” Fisher explained. “Mankind’s first luxury was meat, and when carnivores share food – what they are sharing is this luxury. It’s more than just cultural, it’s instinctual.”

Federer tried but couldn’t get past the distaste for dating a vegetarian. He had a two-year relationship with a vegetarian and another with a vegan, but said he always felt judged when they would sit down to eat.

“She kept talking about the carbon footprint of a pound of meat and the impact of fishing on the oceans,” he said.

[MuttTheHoople]

I mis-read the title: Survey: 30% of meat eaters wont EAT a vegetarian.

[Vendome]

I’m still good looking, pushing 50 and don’t take orders.

I do take “take out”

[Kickass Conservative]

I don't recall ever dating a Woman who wouldn't eat meat.

[musicman]

[Secret Agent Man]

Who wants to date someone who will continually be on your ass about what you are eating?

[Secret Agent Man]

How much poison do you want, in moderation?

[Secret Agent Man]

More than 30% I damn guarantee.

[Salamander]

Worse than that are the freaks who make their animals "vegan" too.

Compare and contrast:

Look at that glistening coat.

Not possible on "veggies".

[plus, soy is goitrogenic and wrecks your thyroid]

[JRandomFreeper]

Dos mas, por favor.

That's if we're talking a poison like ethyl alchohol.

Socialism? No, not even in moderation.

I was talking about food.

/johnny

[Secret Agent Man]

Botulism then?

Some thing, more moderate than others. :-)

[ponygirl]

Tell me about it. I work with a bunch of liberal women who are all vegetarian. It is so annoying to go out to lunch with them. The first 20 minutes of any lunch is taken up with them talking about what they will or won't eat and why they will or won't eat it and what someone on CNN said about what they will or won't eat. And what is up with the "chin jut" when they talk about it? I notice they do the same thing when saying a phrase like "social justice." The chin pokes out and they lock their jaws, give you this look of superiority. What is that all about?

I always order something meaty, red and bleeding when I eat out with them.

[JRandomFreeper]

Botulism isn't food. It's poison in food.

And no, I don't want shigella either.

Nope. Just food. Real food, including meats, dairy, eggs, starches, veggies and fruits, when I can get them.

I will consume them in (mostly) moderation.

You know, like our ancient ancestors did.

/johnny

[trebb]

If i were to consider dating a vegan, I would have to make sure she was simply interested in good health, and not somebody who considered a vegan diet to be a substitute for morality. Eating a certain diet does not make somebody a good or a bad person.

We're omnivores - totally eschewing all forms of meat and anything elses that originates in a living piece of food (milk/eggs/butter) is never a totally "for my health" type thing.

[castlegreyskull]

My brother in law is engaged to a vegetarian. She is the same dimensions you described. About 5’6” and 250lbs. I wouldn’t describe her as liberal. I would call her a communist.

[MayflowerMadam]

Only 30%? I’m guessing it’s higher. I’d no sooner date a vegan than a democrat.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Late to the thread, but I thought you'd get a kick out of this image that I found here a while back...



:)

[Dutch Boy]

For decades I have been told that, “You are what you eat.”

If the saying is true, if you eat beef you are a vegetarian.

[wyokostur]

My daughter turned 16 yesterday...this is what she wanted for her birthday supper...fortunately we raise our own beef.

[a fool in paradise]

“She kept talking about the carbon footprint of a pound of meat and the impact of fishing on the oceans,” he said.

That isn't someone who'd into her diet. That is someone who is a global warming cultist who seeks to impose a lifestyle choice on everyone.

[a fool in paradise]

I know when some businesses/bars have a grilling event, vegans INSIST that their food be cooked on a separate grill.

And for muslims, halal preparation of food requires that no forbidden items come in contact with their foodstuffs.

I can’t speak for vegan/omnivore homes but could see problems in the kitchen with boundaries being set over which cutting board to use, where to store meat items, etc.

For some, it is an obsessive compulsive disorder “the foods can’t touch!”.

I don’t like raw bean sprouts but I don’t argue about the risks of ecoli contamination of my bacon when a stray bean sprout falls in the bacon container on a salad bar.