Meat Eaters and Plant-Based Food Fans Finding Love Together Is a Long Shot

He’s a strict vegan, and she’s a steak lover—can this relationship be saved? According to a new study from Sweet Earth Foods and OkCupid, a dietary mismatch like that might never happen in the first place. A recent poll from the brands, ahead of their collaboration on a Valentine’s Day-themed stunt, found that meat eaters aren’t too keen on vegetarians and vegans. In fact, they consider plant-based food fans less desirable than people who are divorced or have credit card debt. Almost half of the 1,000 respondents said they rank diet over politics as a compatibility marker—it’s more important to agree on bacon than Biden, in other words. And one in four said having the same food habits as a potential date was higher on the scale than physical appearance or sexual chemistry (for vegans, the number bumped up to one in three). And a bit of salt in the wound to beleaguered plant-based fans in this data: 42% of meat eaters would expect their faux meat-eating partners to cook them the real thing, and 32% would want couples counseling. “It seemed like the divide between vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters was likely impacting dating in a big way, but wasn’t really being talked about,” said Jessica Vasisht, Sweet Earth’s vice president. While dating can sometimes be a drag, it’s even tougher on veggie lovers, according to the research. The overall experience is less enjoyable, and many feel judged by their dates or scrap their diets to avoid friction. The findings came as a bit of a shock to Sweet Earth, a California-based brand now owned by Nestle, and dating app OkCupid. Execs said they had some idea that food was a contentious subject. Still, they were “surprised at how polarizing dietary preferences really are when it comes to considering a potential match, especially given the increasing popularity of plant-based diets among Gen Z and millennials,” Sweet Earth vice president Jessica Vasisht said. Naturally, the marketers want to bridge the gap, promoting both plant-based eating and love connections. They’ve planned a virtual event for Feb. 10 that will include a Q&A with OKCupid’s dating expert Damona Hoffman and a live Zoom conversation with Chase Stokes from the Netflix hit Outer Banks. The actor, a flexitarian now shooting Season 2 of the drama, will talk about how he and his vegan girlfriend make their relationship work. There’s also an invite-only speed-dating segment after the free presentation; sign up at ImaVeggieLover.com. The digital gathering is “geared at connecting open-minded singles who are ready to meatlessly mingle,” said the brands. On the OkCupid platform, consumers can share information about their diets “to help us find you someone with a compatible lifestyle,” said Michael Kaye, global communications and PR manager, noting that thousands of people participated in Veganuary, a movement to ditch animal products for a month. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sweet Earth Foods (@sweetearthfoods) “One trend we’ve recently noticed is that people are becoming more open to dating someone who is vegan,” he said. “And over the past few months, singles who said they are open to dating a vegan actually received more incoming likes and matches than those who said they weren’t.” That development would better reflect the plant-based boom that’s happened during the Covid-19 crisis and the increasing number of consumers, particularly younger demos, who say they’re cutting down on animal protein and eating more meatless dishes. “While dating someone with a different lifestyle has been challenging in the past, singles are beginning to step outside their culinary comfort zone,” Kaye said. But back to the study, which shows that a pulled pork sandwich or an egg-free omelet might make or break a budding romance: Two in three vegans (64%) and vegetarians (67%) say they get questioned about their food choices, “making them feel like they have to explain themselves.” One in five vegans and vegetarians have broken their diets on dates “because they were too anxious to tell their date about their diet.” On the other side of that judgy coin, 50% of vegetarians and 66% of vegans would consider a meat eater an unlikely match, with the number skyrocketing to three in four LGBTQ+ vegans. Most plant-based online daters—59% of flexitarians, 48% of vegetarians and 55% of vegans—said the digital process has made it easier to find a meaningful connection. More than half of vegans and one in four flexitarians would be interested in an app designed around food preferences. And there may be hope yet for the food incompatible, the study found. Only 13% of vegetarians, 21% of vegans and 22% of flexitarians expect their significant others to cave in and change their diets. Vasisht said the brand partnership aims to help daters understand “that in opening doors to more flavor and diversity in both their romantic lives and their food preferences, everyone wins.”