Maya Gottfried - Vegan Love: Dating and Partnering for the Cruelty-Free Gal, with Fashion, Makeup & Wedding Tips

Praise for Vegan Love

Whether its advice, great food, or a fashion find, Maya Gottfried is the friend whos always there for you with compassion and a new way of looking at something. Youll be hard-pressed to read this book and not feel like Maya has done you a solid.

Tracey Stewart, author of Do Unto Animals: A Friendly Guide to How Animals Live, and How We Can Make Their Lives Better

Vegan Love is a thoughtful, practical, timely guide to help vegans navigate the challenging terrain of finding rewarding relationships in a not-yet vegan world.

Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows

Maya Gottfrieds delightful book Vegan Love offers great support for those seeking help in navigating romantic relationships while maintaining a cruelty-free lifestyle. Maya reveals that by staying true to our love for animals, we often inspire those around us to live more compassionately. Fun, honest, and informative, Vegan Love shows that our authenticity benefits both the animals and our relationships.

Gene Baur, president and cofounder of Farm Sanctuary and author of Farm Sanctuary and Living the Farm Sanctuary Life

Adopting a vegan lifestyle can cause tension with friends and relatives. This is especially true in love relationships. Vegans and those considering veganism will find support and answers to their questions in Maya Gottfrieds book.

lise Desaulniers, author of Cash Cow: Ten Myths about the Dairy Industry

Everything you need for falling in love, getting hitched, and living happily ever after vegan-style! Whether your soul mate is vegan, veg-curious, or not yet either, true love will find a way, and Maya Gottfried helps it along in this delightful book that draws on the experience of vegans whove found that romantic bliss can coexist beautifully with scrambled tofu and leafy greens.

Victoria Moran, author and podcaster, Main Street Vegan

Be gone vegan myths! Author Maya Gottfried shows us just how easy it is to integrate veganism into our everyday lives. Vegan Love offers great advice for new vegans and those new to the dating scene, too. A very powerful book.

Stacey Wolf James, author of the wedding planning guide Never Throw Rice at a Pisces

Practical, probing, and poignant, Maya Gottfrieds latest book is a gift to all women who are embracing the vegan lifestyle. Filled with insight, guidance, and resources, this is a go-to book that sheds light on love and the vegan path. A wonderful contribution and a great read. Hats off to Maya!

Amy Hatkoff, author of The Inner World of Farm Animals: Their Amazing Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Capacities

Copyright 2017 by Maya Gottfried

Illustrations copyright 2017 by Dame Darcy

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jenny Zemanek

Cover illustrations by Dame Darcy

Print ISBN: 9781510719453

Ebook ISBN: 9781510719460

Printed in China

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Out and Proud Vegan

I was in college when I first heard the term vegan and found out what it meant. I understood why someone would want to be a vegetarian, not eating animals, but I couldnt completely comprehend why a person would want to be a vegan, cutting all animal products out of his or her diet and life. A basic definition of vegan is refraining from consuming or using anything that comes from a non-human animal, whether those products appear in food, clothing, household items, or whatever else one might come across in life. That sounded like a pretty tall order to me.

I am an imperfect vegan despite trying my hardest to avoid all animal products, and my guess is that all other vegans are imperfect, too. I am certain that Ive sat on a leather seat. I can say with confidence that despite believing a dish was vegan, at some point I was handed a meal with dairy in it at a restaurant, and sadly, Ive run over insects with my car on the way into town. I do my best. When theres a choice to be made, I choose the compassionate route.

Ive found that, despite my fears that going cruelty-free would be difficult, the world is generally vegan-friendly. If Im in a clothing store, there are usually many more cotton and rayon (vegan) items than silk and wool (not vegan). When Ive flown internationally, there has always been a vegan meal available on the plane (though Ive needed to request it in advance). In foreign countries, Ive consistently been able to find vegan food, whether in Europe or Asia. Even when I order coffee at massive chains, I have options including soy and almond milk. Of course there have been challenging moments, and sometimes a little preparation (like packing my own food) has been required, but in the eight years since I went vegan, I have never been forced to eat an animal or gone without a meal.