How to Make Vegetarian Friends

Being a vegetarian in a group of meat-eating friends isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it can get a little tedious when someone you’ve known for the last ten years keeps offering you bites of his burger. Maybe you want to hang out with someone who’s just as excited about the new vegetarian restaurant in town, or maybe you want to expand your social circle to include people with similar eating habits. Either way, there are other vegetarians out there just waiting to hang out with you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. The key to making vegetarian friends is to put yourself in the same place as other vegetarians. Frequent veggie-friendly cafes in your area, and make small talk with strangers. Is there a clothing store nearby that specializes in organically grown cotton shirts or hemp sandals? Some of the customers are probably vegetarians as well as conscientious consumers.
2. Participate in local vegetarian activities. When your favorite health food store offers a class or workshop you’re interested in, fork over the cash and go. Chances are, you’ll leave with more than a new recipe collection.
3. Take cooking classes through your local community college or adult education program. If a cooking class has a vegetarian theme, what better way to make vegetarian friends than to spend several evenings cooking with them?
4. Take classes that focus on whole body health. People who choose a vegetarian lifestyle are often also concerned with holistic approaches to staying healthy. There’s a good chance your local Tai Chi or yoga classes have a few vegetarians in them.
5. If all else fails, use the Internet to make vegetarian friends. Place an ad in the “Friends” category of a personals website to organize a vegetarian-themed group outing.

Tips & Warnings

• It’s not enough to go places and wait for people to talk to you. Making vegetarian friends is just like making meat-eating friends; you have to be outgoing and social for it to happen.
• Don’t invite random strangers to your home until they aren’t strangers anymore. It’s tempting to lure vegetarians into your life by making a big dinner for new acquaintances, but vegetarians have just as much creep potential as anyone else.