Do Vegaterians/Vegans relize that nto everyone can afford to practice their lifestyle?

Question

I love animals, eveyrone in my family does. Unfortunaty we can not afford to be vegirarrians or vegans. That food is too expenise, forms of meat and dairy are a much cheper form of protien. What, should my family have to stare to save a cow? I think that people come first, so to you vegans and vegitarians, what do you say to the industries chargin so much for thier pruducts. If it my fault my family does nto have much money.

Answer 1

Actually, that's a common misconception. Meatless, healthy meals can be cheaper than those that include a pound of meat or more, but the trick is that you've got to be willing to do some planning and investigation.

Example: assuming that you're using a pound of ground beef in a recipe, you've just spent around $2.50, not including the ingredients to make it into a meal. That same amount in my local grocery store would buy at least four bags of dried beans, which would feed you for more than just one meal. They can be made into soups, stews, cooked and formed into loaves or patties, etc.

The much maligned tofu can also be delicious when prepared properly, and it costs about $2 a pound to feed a family of four. Two bucks worth of sirloin probably wouldn't make a decent meal for the family cat, much less four people.

Fresh veggies -- yeah, those can be pricey, especially the out of season ones. That's where the planning part comes in particularly handy. Buy the seasonal veggies, blanch them, and freeze them for later use when they're expensive. Otherwise, stick to whatever is in season and cheap!

A good vegetarian cookbook will give you plenty of ideas for balanced meals. I love Mollie Katzen's "Moosewood" cookbooks, but there are other equally good cookbooks which help you save money, eat healthy, and avoid meat.

Oh, and the one monetary factor that I didn't mention is the savings in health care and medicine. That's one of the hidden costs of eating meat that people don't often think about. . .doctor visits, high blood pressure and cholesterol meds, and so on.

It just takes a little planning and effort to be a vegetarian on a budget, and I know that for a fact. Even in our poorest "newlywed college kid" days, my husband and I managed. When we were first married in 1976, we made church mice look rich. My grocery budget per week was a whopping $15!!

And how did we survive? You got it. . .vegetarian meals and a little bit of work and forethought!

Answer 2

First of all, it's very possible to live as a vegetarian or Vegan on a limited budget. True you may have to forgo many convenience items such as veggie burgers and soy ice cream, but the main staples of a vegetarian or Vegan diet, such as beans, rice, vegetables, and fruits, are no more expensive then animal foods. In my experience as a Collage student that must fend for himself when it comes to food most of the time and that works a job making $7.00 an hour, I find it substantially cheaper to eat Vegan then it was to eat meat. It just requires a bit more planing.

Answer 3

I'm sorry but that makes no sense. A vegetarian diet is far cheaper than a meat eating diet, and a vegan diet is even cheaper than a vegetarian. I can only assume you were looking at all the processed soya foods as your sources of protein,? I don't eat those. I eat a virtually vegan diet based on fruit and veg, lentils, beans, soya mince (the unprocessed type) and wholegrains such as rice and pasta. I also buy nut butters and seeds, bread etc. All those foods are dirt cheap and incredibly healthy. It's only when you focus on the processed food like soya sausages and cheese that the price goes up, and they aren't good for you anyway. Focus on a healthy diet and buy the cheap stuff!

Answer 4

I am a vegetarian and my housemate is not. When we go to the grocery store, he always spends more money because of the raw meat he buys. I can spend $60 and have more than enough food for a week or longer. If you are referring to the pre-made/frozen vegetarian foods, then yes, some of them are pricey but not any more so than frozen Hungry Man, Stouffers, and other premade foods. The only meat that I know that is cheaper than the non-meat I eat are things like hotdogs and some sandwich meats. Other than those, all of my meat-alternative products cost about the same or less.

Answer 5

Just try eating more vegetables and fruits in your daily meals and less meat. You just have to make that personal decision which is more important to you and your family, My daughter is a vegetarian and I do make the point to buy her the foods and other products that she can have in the house to eat when we are having something that she can not eat. My family does not have alot of money either but it is something that she believes in very strongly and because of that I make that choice to spend a little extra for her food. No one is blaming you because your family can not afford that life style but don't be mad and hate the people who can.

Answer 6

Start looking at the price tags correctly, veggie food is much cheaper. A steak = £10, a whole basket of fruit n veg and even maybe a little tofu = £10!!!!

Answer 7

You can always looks at other sources of protein such as dry beans (which is dirt cheap) and soy milk (costs as much as the milk, maybe sometimes a tiny bit higher).

Answer 8

I am not a vegan or vegetarian nor do i know much about them, but how expensive can "their" food be. They dont drink milk, therefore substitute it for soy, not that much more $. Plus veggies and fruits are not expensive.

Answer 9

You make it sound like vegans push their eating habits on others. I don't think thats true, maybe its your own guilt. Try eating fish and chicken maybe that will ease your guilt over killing cows.

Answer 10

welll...beans and vegetables and simple vegetarian foods are way cheaper than buying meat
(not all those fancy fake meat thingy's tho...)