There are dating sites for vegans and dating sites for vegetarians. Even mainstream Australian dating site, RSVP, has a dietary preference category. In a 2020 UK poll published on Plant-Based News, 42% of meat eaters said they would refuse to date a vegan or vegetarian. In a Perspectus Global Survey of 2,000 UK adults in September 2021, 75% said it’s important they date someone with the same dietary preference.
For Valentine’s Day The Vegetarian Butcher and TBWA\Neboko are asking “When the world is already so divided, should we sacrifice love for what we eat?” The partners created a social experiment to find out if food beliefs would block people from love. The stated aim of the campaign is to show that no one, vegan or meat-eater, has to sacrifice love. Of course, the experiment also shows clearly and in a very interesting way that determined meat eaters loved the plant-based meat they ate without knowing.
TBWA\Neboko and The Vegetarian Butcher set up match blind dates between six unsuspecting vegans and meat-eaters. The singles either shared similar life experiences, had common interests, or were matched on their attraction preferences but had very different food beliefs.
The sets of couples were served exactly the same plant-based menu, with just the wording changed to suit their individual taste profiles and diets. After disclosing their dates’ food beliefs, it was revealed that they’d actually been eating exactly the same meal. The couples were then asked if they wanted to go on another date.
Two of the most lucky-in-love singletons were Drew Miller, a 34-year-old passionate vegan, who takes his plant-based lifestyle very seriously, and Jonathon Charlesworth, a 34-year old carnivore whose chosen idea of heaven is a good bacon sarnie. After a romantic meal for two, the starry-eyed pair are still dating one another. While not all of the couples were head over ‘meals’ for each other, all participants in the social dating experiment were shocked at the revelation of the plant-based dishes served up, with the meat-eaters even claiming love at first ‘bite’.
Joris Philippart, creative director at TBWA\Neboko, stated, “We’re lucky that we work with such brave clients who dare to stand behind such an important message. Because no one should ever sacrifice love because of what they eat. Especially on Valentine’s Day.”
Laura Iliffe, senior brand manager at The Vegetarian Butcher, commented, “Following Veganuary last month, Valentine’s Day felt like the perfect opportunity to prove a plant-based diet can be for life, not just for January. It’s clear more people are choosing to adopt a plant-based lifestyle, but that doesn’t need to be at the sacrifice of finding love. At The Vegetarian Butcher, we believe that we must sacrifice nothing when it comes to enjoying our food and in a world that is already so divided, we want to bring people together with our plant-based meats – not tear them apart.”
