No meat and greet: Hong Kong vegetarian and vegan society bringing people together ... and even omnivores are welcome
A meat-free diet, countryside outings, maybe even a little romance ... A social group promoting vegetarian and vegan lifestyles has more than just food on the menu
Vegans Stevie Go and Carrie Chan will probably never eat meat again, but that doesn’t mean they will force others to do the same.
The couple, who met on dating app Tinder just under two years ago, are two of the main organisers of Meat Free Hong Kong, a society promoting the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
The group meets every week at one of the city’s 200 vegetarian restaurants, but those who come along do not have to live completely meat-free lifestyles.
Go, a 50-year-old retired information technology specialist from Scotland, said he hoped the group would help spark an interest in vegan and vegetarian food among Hongkongers.
“It is a vegan food group, not a vegan group,” he said. “I would speculate that 50 per cent of people are on an omnivore diet. Everyone is welcome. We try to make it a social evening. What people speak about is up to them. If people want to talk about veganism and vegetarianism then they can. But I’ve decided I’m not going to give people a hard time.”
The strategy seems to be working. Meat Free Hong Kong recently held its 400th gathering, and has accumulated more than 4,000 members since being established in 2009.