Vegetarian Advice: Meet Other Vegetarians

Question: How To Meet Other Vegetarians, PLUS Can I Love The Planet and Not Be Vegan?

My wife and I recently retired and moved. I do need good advice, please. I am disappointed that there are no local vegetarian groups in our new location. How do I socialize with other Vegetarians? Can I love the Planet and not be a Vegan? What is your opinion? - L. H.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice

Dear L.H.,

Meeting other vegetarians: Start your own group! You'll draw like minded people to you as long as you don't hide in your house. Attract attention to your vegetarian self however you can. Make a fool of yourself if necessary, but I don't think it will be.

Here are more than a few ways to get started meeting other vegetarians:

• Advertise in your local paper's personal column, on Craig's List, on vegetarian friendship sites.
• Start a vegetarian cooking or pot luck club (again, advertise)
• Hang out, chat up the employees and customers, make yourself conspicuous, and post notices at the nearest natural food store
• Give vegetarian cooking classes at your local community center, senior center, junior college, etc.
• Seek publicity to call attention to your plight. Call in to radio talk shows, get yourself interviewed by the local paper, write letters to the editor
• Join groups or activities where vegetarians might hang out - environmental groups, yoga, meditation, animal rights, liberal political activities, organic gardening groups, farmers markets and csa's - be friendly and extroverted
• Explain your predicament, and ask people you meet wherever you go - at the grocery store, library, community center, church, college, etc - do you happen to know any vegetarians?
• As soon as you've met a few vegetarians, throw a party, and ask your new acquaintances to bring their vegetarian and veg friendly friends.
• Consider making friends with sympathetic non-vegetarians you may happen to meet and like.

Yes, I think you can love the planet and not be a vegan. It's interesting that you bring this up. I've found that many environmentalists, who do love the planet, aren't vegetarian, and are actually pretty sensitive, as in, defensive about it. And that many animal lovers hate people who aren't vegan. And that many people who eat meat are tolerant and loving. So, it's very hard to make and apply rules about all this.

Enjoy your new veggie friends, and love the planet from where you are - Judy Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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