Daniel Marichal (34), professional chef and chocolatier, and Martha Fuentes (36), industrial engineer, have been together for nine years. She is a vegetarian, he is not.. Lovers of good food, a mutual friend introduced them. They fell in love and had their first date in a Chinese restaurant.

Ever since before they met, Martha wanted to give up meat, but it wasn’t until late 2016, in a ftruck, when she tried a veggie burger that prompted her to take the final step. “It was so good that I said to Daniel: ‘if so, I don’t have to eat meat anymore’, I hadn’t forgotten my dream of being a vegetarian”.

Those Christmases, he says clarion, had to “come out” to dinner with his family. “I would pass the turkey to Daniel until they asked me and I said at the table that I wasn’t eating meat.”

Making the switch to a meat-free diet may come as a surprise to the environment, but second Noelia Benedictpsychologist, sexologist and couples therapist and non-monogamous relationships, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is a personal decision and, from that place, it must be addressed.

“The choice of what we eat or stop eating should be very personal, even if it is influenced by collective issues, socio-cultural aspects and some ethical position in this regard,” he indicates.

And despite the fact that more and more people are changing their diet, there are vegetarians who continue to face stereotypes. “Many people still have the idea that we only eat lettuce, tomato and rice,” says Martha.

For Daniel, his partner, it was a challenge that led him to rediscover ingredients: “I have a taste for culinary research and I started looking for substitutes in recipes. Much progress has been made at the gastronomic level. I really enjoy cooking for her and she’s opened up a world of new ways of doing it for me.” They recall, for example, being surprised by a vegetarian “mac and cheese” recipe they made with cashew sauce and nutritional yeast.

“My monthly meat intake has also gone down, I’ve started eating more vegetables because we do two menus at home,” Daniel clarifies. And, while they’ve yet to give new places a warning when they go out to eat that it’s lacto-ovo vegetarian, they both agree that the offering has expanded in recent years.

In 2021, Israeli industry Aleph Farms He managed to emulate the texture and flavor of a beef steak by using the animal’s cells without sacrificing it. The news showed that the market for lab-grown meat may be an option for many omnivorous consumers. A year earlier, in Singapore the same thing had also been achieved with chicken meat.

This milestone can be an option against the projections of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In their latest report, it is estimated that global income and population growth would lead to a 14% increase in meat protein consumption by 2030.

The effects of farming on CO2 emissions and its contribution to climate change have also been important factors for many who oppose animal abuse and opt for a plant based. A study at the request of Vegan Union of Argentina (UVA) carried out in July 2020 by the consulting firm KANTAR – Insights Division estimated that 14% of the Argentine population consider themselves vegetarian or vegan.

This being the case, how is it possible for a couple to coexist in a healthy way when, for different reasons, they have such different eating habits? According to Benedict there are three fundamental aspects: respect, consent and communication.

“It is true that living with people with different food choices is challenging, but we could also think of someone living with a condition who deserves to achieve some kind of adaptation, such as a person celiac”, indicates Benedict.

While this individuality can be challenged, the willingness to generate agreements is crucial, especially if positions are not radicalised. “In order for coexistence to be as healthy as possible, the idea would be to be able to keep the two food options that people offer. If we suddenly started thinking that inside that house there are things that can’t happen and the other person who has other tastes has to solve them outside, we wouldn’t exercise a respectful position in this regard”, says the specialist.

Moreover, it warns him You shouldn’t try to force, persuade, or convince the other person. “For example,” says Benedetto, “it may be that someone, out of his conviction, is not only a vegetarian, but also does not buy or handle meat, who does not want to participate in this chain of abuses. Therefore, you can suggest that, by cooking or buying things, you will have no contact with meat.”

In this sense, the psychologist emphasizes the importance of both cohabitants respectfully have their own space for storage and preparation what they want to eat.

Making judgments or reproaches about the consumption of certain foods is not healthy for any relationship, explains Benedetto (on Instagram, @lic.noeliabenedetto). “The idea is not to go around converting people or blame them if they don’t comply.”

According to the specialist, a relationship can break if there is a very important gap in this regard. The same could happen with other political, religious or economic beliefs. But he stresses that “we have to take this into account level of acceptance and tolerance from the other to me, and from me to the other; you must try not to disrespect either party.”

Benedict reflects on this difference: “If we don’t do it[hay respeto]here we are talking about a symbiosis that can become complex, since, if I like someone or if I share life with someone, we must have a total fusion of tastes and consumption, in short, it won’t be like this, that is, forcing a utopia closely linked to the myth of romantic love”.

Martha sums up the dynamic at her home: “we have two grills: one for him, where he prepares his meatand another for me, and for mine vegetables. Daniel respects my opinion and I respect his. He has been a constant support, he always tells me: ‘let’s buy this, let’s try it’ ”.