Such an important point that nonvegans are missing! I don’t have to love anyone to know that I have no right to harm them. I don’t even have to like them. Harming others for no reason is morally abhorrent and every religion and anyone with a basic morality can understand that. The “friends not food” theme bothers me a lot for this reason though. I could never be friends with most of the animals I choose to not harm as a vegan, especially those who are dangerous to me such as venomous snakes we protect in the forest.

I commend you for having a nonvegan boyfriend though in my experience, that has never been a positive experience. The most basic understanding that one is not the center of the universe and has no right to harm others is just a moral baseline I need in my close relationships. Sadly, vegan men aren’t always decent people, but they’ve got a starting point I can understand.