This World Vegetarian Day, people who tell their partners ‘’it’s me or the meat’’ might be in for a shock – a new survey has revealed that 77% of Canadians would choose red meat over love.
- 77% of Canadians would dump a partner who tried to make them go vegetarian
- Yet, just 4% of vegetarians in Canada would insist on ‘converting’ a partner
- Nearly half of carnivorous Canadians would eat less meat if asked nicely
- When compared to other countries, Canada is quite open-minded about vegetarian dating
Just in time for World Vegetarian Day (1st October), a new survey from premium dating site Elite Singles has taken a closer look at romance and the Canadian diet.
77% of meat eaters would dump their partner before they’d dump bacon
The survey of 400 Canadian singles found that, if given an ultimatum (i.e. ‘it’s me or the meat’), 77% of meat eaters would choose meat. What’s more, a number of Canadian meat eaters worry that falling for a vegetarian will mean a life without so much as poutine gravy: 17% see the threat of attempted conversion as the number one reason not to date a vegetarian.
However, it may be the ultimatum rather than the diet that is the real problem. Indeed, if asked nicely by a vegetarian partner, nearly half of Canadian meat eaters (44%) would be prepared to try going at least semi-vegetarian. This includes 30% who would try and avoid meat in front of their partner and 14% who would give it up entirely.
Just 4% of vegetarians would want to convert a partner
Yet, the study proved that these conversion fears are unfounded. In fact, just 4% of vegetarians surveyed would insist that their partner swear off meat. 45% would like a partner to at least consider eating less meat, while the majority – 51% – don’t think it is their place to make demands on a partner’s diet.
What’s more, 90% of Canadian vegetarians would be happy to start a serious relationship with someone who eats meat. Slightly fewer meat eaters (86%) would want a serious relationship with a vegetarian.
Compared to other countries, Canadians are relatively open-minded about vegetarian dating
Overall, the study found that 74% of Canadian singles would most like to date a meat eater and just over a quarter (26%) would most like to date a vegetarian.
This may not sound like a lot but, when EliteSingles conducted the same study in the USA, Europe, and Australasia (involving more than 11,000 singles in all), it showed that Canadian vegetarians have it quite easy.
In fact, that 26% means that Canadian singles are actually comparatively willing to date a vegetarian, coming in well ahead of countries like France (on 15%) and Denmark (18%); equal with Australia and Poland on 26%; just behind New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden (all on 27%); and behind the USA on 28% and the UK on 29%.
The easiest places for vegetarian dating are Germany on 30%, Finland on 31%, and Spain, where a whopping 37% would rather date a non meat eater; making Spain número uno for vegetarians in search of love.
For the full list of participating countries,along with insights about why a shared diet is important and a romantic, vegetarian dinner idea, please see our in-depth article
Press contact: Sophie Watson
EliteSingles Research Team
About the author: The EliteSingles Press Team
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