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Is veganism only possible with enough money?
Replies
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My husband and I aren't vegan but we eat 6 days a week on about $40-50/week (always between $35-60), eating primarily vegetarian meals (no meat cooked at home but we do consume eggs and some fish). We make almost every meal from scratch though and I realize not everyone has that kind of time (my husband works from home & is super skilled at cooking an amazing meal from some dried beans or tofu and raw veggies).
Anyway, I know people who eat similarly to the way we do but rely more on prepared items and strive to do 100% organic/non-GMO, and they wind up spending well over $150 per week for a very SIMILAR diet for 2 adult household. A friend of mine thinks nothing of spending $20+ on items to create one everyday dinner for she and her husband. To me that's crazy, everyone's different.
We do spend quite a bit on dining out (but just 2 meals on Saturday, usually).1 -
If anyone's looking for serious ideas on a cheap & flavorful vegan diet I recommend Kicki Yang Zhang's YouTube "What I eat in a day" videos, there aren't a ton of them but they are excellent.0
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Sorry for posting so many times. But I was just thinking about this and honestly I think of some other eating styles as too costly for the average person. I do not know very much about Paleo or Keto, but I've seen friends posting their meals and can't imagine spending the kind of money it would take for fresh local meat every day and special "keto macarons" as dessert.4
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Beans, rice, veggies and fruit are the cheapest items in the grocery store. Grow a garden! Buying prepackaged frozen boxed crap is expensive.4
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seltzermint555 wrote: »Sorry for posting so many times. But I was just thinking about this and honestly I think of some other eating styles as too costly for the average person. I do not know very much about Paleo or Keto, but I've seen friends posting their meals and can't imagine spending the kind of money it would take for fresh local meat every day and special "keto macarons" as dessert.
Keto would be difficult because carbs are cheap, but at least you can have the cheaper ground meats because you aren't trying to cut fats. Cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables, but the carbs do add up with that.
Again, popular keto ends up with a lot of substitutes. I imagine almond flour isn't cheap. I eat a lot of nuts and those certainly aren't cheap, although calorie for calorie they are usually better than most meats. But if you can stand Midwestern casseroles made with cauliflower and cabbage instead of pasta and rice, it is only slightly more expensive and no more time consuming than average.1 -
This:concordancia wrote: »You are talking about meal plans made up of substitutes, rather than embracing foods that can be eaten.
Veganism is expensive if you want to eat Quorn imitations of meat lovers' favorites.
Gluten free is expensive if you want to eat gluten free imitations of wheat products.
Neither is expensive if you eat the things you can eat as they are rather than manipulating them into something they aren't.
And This:Nony_Mouse wrote: »it bothers me that a lot of vegans refuse to accept the fact that their way of eating is a huge privilege. It's a luxury really. And it's one a lot of us truly can't afford. Why is that such a hard pill for people to swallow? If a poor person says they cant afford something, they mean it. End of story. It's not an invitation to try and prove them wrong or tell them what *you* would do if you were them. You're *not* them, so piss off.
I do not think a vegan diet can be done on a food stamp budget. Unless you honestly expect people to just eat canned beans and vegetables. I've been on food stamps, and even eating cheap, non-vegan staple foods, we'd still run out of food stamps by the end of the month and end up eating ketchup sandwiches for dinner. I would absolutely LOVE to see someone try to come up with a REALISTIC full day/week's menu for a vegan family of 4 on food stamps that requires minimal prep. And before anyone does, please realize that a fcking cup of lentil soup or whatever isn't enough for a full meal to most people, and most peoples' kids/family aren't gonna agree to eat such bland crap anyway.
Just to clarify, the question in the OP was for one small adult, not a family of four. Feeding a family of four on the stated budget would be basically impossible, vegan or not.
i know, I just hate that these threads always use a household size of 1 as the example. Most people live with others/have families that they also have to cook for. I'm just really interested in seeing if anyone can pull off a family friendly vegan day of eating. I've never seen it done on here.
So i guess someone could just multiply the individual allowance by 4 and use that as the hypothetical budget?amusedmonkey wrote: »it bothers me that a lot of vegans refuse to accept the fact that their way of eating is a huge privilege. It's a luxury really. And it's one a lot of us truly can't afford.
That only applies if they buy specialty foods. What's luxurious about dried beans and grains or vegetables in season? Like I stated earlier, we eat vegan for about 3 months a year and our food tends to be a lot cheaper when we do because we're not fancy about it. You can be fancy about non-vegan food too, like buying organic and whatnot.
even if dried beans and veggies are the same price as say, a couple of frozen dinners, most people are gonna choose to go with the frozen stuff because it requires no prep. whereas fresh foods require you to look up recipes, go grocery shopping more often to get fresh produce, and chop/prep/cook a meal. Yeah, it may be cheap, but it's labor intensive, and that's a huge factor for people on a tight budget who are already busy and stressed and tired and honestly don't give a damn about veganism in the first place.
not to mention, most people would get tired of just eating grains, veggies, beans/lentils/tofu/etc. I know I would. It's just a boring way to eat to be honest. Who's really gonna pick that over a nice 50 cent box of mac 'n cheese?
Judgemental much? You seem to have a pretty warped view of veganism. I've known plenty of vegans who manage to eat healthily on low incomes (no, I don't know how much they spend on weekly groceries, and it would be irrelevant here anyway as I live in a different country with a different cost of living), including some who are, shock horror, single, childless and live on their own (we do exist).
As to the bolded, people who've made a choice, based on their ethical beliefs, not to eat animal products maybe? You do get that for most vegans it's an ethical choice, right? And just because you don't like that food, doesn't mean others don't, including non-vegans. I could make some pretty damn tasty meals with those ingredients and some herbs and spices. But I can cook, so...
/endthread
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I'm not vegan (or anywhere close) but my family does eat a lot of veggies and we can get them really cheap. You just have to do things like hit up the veggie trucks (the trucks the sell off the rejected produce for cheap as we got 60lbs of veggies for $10) and farmers markets. Also as stated already buy dried grains and beans as they take a bit of prep work but are cheap and easy. With two boy and myself a pot of beans is $5 and 12 hours of soak time, which is easy to do over night, and that last throughout the week with other stuff thrown in.
I have no idea if it could be done for $35 a month but that isn't a choice I would even contemplate making. I would turn off the internet and TV first and funnel that money into the food budget first but yeah I've eaten ramen for a week straight in college and it can be done but it gets old.0 -
totally doable if you are willing to prep
lentils, beans, veggies, can be cheap. i do frozen fruit to save on waste. noodles are cheap too.
if you can, grow what you can and can or freeze the leftovers2 -
Well if you wanna load on stuff like Gardein and Tofurky (love those now and then) yes.
If you eat mostly lentils, rice, seeds and nuts with a protein shake and fruits,no.
Been vegan for 5 years, down in Mexico.
For people saying it's boring..I dunno, I do eat similar stuff all the time..but also love to try out new things, but i'm an ethical vegan, this isn't a diet for me, so I couldn't care much about that.
I do enjoy the food I eat, like this watermelon and the curry rice I'll have in the afternoon :P10 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »
I just finished my vegan grocery shopping online at WalMart....
With 34 dollars I would buy:
1 lb lentils @ 1.54 each = 1.54
1 lb chickpeas @ 1.37 = 1.37
1 lb navy beans @ 1.37 = 1.37
2 lbs pasta = 1.97
10 lbs potatoes =4.94
5 lbs carrots @ 3.22 = 3.22
1 cabbage = 1.74
2 bags froz spinach @ .86 =1.72
1 bags froz broccoli @ .86 = .86
4 lemons @ .50 =2.00
7 bananas @ .18 =1.26
42 oz oatmeal @ 2.48 =2.48
2 can diced tomatoes@ .72 =1.54
1 can tomato paste @ .46 = .46
1 jar peanut butter @ 2.18 = 2.18
1 head garlic = .46
3 lbs onions =2.14
1 block tofu = 1.84
1 small jar capers = 1.24
1 small bottle soy sauce = 1.62
Thank you so much for giving your weekly food and menu. Much appreciated, and that was exactly what I was interested in! I know some folks say a vegan diet is possible on a low budget, and some say it isn't, but it's all kind of noise until someone can show some real ideas and/or numbers to show what they mean, you know? Some of your recipes sound nice.4 -
There are entire nations that eat vegan, cheaply. Think of India. For a good part of the world meat protein is expensive and occasional only.
They have to worry about getting sufficient iron and protein but with creativity it can be done.
Our local African immigrants eat very cheaply but the cooks are staying at home, buying their bulk rice and beans at discount, and spending a fair amount of time on food prep.
India is made up of mainly vegetarians, not vegans. They use dairy and eggs in many dishes and drinks. I returned from India two weeks ago and ate mainly vegetarian. The food is labor intensive (I took a cooking class,) heavy on spices and fresh ingredients-many grow their own vegetables. And keep their own livestock for milk.
My sister-in-law has been vegan and gluten free for almost ten years. In addition to those restrictive dietary practices, there's an entire list of vegetables she will not eat-no nightshades, most nuts restricted, ect.. When they visit it's a two hour trip to Whole Foods every few days.
She can well afford the lifestyle and has a nutritionist, ect.
I do think it could be done on less money than she spends, but it's no different than a non-vegan choosing cheaper cuts of meat or store brand pasta-$34/weekly is a challenging food budget for omnivores too.
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I forgot to add she does not buy any of the meat/cheese substitutes. She practices for ethical reasons (and was vegetarian for 20 yrs prior) so has no desire to "pretend" she's eating a burger or hot dog.
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A vegan diet just like any other diet can be as expensive as one makes it.
If I was allergic to something and I was broke, I'd eat what I could eat and not worry about substitutions like gluten free this or that or fake vegan "meat".4 -
beantown007 wrote: »I forgot to add she does not buy any of the meat/cheese substitutes. She practices for ethical reasons (and was vegetarian for 20 yrs prior) so has no desire to "pretend" she's eating a burger or hot dog.
I'm vegan for ethical reasons and I have every desire to pretend I'm eating a burger. I quit eating animals due to ethical concerns, not because I didn't like the taste.17 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »A vegan diet just like any other diet can be as expensive as one makes it.
If I was allergic to something and I was broke, I'd eat what I could eat and not worry about substitutions like gluten free this or that or fake vegan "meat".
This.
There was a time when I bought into the idea of "clean eating" and was getting all kinds of organic produce and meats that had the "health halo". I lost weight, but it was easily a 50% increase in my grocery budget. And the stuff didn't last as long and usually was no better tasting. I learned I could do just as well with cheaper food selections and gave up on the expensive stuff.
The same thing applies to vegan diets. There's plenty of food that fits in a vegan diet that is inexpensive but a lot of producers have learned they charge a premium making vegan product lines and make bank on people jumping on the bandwagon.3 -
concordancia wrote: »You are talking about meal plans made up of substitutes, rather than embracing foods that can be eaten...
Gluten free is expensive if you want to eat gluten free imitations of wheat products.
Neither is expensive if you eat the things you can eat as they are rather than manipulating them into something they aren't.
Just re: gluten free. I think it depends on the severity of the level of issue. Celiacs and allergic folks require more certainty of a lack of gluten contamination than simply a lack of gluten ingredients or ingredients that are 'naturally' gluten free, you know? That tends to add to the cost. Mostly it's because there is gluten contamination in shared harvesting equipment, shared shipping containers, and then, sometimes, in shared spaces or equipment in processing areas. And all of these can be problematic.
And these issues are primarily found with anything that involves grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, or anything harvested, shipped, or processed with the same equipment as these. And so they all cost more if you buy gluten free versions...if you can even find them, because some things, like dried beans, often don't even HAVE gluten free sources that you can confirm. The best you can do is check to see if things are processed with wheat - which you may have to call about, because that label is actually voluntary, and not mandatory.
And obviously processed goods all need to be gluten free, but that includes basics. Canned goods, condiments, nut butter, tofu, spices, extracts, frozen veggies, tomato paste or sauce - all has to be tested gluten free, because there is so much processed with gluten nowadays that anything processed is a risk. I know some celiacs do not do this, but considering a recent study found that the majority of completely diet-compliant celiacs were eating something like four times the safe level of gluten for them, I'd say that the safe diet truly IS important.
If someone has found a cheap vegan menu plan ($34 or less a week) that is also allergen free (gluten free is actually of great interest to me, as I'm a celiac), I would love to see it. Truly, no sarcasm here, I would actually be really happy to see some examples. My whole family is basically a bunch of celiacs. My teen is a vegetarian, and considering veganism. But I honestly can't see a way for us to afford this diet AND be as gluten free as we need to be. And a lot of folks say this can't be done.
Any vegans who want to see if they can come up with a gluten free vegan diet, for $34 a week or so? Seriously, please give it a go. :-) My teenager would be very happy.
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Oh, just realized there were more replies since I wrote the above post, because I started it and took a break, LOL.
Thanks for all the replies. It's nice to see some folks are able to do this relatively cheaply. :-)
Although seriously...anyone want to come up with a gluten free safe vegan meal plan for a week, just for kicks? ;-) Partly I am feeling pretty downhearted about my chances. I was increasing my own non-meat protein sources, and then got really ill a few times from, it turned out, dried beans that are now wheat contaminated because the company started processing spelt in the same factory. :-(1 -
I do think that the time needed to prepare meals from scratch is a big factor in many people's food decisions. I am a homemaker and I have the time available to do food prep and menu planning on a daily basis. When I worked, cooking was much less fun and felt like work on top of my already busy day. We were more likely to purchase prepared food like deli chicken or eat out. I suspect most of the money I made was eaten up by "treating" the family to takeout or a restaurant meal on the many nights I was too tired to want to cook. So don't be too hard on people who make other food choices. We are all just trying to keep our families fed and happy.
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I feed a family of 6, most choose not to be vegan, I’ve not got the time or inclination to make separate meals for everyone so usually adapt the meals with meat in to suit the 2 of us that are vegan, for instance the spaghetti bolognese I make vegan, then divide into two pots adding soya meat substitute to one and minced beef to the other, you can substitute most minced beef meals for soya mince or beans, in most meals actually.
The added expense (in England) anyway seems to be when you try to find alternatives to dairy, however I’ve found that I spend no more more money on the weekly shop than I did when the entire household ate meat and dairy.2 -
Oh, just realized there were more replies since I wrote the above post, because I started it and took a break, LOL.
Thanks for all the replies. It's nice to see some folks are able to do this relatively cheaply. :-)
Although seriously...anyone want to come up with a gluten free safe vegan meal plan for a week, just for kicks? ;-) Partly I am feeling pretty downhearted about my chances. I was increasing my own non-meat protein sources, and then got really ill a few times from, it turned out, dried beans that are now wheat contaminated because the company started processing spelt in the same factory. :-(
I would give this a try, but I don't know if I could create a sustainable vegan diet plan that avoided purchasing grains, beans, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and came in under $34 a week. If I was in this situation, I would probably begin growing my own beans and drying them for year-round use or finding a local farmer who was willing to work with me on sourcing some beans/gluten-free grains that were processed in a way that avoided gluten contamination.
I would do this, even though it would be a giant pain, because it's an ethical thing for me. Without those ethical motivations, I can't see someone sticking to it. What I'm imagining on this diet is that I would spend a good amount of time locating food that fit into my goals, buying it in bulk, and then preserving it. It wouldn't be a meal plan that I could just go to the store and get for $34 a week.
Can't be done? I think it could. Would it require a lot of time and effort, especially since it has to be done cheaply? I think so.
(This shouldn't be read as me saying "It can be done, so why aren't you doing it?" I understand very well the obstacles to putting something like what I'm proposing into practice).
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