Meetup group links vegetarians through website

By Susan Ketchum
Euclid Sun Journal

What do you call it when two growing trends vegetarianism and computer meeting join together?

It's the Vegetarian Meetup Group.

Meetup groups are a national phenomena, where people of like interests in a geographic area get together by posting events on a Web site, meetup.com. Recently, the Cleveland area Vegetarian Meetup Group gathered on a Friday night at Mekong River in Cleveland Heights.

The Lee Road restaurant features more than 60 Cambodian and Thai dishes. When a member suggested it as a good site for a gathering, coordinator Susan Sedenik made arrangements and posted a date on the Website. A good selection for both vegetarians and vegans is one of the criteria for finding a good site.

"When you go to an ordinary restaurant and ask for veggie food, all you get is salad," Kiran Annavarapu said. He and wife Nicole recently moved to Cleveland Heights.

"My family is all vegetarian, for religious reasons. I rebelled for two years, then came back," he said. "More people would be vegetarian if they knew how good it tastes."

Sedenik changed her diet two years ago, after attending a conference on animals.

"I watched a 14-minute film on the topic of how animals are raised and slaughtered for food and I decided to finally go vegetarian right then," she said. "I have since discovered all the health benefits and the benefits to the environment."

She has learned much from people she met through the group, and agreed to take over when the previous organizer moved out of state. She scatters meetings around Cleveland since members come from as far away as Akron, Westlake and even Detroit.

Morgan Adams of Mayfield Heights has attended meetups since January, and also participates in area hiking and game development meetup groups. A vegetarian for 15 years, he cites a variety of reasons, including the global issues of economics and starvation.

"I've read that 20 vegetarians can be fed from the same land that can feed only one non-vegetarian," he said.

Even those just investigating a meatless diet are invited to the events.

"Most people in the group don't find it terribly offensive that lots of other people eat meat. Most of us were meat-eaters in the past, so we know how hard habits are to change," Adams said.

David Berenson of University Heights admitted he likes the taste of meat. He tries to eat locally and occasionally eats yogurt, locally grown eggs from "good sources" and seafood.

"I'm mostly vegan, but sometimes I'm not even vegetarian," he said. "If it weren't for the ethical issues, I would go for a Burger King whopper any time."

David and Mandy Mooter of Shaker Heights were at the very first meetup a few years ago. Both go for the food, to try new restaurants and taste new dishes at the potlucks, but David also likes the stimulating conversations. At one lunch-time event at Mustard Seed Cafe in Solon, he spent hours discussing philosophy with an aspiring attorney.

"You can usually find someone you connect with on some area, due to the eclectic mix," he said. "That's what I like about it."

The next scheduled meeting is a picnic potluck at 1 p.m. Sunday at Garfield Park Reservation. Visit vegetarian.meetup.com/367.