Why I'm Building a Dating Site as a Vegan Activist

I'm a vegan activist building a dating site. That might sound like a niche within a niche, but it's exactly why I'm doing this.

I've spent years in vegan and activist circles where values aren't a footnote in your bio. They're how you live, who you organize with, and often who you want to build a life with. And yet when you open Tinder or Hinge, food and lifestyle choices are afterthoughts, if they're there at all.

So I'm building Pretty Good Dating. Not as "the vegan app," but as a dating site where values actually matter, starting with the community I know best.

Why generic dating apps fail vegans

Swipe apps have three problems that hit our community especially hard:

1. Values are invisible. You can't filter for vegan. You find out on date three that they're "fine with your choices" but not interested in sharing them.
2. Algorithms hide you. Decent people get buried. You update photos, rewrite bios, and still wonder if anyone can even see your profile.
3. The noise is unbearable. Bots, scammers, and people who aren't serious about dating make it hard to tell who's real.

Veggly and Green Singles exist for plant-based matching, but most are swipe-based — one profile at a time. I'm solving a broader problem: intentional dating that respects your time and your values. See how we compare to Veggly if you're curious.

What we're building differently

Pretty Good Dating is a dating utility, not a casino. No swiping. No algorithm deciding who's worth showing. You search, filter, and browse on your terms.

For vegans specifically, that means:

• Food & lifestyle on every profile. Vegan, vegetarian, and how flexible you are about a partner's choices.
• Filter by food & lifestyle. Find people who share your values without awkward surprises on a first date.
• Chat request limits. 5 requests per day for men, 5 accepts per day for women. Mutual intent, not spam floods.
• Manual human approval. Every account reviewed before it goes live. Bots don't get through.

This isn't a platform for vegans only. Non-vegans are welcome. But if you're vegan and tired of apps that treat your values like an optional detail, this was built with you in mind.

Launching first in Montreal, open to everyone

We're building density in Montreal first. That's where I'm based and where my activist network is strongest. Vegan dating in Montreal — founding members can also join from anywhere. If you're in Toronto, Vancouver, or anywhere else and want in early, you're welcome.

We're looking for 1,000 founding members to help prove that intentional dating works. Top members get lifetime perks and permanent recognition as OGs.

We need you

I'm one person with a laptop and a grudge against broken dating apps. I can't launch this alone. I need early members who care about dating with shared values to join, give feedback, and help spread the word.

If you're vegan, involved in activism, or just tired of swipe culture and want something better, check out our vegan welcome page and claim a founding member spot.

Let's build something that actually works.

Sheldon