"We’re taught that meat is what’s for dinner all around us, but I think that most people, once they learn about veganism and vegetarianism and the reasons for it, are very amenable to those reasons even if they aren’t ready to change their diet yet,’ says Brian Copcea, 25, left, after dining with his girlfriend, Irena Rindos, 19, at Global Village in Raleigh.

Rindos and Copcea, both students at N.C. State University, were initially brought together about eight months ago through their shared activism as vegans. The couple serve as president and vice president of SPARC, Students Protecting Animals Responsibly and Compassionately, and are also members of several other local animal rights organizations.

The couple cite animal rights, human rights violations of workers in factory farms, environmental preservation and human health as reasons for becoming vegetarian and later vegan.

Copcea was brought to activism for the cause after meeting a personal hero, Dawn Radcliffe, who has been an activist of animal rights for years. As for Rindos, “Once I found out the conditions of the animals and the workers on factory farms, I just felt like I had to act.”