Friday, 05 August 2011 12:37
Video: Forget the Dating Sites - Go to Veg Speed Dating!
Written by Whitney Lauritsen
If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you likely want to date someone else with the same lifestyle, but that can be challenging - only about 3% of the population is vegetarian and approximately 1% are vegan. And even if you can find people with the same way of living, it then comes down to connection and attraction. Personally, I've only clicked with a few vegan men - my wonderful boyfriend falls into the "veg curious" category. So what's a single plant eater to do? How about try veg speed dating?
Photo: Karine Brighten
On Wednesday night I attended Berkeley's first Veg Speed Dating event at Saturn Cafe, which was put together by my amazing eco-vegan Karine of Karine Brighten Events. She was inspired by her single vegan girlfriends who said it was impossible to find a plant-based mate, so she set out to prove them wrong. And prove them wrong she did! The event was a blast - I had fun even though I wasn't participating (though I warned my boyfriend that I might ditch him for a sexy vegan)! Over 40 people paid the $25 admission, 23 men and 20 women, and the vibe was relaxed and enthusiastic - it didn't seem like anyone was uncomfortable. Conversations flowed with the major common interest, no matter if someone was vegan, vegetarian, or veg curious.
The event was from 7:30pm and went to about 12am, but time flew by. After mingling over vegan eats provided by Saturn Cafe, everyone sat down at long tables, the men across from the women (this event was heterosexuals only) and rotated at the round of a bell every 3 minutes. Before starting the participants were given a brief coaching by dating expert Anna Hennings, which is a recent vegan herself and a total sweetheart. I spoke to a few people about their experiences and everyone said it was easier than they thought it would be and that they were meeting great people, love connection or not.
But don't take my word for it, check out my video from the event:
If you're in the Bay Area and are single vegetarian, vegan or are simply veg curious you should absolutely come to the next event. Karine plans to change it up by limiting it to different age groups and having one for the gay and lesbian community. If you're not in the Bay area, I recommend that you look for similar events and start your own if they're aren't any! There were some in Los Angeles for sure. Or, you can check out the many veg online dating sites like:
