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Is veganism only possible with enough money?

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  • Millicent3015
    Millicent3015 Posts: 374 Member
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    I think it depends. There are a lot of vegans on low incomes who make it work. But for some people, veganism isn't possible on a low income even if they want to be vegan, because they live in places where fresh, cheap food isn't readily available, there are no ready sources of protein that don't come from animals, they can't afford transport to go and buy the food, they can't prep food, their health/medical needs rule out veganism, they can't afford the fuel costs to use a cooker, or they don't own a cooker, microwave or fridge so they can't keep fresh food or cook it. There's no point recommending cheap food that people take for granted to people who, for whatever reason, can't access it. So I guess the answer is yes and no. Veganism is possible on a low income, but in certain circumstances it's impossible, too.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Generally speaking, vegan food sources are cheaper than diets that include a lot of animal protein. Convenience costs regardless of eating style. Think rice and beans.
  • crubio360
    crubio360 Posts: 19 Member
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    No I grew up on beans, rice and oatmeal and we weren’t even vegan 😂
  • mrsallenmoore
    mrsallenmoore Posts: 42 Member
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    crubio360 wrote: »
    No I grew up on beans, rice and oatmeal and we weren’t even vegan 😂

    for some reason I read that as bears and I was like wow she comes from a real tough family lol
  • Sunshine_And_Sand
    Sunshine_And_Sand Posts: 1,320 Member
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    The vegan friendly recipes I have are actually the cheapest and easiest to prepare meals I make. They can can all be made using canned or frozen beans/veggies, can be put in the crockpot in the morning so they are ready when I get home, and make several servings with lots of leftovers that I use for lunches through the week, and my kids and husband eat them too.
    That said, do I want to use only those recipes, or would it be sustainable for me to do so? No, probably not, at least not for me and not now while I am fortunate enough to be in a situation that I don't have to try to eat all "cheap" meals bc of a tight budget. I am also not a vegan so it's hard to say that I wouldn't find using those recipes all the time satisfying if I strongly felt it was the right thing to do.
  • eatdacake_anime
    eatdacake_anime Posts: 1 Member
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    sarahbums wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    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?

    Join vegan groups on fb. They will be happy to share. I know tons of vegan from groups that are just them and their spouse or a huge family. We even have a what broke vegans eat wear and use group but it's mostly recipes. How to vegan is a fb group that might give you a lot of feedback for meal ideas. I would also work on your energy, your statements came off very passive aggressive. c:
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
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    I lived on a $100/month food budget for about 10 years. Yes, I got sick of it. Yes, I stuck to it anyway. I ate simple meals from bulk grains (oats, lentils, mung beans, beans, rice, etc.) I had the luxury of living near a mill so I could mix it up when they had a sale (triticale, teff, sorghum, etc.). I bought most fruits and veggies frozen on sale. I sought out the places that sold damaged produce for fresh options. I cooked once a week; it wasn't too hard, but it did lack variety. I admit I wasn't vegan, so I got a lot of protein from canned tuna fish. Having a flexible diet made it a lot easier for me. If I went back to that budget, I would be 90% vegan as a matter of course. As I later learned, adding dairy and red meat to the above diet is the fastest way to double the budget.
  • kellsey4955
    kellsey4955 Posts: 19 Member
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    My boyfriend and I are both happily vegan on a very standard budget for a couple, about £40 of shopping a week. Easy peasy!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
    edited October 2018
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    I dunno... if you were nudest and ate only plants you found in a forest, while simultaneously living there, it would be pretty cheap.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    ceiswyn wrote: »
    What’s not fun or tasty about, say, Thai butternut squash curry with coconut, or black bean chilli, or tortillas with refried beans and mango salsa?

    Sounds like a lot of people here just seriously lack imagination and creativity in their cooking.

    Agreed. I just made ginger-peanut tempeh, ginger-sesame mashed potatoes, and haupia coconut pudding. Going to be a flavor-fest for dinner tomorrow night!
  • BishopWankapin
    BishopWankapin Posts: 276 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian, but occasionally some of my meals are vegan. I've also got a few friends who are vegan and on a budget. Really as long as you don't mind cooking and only treat the substitute foods as occasional "treats" it tends to be pretty cheap. My wife and kids still eat meat and it and the convenience foods tend to be the most expensive parts of our food budget.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
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    sarahbums 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.

    Your post made me wonder: don't people have gardens anymore? I mean, we weren't rich when I was growing up but land was cheap where we lived and my parents had a huge garden. Kept us fed with so many fresh veggies and canning, etc. Where I live now, space is at such a premium-I guess I could grow a lot if I really got creative and put my mind to it.

  • abi111
    abi111 Posts: 50 Member
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    i used to spend about £10 a week on my food when i was a vegan and skint. pasta, beans, veg, fruit, oats and i just got more expensive stuff when it was reduced to like 10p at the end of the day. this was like 8 years ago before they had all the expensive alternatives availible at the supermarkets though, just dried soya mince.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    ceiswyn wrote: »
    What’s not fun or tasty about, say, Thai butternut squash curry with coconut, or black bean chilli, or tortillas with refried beans and mango salsa?

    Sounds like a lot of people here just seriously lack imagination and creativity in their cooking.

    For what it's worth, the way some people talk about cooking meat (chicken breast especially...or just chicken in general), I think the same thing about creativity in cooking. I suspect some people just flat out don't know how to cook with a lot of variety.
    I mean my dinner this evening was far from exciting, but plain isn't really the norm for me in terms of what I cook. It doesn't matter if what I'm making is vegetarian, vegan, or has meat.

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