Love Sick: Eat Meat

In the past few years, the vegetarian and vegan trends have been on the rise. Those that choose to follow these lifestyles say that it is a healthier and more animal-friendly way of living. Thinking about becoming a vegan makes me want to immediately go to Jack in the Box and order an ultimate cheeseburger. Though it may not be the healthiest diet choice, I’d rather not limit myself at all in the food market. I love food and I would never want to have to turn anything down because it was possibly cooked in animal fat. So when I began dating a vegan, things became complicated.

When choosing someone to date, usually their food preferences is not a factor that comes to mind. But let me tell ya, it can make a big difference. For me, eating new things and trying new restaurants is something that I enjoy doing on dates. So at first, dating a vegan was kind of cool. I had veggie burgers which I surprisingly enjoyed and got to eat at a vegan restaurant and was amazed at how good vegan food can actually be. But soon enough I began craving juicy meat and things coated in cheese.

It’s not that the guy I was dating pushed me to become vegan, but it just made going out to eat more complicated than it should be. Even ordering a pizza was too ridiculous, with me getting double cheese on my half and him getting none on his half. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is he worried if a little bit of cheese seeped into his dough.” And having him over for dinner at my parents was a challenge. My family is a big meat-eating family, and I’m pretty sure my mom made fried chicken the first time he was over. I had to go to Whole Foods prior and get him some weird noodle thing that was vegan but I couldn’t help but feel bad as we chomped into our delicious legs of poultry and wonder if he felt left out.

I worried about how far his veganism would go. If I ate a hamburger, would he make me brush my teeth before kissing him, that way no meat juices could find their way into his mouth? And I missed the joys of going to wing night at Buffalo Wild Wings and packing away way more food than necessary.

We eventually split, not because of his veganism, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved that the worry of an accommodating place to eat would no longer be an issue. So if you’re a food lover, or even a vegan, maybe rank food preference a little higher on the list of traits you look for in a person. It could be a bigger annoyance than you’d think.