How much does it "cost" you to be vegan / vegetarian?

Question

In terms of money:

What do you think the delta is between your food or resturant shopping bill and a normal meaty spend. % or £$$£ would do

in terms of time:

How much extra time do you think you spend in finding foods that are suitable for vegans/vegetarians. This could include label reading, research and extra travelling to V&V eating places.

If you want to expand the answer to include clothing and other goods feel free.

Answer 1

Well, it costs me 300 dollars a month (U.S. currency) to feed a family of 3 - myself, my husband and my daughter. My mother feeds a family of three - herself, my father and my brother - for about 600 a month or more, and they eat meat.

I buy mostly organic, whole grain, unprocessed, unrefined, and do most of my own cooking. My mother does much the same from what she tells me (except she's not on the whole grains boat yet), they don't go out to eat at all, but they eat meat every single day, at least 2-3 servings. They also buy gallons of milk, eggs, etc. - all of which are ridiculously expensive now.

When I went to this grocery store called Jewel-Osco this week since they had a huge sale on strawberries, I took a curious peek at the cost of those things, since I've heard the rising fuel costs are affecting them. Chicken b*****s were like 8 dollars a pound - meanwhile I can get a pound of organic tofu, which is just as flavorless as b*****s are until you season and cook it - and save at least 6 dollars. Ground beef was up around 4 dollars a pound for "lean" (8% fat - which means it has 9 grams of fat, or around 80 calories from artery-clogging animal fat anyway, since fat is 9 calories per gram. The rest of it is mostly water, with only 24% protein content. I might as well eat grated tempeh, which is unbelievably lower in fat and higher in protein, PLUS organic, PLUS cheaper). A gallon of milk was almost 4 dollars at this store, but since I am not an infant calf, I didn't worry about having to buy it anyway for my poor "health". ;) I think you see what I'm getting at here, though.

I don't spend any extra time just being vegan - I chuckle whenever I read people commenting that vegans have to obsess endlessly and count protein grams and worry about their diets. Frankly, hardly anyone does that, except the eating disordered or obsessive compulsive. Government-released studies say that the standard American diet is nutritionally deficient, and most people don't get enough vitamins and minerals. They get plenty of sugar, salt, "bad" fats, preservatives, calories, etc. but more often than not, people don't eat their healthy greens. Opting out of meat hardly eliminates vital nutrients, but making meat the focus of a meal and opting out of your greens shuts the window at MOST of your vital nutrients. Yesterday, instead of having iceberg lettuce and mayo coleslaw and mashed potatoes with my 10 ounce steak for dinner, I had dark leafy greens in a citrus vinaigrette, a bowl of bean chili (chunk full of veggies) and a side of cut fruit. In fact, I think more than half of non-vegetarians should really worry about their nutrients.

When I was 13 I went vegetarian, which was pretty much an overnight change. It's like someone waking up and saying, "Well, alright, I'm not going to drink soda pop anymore". It tastes good but you don't need it, and I sure as heck didn't want to after I poked around into what the factory farm truth was behind meat. Five years later I was already eating vegan, it was hardly a conscious decision as much as it came easily, I realized I really didn't need to smother myself with cheese or eat eggs, I just chose vegan options. I bought vegan clothes throughout the process, etc.

Label reading - you don't see labels in the produce section, right? Tofu is tofu, tempeh is just that, there's no need for anyone to write "grass fed" or "no hormones" on those, so why worry? Fruits and vegetables, in all colors and flavors, come label-free. Bags of beans, scoops of quinoa and brown rice out of bins in the produce area. There are brands that I just know are vegan, that after glancing at the label once years ago I certainly don't need to again. I mean, really, I can't think of the last time I even looked at a food label. And thankfully, since I consider myself sharp, I don't think it would take me much time at all to look at a food label. ;)

Some costs I have avoided as a vegan includes hospitalization for preeclampsia and gestational diabetes in my pregnancy, because every other woman in my family had to go into the hospital in the 3rd trimester. They all gained weight like crazy too. My blood pressure (always 110/65) and blood sugar levels (always perfect) were that of a star athlete's through my entire pregnancy. Even in labor, my blood pressure hardly rose past 120/80. 2 weeks after labor, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and figure, minus stretch marks.

Likewise I've probably saved hundreds on diet gimmicks, books like Atkin's Diet Revolution and South Beach Diet, pills like Alli and Hydroxycut and Trimspa and the rest. I don't have to worry about some miracle, "instant", lose 50 pounds in a week sort of poppycock.

I saved myself the 20-30 dollars extra it costs to get 100% real leather shoes rather than the man-made plastic ones that look the same. Don't fur coats costs thousands of dollars? I saved that as well.

I anticipate saving on many other medical costs in the future as well. While it's not a miracle cure, diet is partially or entirely to blame for most of the things killing people these days, since we've advanced in disease control, safety, hygiene and technology. That means obesity, heart disease and high cholesterol, high blood pressure, strokes, many cancers, etc.

Answer 2

As the society around us accepts this lifestyle its cost is reduced by the very nature of acceptance. Heck, nowadays even McDonalds carries " Veggie Bergers" so it is harder and harder to not be able to find one option in most places.

Answer 3

Vegetarian-It it is not that bad on finding food. You can eat almost anything expect for meat. Like you can by salads, pizzas, clubs, or some Vegetarians will eat fish. (That is up to you) It does not cost a lot money at all unless you are eating at a very fansy place.

Vegan-Is almost the same thing but they don't eat food that came from any animal like a chicken and they won't eat their eggs. You have a little less of a choose on being a Vegan but that is totally your decision. I personally am a Vegaetarian because I don't think animals should die because of me.

Answer 4

I eat mostly fruits.I spend more money at the store eating raw foods than I did when I ate cooked foods.It cost me around $40.00 every visit to the store and I have to replace my supply every two days.Just look at the price of apples,oranges,strawberries,water Mellon,pineapple,banana's and cantaloupe.I eat a tonne of fruit salad every day and that's not even speaking of the cost of veggies and vitamins.If I add all of this up,I'm spending a lot more to stay healthy.But I'm the first one to tell you that to me it's worth every penny.

Answer 5

It cost me 150 dollars a month.  I'm  a vegetarian.  I cook a lot of my stuff from scratch and don't buy a lot of convenience foods.  I buy cosmetics and perfumes that haven't been tested on animals. It probably costs me 100 dollars or less a year.  I buy designer imposters on sale.

Answer 6

Veggie food in restaurants tends to be cheaper.

Shopping bill I'm sure is cheaper as well - meat is expensive, unless you're buying cheap cuts or extra value mince!

I don't think I spend extra time finding foods that are suitable as I have been veggie for over 10 years and I know now what is likely to be suitable for me.  It only takes a few seconds to read a packet anyway!  

I don't travel to specialised veggie eating places - I will eat anywhere so long as there is a veggie option, and most places have at least one option nowadays!

Answer 7

It kind of depends on the situation. Our family eats at mostly asian places and the tofu dishes often cost less.  If you are eating healthy, which we usually do, it can cost  more because of higher quality foods. This would effect us even if we ate non-vegan. That considered we eat for less than those who do not eat vegan. I work in a natural grocery store which makes it very easy to get vegan foods.

After 22 years of label reading I guess I do not really think about the time factor. If for some odd reason I started to not be vegan/veggie I would still have to read labels, although it would be for different reasons.

All most all of our clothes are purchased used. On this past Mothers Day we went to the thrift store and purchased 3 button up shirts, two technical long sleeve shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, a skirt, and a swimming suit for just over 18 dollars.

Answer 8

At a restraunt it would usually be cheaper, if you consider the price of steak or crab legs. A lot of foods are "accidentally" vegan/vegetarian, and they are the smae price of normal groceries. If you go to a natural food store or the health section of your grocery store, the food that is actually labeled vegan tends to be a little more expensive.

Answer 9

Well it really depends on what sourt of vegetarian you wish to be.

There are three types

Vegans: Eat no animal products at all. The philosophy sometimes also espouses not wearing anything made from animals as well (leather). Additionally, products like honey may also be considered taboo.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians: Eat no dead animals or dead animal products whatsoever, but still consume some products where the animal is not killed in the process (eggs or dairy).

Vegetarians (general): Like above but sometimes also consume fish. Of course, the part about fish can be argued by the above groups, but an exception is sometimes made due to fish being so far from our own species and hence, sometimes, the less stict interpretation will at least allow for "Seafood Vegetarians."

I personally am a lacto ovo vegetarian and i am the only one in my family. I spend less money on food because here in australia vegetables and fruit are often cheaper than meat and that.  As for reading labels, i dont really worry about it because u use ur  commen sence. Well where i live there are like no vegetarian resturants, but many places like hungry jacks and mcdonalds cater for vegetarians and pretty much anywhere you can get food for us

If you want to reduce costs even more you could grow your own vegetables.

http://www.veghaven.org/forum/topic/show...

go to this website <<< EXCELLENT!!

i do not have any exact figures or anything as for cost wise but im sure it is cheaper... on the internet it says that alot of the people in third worlds are vegetarians because of the cost of meat these day.

Well i hope this has helped you

Answer 10

Oh, it costs WAY less.

Especially if you have a garden... then you are basically just buying things like rice and sauces or whatever you cannot grow.

You seen the price of cheese and meat these days?  Wow... really expensive.

Answer 11

I actually took a calculator and figured it out one time, it actually costs me less money to go shopping and buy a bunch of fruits, veggies, and whole grains then it did to buy processed food and meat. For the price I'd have to pay to buy a small package of chicken b*****s I can get a decent sized block of tofu which I can make several meals from.

One thing that is more expensive is if I purchase frozen dinners (which I don't do that often). The average cost of a vegan tv dinner at my grocery store is about 5 or 6 dollars, whereas the rest of the tv dinners are a few dollars cheaper. (Of course if you look at the ingredient list those cheaper products contain tons of unfamiliar and nasty sounding ingredients. On the vegan frozen dinners, you can at least read and understand what all the ingredients actually are.)

I actually enjoy taking the time to read the labels on things and I don't see it as a hassle at all. It makes me more conscious of what I am eating.

Restaurants are a hassle for me at least. Every place around were I live hardly has any dishes that do not contain meat or cheese. As far as money wise, the price is right: ordering a salad is much less expensive then ordering a steak. But their salads often don't taste very good. It's much easier for me to stay home and make my own salad which tastes 100 times better.

Answer 12

I don't see how it would cost anything.  I don't know where you live, but where I live meat is the most expensive food group by far.

Answer 13

I live in the UK, I don't go to restaurants very often. I think meaty dishes are definately more expensive, at least where I live.

I am quite good at reading food labels now, and so I know if a food is ok or not. I can easily browse through the supermarket and be confident in what I buy. My ''regular'' foods and beverages include wholegrain bread, nuts (almonds especially), fruits and veg, Alpro soya milk too.

I spend a lot of time researching the nutrition & health benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets, it's an area that I find really interesting. Great question.

Answer 14

As far as cost of living expenses, I don't think they've gone up since I became a vegetarian... I don't think they've gone down either.  I just replaced expensive meat with expensive produce.

I don't spend any more time reading labels than I did before I changed my diet.  I've always been neurotic about reading everything on a nutrition label before buying it.  I wouldn't say I do any extra traveling to veg*n restaurants as there aren't any in rural East Texas.  The only veg*n friendly restaurant near me is Taco Bell.

The only thing that's been costly to me is having to entertain questions like, "But you still get to eat fish, right?"

Answer 15

Eating out can be a little cheaper, but sometimes your choices are fewer.

Buying in has become much easier and cheaper.

When i first became veggie about 10 years ago i had to mainly shop in health stores but now supermarkets stock quite a decent range of products.

Answer 16

Its cheaper to be a veg, unless u are buying organic veggies.