Dating is all about commonality and difference, not so much in common that you clash and not so much difference that there is nothing to talk about. But where does diet come into this? It is agreed across anthropology, history and other social scientific disciplines that food is key to culture, community and identity. Food can form relationships amongst people and peoples, just as rejecting food can be a source of contention: so eating is fundamental to us all. When I made the decision to go from vegetarian to vegan aged 19, animal rights and environmentalism became twice as important to me, and what I was eating grew into such a key part of my identity.
My diet became something that was informing my choices, who I wanted to surround myself with. I wanted those around me to be just as passionate about animal rights and the planet as me and I found it hard to empathise with those who didn't hold these values. I quickly discovered that this wasn’t and still isn’t the case with many of my friends and some family members, but I felt strongly that this was a trait that I wanted me and my romantic partner to share. So, along with looking for someone that was kind, funny, left-wing and had a nice smile, I added vegan to the list. At first I thought this new criteria would make dating extremely hard, but after leaving the likes of Tinder and Hinge and joining Veggly and Grazer, I realised that the problem was where I was looking.
There are several vegan dating apps on the market with perhaps the most popular being the two just mentioned. I downloaded Veggly in August and that same day I matched with my now boyfriend of 18 months. It works like all other mainstream dating apps in that you can choose up to 5 of your best photos and write a bio, but on each profile it also says how long that person has been vegan for (or vegetarian depending on the preferences you select).
If you're wondering whether this could mean that dating becomes a narrower experience through which you meet less diverse people, I don't see this to be the case. I think it's a wonderful thing to see dating apps reflecting the specific criteria we want to uphold when searching for a romantic partner as for so long, women in particular have been conditioned to compromise. Well, compromise no more! It's empowering to hold high standards and to be unwavering in the criteria that I want my romantic partner to fulfil, something which has been made a whole lot easier for me thanks to vegan dating apps. It would be great to see an increase in apps that allow those using them to find romantic connections through a common passion or hobby that is important to them, especially if it is one that denotes your lifestyle in the way that veganism does mine.
So, will vegan dating apps continue to grow in popularity and will other dating criteria develop and influence the creation of other non-mainstream dating apps? I truly hope so!
- Megan Wheeler