Why is protein much more expensive than carbs and fat based food?
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diogomello12
Posts: 33 Member
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if you are talking about animal protein, it is much more expensive to raise animals and butcher or commercial fishing...etc.13
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It depends what kind of protein you're talking about.
I don't find lentils, beans, chickpeas to be very expensive and eat a lot of different things with them in.
If you're talking about meat protein, then it's because you have to raise, care for, and feed an animal, and then at the end not all of it can be used. It is cheaper, in terms of labour and resources to grow cereals.
Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
It is a happy coincidence that it will also help your finances and health 😇15 -
Bags and cans of beans and lentils aren't bad, neither is tofu.1
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »It depends what kind of protein you're talking about.
I don't find lentils, beans, chickpeas to be very expensive and eat a lot of different things with them in.
If you're talking about meat protein, then it's because you have to raise, care for, and feed an animal, and then at the end not all of it can be used. It is cheaper, in terms of labour and resources to grow cereals.
Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
It is a happy coincidence that it will also help your finances and health 😇
I'd like to see the arguments from the people who disagreed with this. With the possible exception of the very last word, I see nothing to quibble with.10 -
Dairy is just about as cheap as it has ever been in human history (sorry, farmers).3
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As has been said, beans, lentils and vegetable sources of protein are significantly cheaper than animal based protein sources. Especially if you buy them dry and soak/cook them yourself. Canned versions are still budget friendly but not as economical as the dried.
If you were to look at the land acreage and costs required to feed the world with animal protein vs plant protein you’d better understand why animal protein comes at a premium and why we will see much more emphasis on plant proteins going into the future.6 -
Why is protein much more expensive than carbs and fat based food?
For the most part, somebody has to feed carbs to animals to get protein.6 -
And plants don't have to see vets! -- former farm child7
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »It depends what kind of protein you're talking about.
I don't find lentils, beans, chickpeas to be very expensive and eat a lot of different things with them in.
If you're talking about meat protein, then it's because you have to raise, care for, and feed an animal, and then at the end not all of it can be used. It is cheaper, in terms of labour and resources to grow cereals.
Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
It is a happy coincidence that it will also help your finances and health 😇
💯
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kshama2001 wrote: »littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »It depends what kind of protein you're talking about.
I don't find lentils, beans, chickpeas to be very expensive and eat a lot of different things with them in.
If you're talking about meat protein, then it's because you have to raise, care for, and feed an animal, and then at the end not all of it can be used. It is cheaper, in terms of labour and resources to grow cereals.
Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
It is a happy coincidence that it will also help your finances and health 😇
I'd like to see the arguments from the people who disagreed with this. With the possible exception of the very last word, I see nothing to quibble with.
I didn't click any buttons, but I suspect most of the disagrees have to do with this sentence:littlegreenparrot1 wrote:Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
Like I said, I didn't click any buttons and I have no real desire to discuss the environmental merits (however many or few) related to reducing the amount of meat an individual consumes on this forum. However, the above sentence was the most divisive one in the post.5 -
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also/p1
Some excellent protein sources are relatively cheap. Gluten, for example, is pretty cheap per gram of protein, and you can make seitan at home assuming you have no problem digesting gluten.1 -
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also/p1
Some excellent protein sources are relatively cheap. Gluten, for example, is pretty cheap per gram of protein, and you can make seitan at home assuming you have no problem digesting gluten.
I was just about to order a bag of vital wheat gluten from Amazon, having come up empty trying to buy it locally, when I booked a shoulder surgery for tomorrow. My adventures with homemade Seitan now have to wait a while, sadly! 😢
On the other hand it becomes easier, week on week, to buy quality plant based proteins in even standard supermarkets. Some of the ‘finished’ products are relatively costly, but not when compared side by side with their meat ‘equivalent’. But they’re definitely becoming more mainstream all the time.
Exciting times! 😊😊3 -
Not so - protein in legumes is one of the cheapest on earth and apparently half the world's population depends on it and thrives on it.4
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It certainly doesn’t have to be more expensive if you choose plant protein over animal, fish, seafood protein. Personal preference what you spend your money on.
It seems counterproductive to disagree with people that give examples of facts that show protein doesn’t have to be more expensive than carbs and fats. And for many of us that shop sales and stock up on animal/fish protein, it’s very economical. Everything is relative.2 -
And squirrels are practically free, here. Yes, I've eaten them. Not recently, though (I'm vegetarian).2
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It's interesting to hear so many people say beans, which while is certainly a source of protein, I wouldn't consider necessarily a "protein". Your average serving of beans (varies slightly on the type of bean) gives you about 15 grams of protein per cooked cup. That's something, but when you compare it to a 4 ounce cooked serving of meat or fish, they are likely to provide 25-30 grams of protein. Beans are also primarily a carb. Protein makes up less than 30% of the total calories. The carb to protein ratio is almost 3 to 1. Compare that to something like chicken breast or tuna fish where protein is 70%+ of the calories. Particuarly if someone needs 125-150 grams a day of protein, they are unlikely to primarily get it from beans (especially with the fiber content). I love beans, but I don't think of them as a primary driver of protein.
I think in general, proteins are certainly more expensive than some carbs such as grains and starches, which are usually in some of the cheapest per meal items out there. But that doesn't mean that some aren't more affordable than others, and that protein can't be part of a low budget diet. There are plenty of ways to make it a $1 or $2 per meal, even when using animal proteins. You're not gonna get a prime rib steak or jumbo shrimp, but with canned tuna, chicken, ground beef, etc, it is certainly possible to keep it affordable.3 -
It's interesting to hear so many people say beans, which while is certainly a source of protein, I wouldn't consider necessarily a "protein". Your average serving of beans (varies slightly on the type of bean) gives you about 15 grams of protein per cooked cup. That's something, but when you compare it to a 4 ounce cooked serving of meat or fish, they are likely to provide 25-30 grams of protein. Beans are also primarily a carb. Protein makes up less than 30% of the total calories. The carb to protein ratio is almost 3 to 1. Compare that to something like chicken breast or tuna fish where protein is 70%+ of the calories. Particuarly if someone needs 125-150 grams a day of protein, they are unlikely to primarily get it from beans (especially with the fiber content). I love beans, but I don't think of them as a primary driver of protein.
I think in general, proteins are certainly more expensive than some carbs such as grains and starches, which are usually in some of the cheapest per meal items out there. But that doesn't mean that some aren't more affordable than others, and that protein can't be part of a low budget diet. There are plenty of ways to make it a $1 or $2 per meal, even when using animal proteins. You're not gonna get a prime rib steak or jumbo shrimp, but with canned tuna, chicken, ground beef, etc, it is certainly possible to keep it affordable.
yep agree. I eat beans regularly, but i'd be needing to eat a tonne of beans and not much else to hit my protein targets and not go over my calorie goals if I was using just beans as my protein source.
what you can do to make meat proteins a cheaper option, is to buy in bulk, or buy what's on special. It's still a more expensive source, but it can be do-able on a budget if you choose wisely. For example, you can get a kilo of chicken thighs for $11 here in Australia at the supermarket. Sure it's not organic grain fed free range etc etc chicken but it's chicken nonetheless (no I don't buy it, I get the free range no hormones added etc etc one which is more expensive, but seeing as I am not yet willing to make the change into vegetarianism, but I do care for animals, I try to buy the least bad types, so no battery chickens for me). 1 kilo of chicken thighs pre-weighed and split into portions will last you the whole week. $11. for ONE WEEK of chicken portions. But if you buy a rotisserie chicken for $11, it will last you like 2 meals (if you're like me who can polish off half a chicken with ease). Let's make it 4 meals if you're a normal person.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »It depends what kind of protein you're talking about.
I don't find lentils, beans, chickpeas to be very expensive and eat a lot of different things with them in.
If you're talking about meat protein, then it's because you have to raise, care for, and feed an animal, and then at the end not all of it can be used. It is cheaper, in terms of labour and resources to grow cereals.
Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
It is a happy coincidence that it will also help your finances and health 😇
I'd like to see the arguments from the people who disagreed with this. With the possible exception of the very last word, I see nothing to quibble with.
I didn't click any buttons, but I suspect most of the disagrees have to do with this sentence:littlegreenparrot1 wrote:Which is why there are recommendations that we all move to a more plant based diet and reduce meat consumption so we have a lower impact on the earth.
Like I said, I didn't click any buttons and I have no real desire to discuss the environmental merits (however many or few) related to reducing the amount of meat an individual consumes on this forum. However, the above sentence was the most divisive one in the post.
Hmm, I didn't realize there was any question that meat production has a higher impact than plant production:
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/resources/en/publications/tackling_climate_change/index.htm
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/3 -
It's interesting to hear so many people say beans, which while is certainly a source of protein, I wouldn't consider necessarily a "protein". Your average serving of beans (varies slightly on the type of bean) gives you about 15 grams of protein per cooked cup. That's something, but when you compare it to a 4 ounce cooked serving of meat or fish, they are likely to provide 25-30 grams of protein. Beans are also primarily a carb. Protein makes up less than 30% of the total calories. The carb to protein ratio is almost 3 to 1. Compare that to something like chicken breast or tuna fish where protein is 70%+ of the calories. Particuarly if someone needs 125-150 grams a day of protein, they are unlikely to primarily get it from beans (especially with the fiber content). I love beans, but I don't think of them as a primary driver of protein.
I think in general, proteins are certainly more expensive than some carbs such as grains and starches, which are usually in some of the cheapest per meal items out there. But that doesn't mean that some aren't more affordable than others, and that protein can't be part of a low budget diet. There are plenty of ways to make it a $1 or $2 per meal, even when using animal proteins. You're not gonna get a prime rib steak or jumbo shrimp, but with canned tuna, chicken, ground beef, etc, it is certainly possible to keep it affordable.
In a meal without animal products, or sometimes even without meat only, beans (which would include soybeans) can certainly be the protein. If I eat lentils as a side with chicken, then it's my starch, but if I am eating a meal without meat, the beans may well be the protein, with a grain of some sort as the starch, and that's so even if I add some nuts or seeds or dairy or egg to add to the protein.
I agree that meat does not have to be that expensive, but often eating less meat and replacing it with non animal-based sources of protein (or eggs, which also aren't as high a protein to cal food, but generally cheap) can reduce the overall bill.
Personally, when eating no animal products (which I do from time to time), I do find it helpful to add in tofu/tempeh as a protein source, but everything adds up. (I don't get near 125-150 cal, but I have fewer cals overall.)6
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