I'm a veggie, he's not. We don't let it get in the way too much. We eat the same meal most times, him with meat and we with a corresponding meat alternative. I'm not horribly picky when it comes to pre-prepared soups having chicken stock, or caesar salad having anchovy paste, but if we're making something from scratch, we use vegetarian ingredients.

I only get gripey when he eats really bad meat. if you're going to have a hamburger, okay - but let's get you a good one, not a BK stacker, know what I mean?

i don't eat red meat so i guess i fall into an 'in between' category. i don't know that i would have an issue with a guy who loves steak, but i kind of would prefer someone who doesn't eat much of it, if at all.

i'm not passionate enough about either viewpoint though, so it's not like i can relate to people who are very strict about their diet.

I eat meat, she doesn't. She got turned off to meat as a kid because of her mom's cooking, and if I had any discerning taste I should have too. Mom used to grill the crap outta burgers until they were pretty much indistinguishable from hockey pucks. Thanks a heap, Hugh Downs.

Anyway, we make it happen. I oven-bake my chicken, she stir-fries her tofu. She's kind of a veggie-light (pescatarian is the precise name, I think) -- only skips on chicken, beef, pork... and wild game, I suppose (no venison or elk meat for her. Or me. Blech.). So (thank god!) sushi isn't off the menu, nor are eggs (my specialty) or cheese (her passion). She's got her soy cheese and soy lunchmeat and so forth, which I don't object to, but avoid. And I've been introduced to things like bean stick and bean curd skin, and some great vegetarian restaurants in the SGV that would have otherwise gone unnoticed by me.

And yes, she will object to me eating meat from time to time -- but like above, only if it's a death-burger from Carl's Jr. and likely to stop my heartbeat with a glance. But it only means she cares. Plus we still get to make these if we want (last night we did).

I take umbrage with your idea that "reasonable veggie heads" are okay with dating across the meat-line. I consider myself both reasonable and vegetarian, but I could not date an omnivore.

Vegetarianism is like most other strong affiliations: There are people for whom things are "just preferences" and others for whom they are "moral imperatives." For example, a ho-hum Democrat might date a Republican, but a dyed-in-the-wool socialist would probably not date a libertarian. Or, perhaps a better analogy, an anti-abortion activist would be unlikely date an abortionist.

It shouldn't be considered "unreasonable" that I wouldn't date a meat-eater. In fact, it's completely reasonable; I want to date someone with values similar to those I have. My vegetarianism isn't a dietary preference, but an ethical compulsion.

:(

Basically, when I date a non-veggie, they eventually come join me on the dark side.

Dated a guy for a year once who would not eat beef or pork. I don't eat fish. We ate ALOT of chicken and turkey. I got really sick of cooking chicken, really fast.

I had issues with it though. Not because I didn't respect his weird dietary desires, but because they were totally without base. He wouldn't eat pork because he claimed to be Jewish. He's never set foot in a temple in his life, nor does he follow the religion at all. Nor do his parents. If he actually was Jewish, I could respect it. Then he claimed to be Hindu and that's why he couldn't eat beef.

My signature dish is Pot Roast. He would rather eat ramen instead of that gloriously tender cut of dead cow swimming in juice.

Needless to say, I don't date veggies anymore.

I'm vegetarian, but light on dairy and spent 2 years as a vegan. I previously dated a girl who was really into meat. We made it work, and she was really accommodating to me, often enjoying the challenge of cooking in completely new ways when we made food together.

She still eats meat, but now eats much more veggies then her parents were ever able to get her to eat. For that her parents have thanked me.

Moral choice is part of my veggieness, but I realize a completely veggie diet doesn't work for everyone. Ultimately I would just be happy if meat consumption became lower, and I can't think of a better way to do that then introduce delicious vegetarian alternatives to people with a non threatening agenda.

Currently I'm dating a vegan, and although I do enjoy the more common food choices we share, dating a more carnivorous partner, was never a serious source of friction.