In your experience, what are your opinions on the monetary cost of a vegetarian versus a meat-eating diets?

Question

In your experience, what are your opinions on the monetary cost of a vegetarian versus a meat-eating diets?

Answer 1

I think I spend a LOT less on food now that I'm vegan. When I ate meat, it was expensive and I thin I've cut my food costs by at least $20/week.

For example, I went to the fresh vegetable and fruit market today to buy a few mid-week "filler" items: 2 lbs bananas, two huge sweet potatoes, green onions and 3 lbs of carrots for $5.80. Had I gone to the grocer and purchased (processed) snacks and a couple staples, I would have easily been out of $10.

If one doesn't eat soy-based meat products that often, the cost of eating is reduced - almost to a drastic degree. Beans - which are a good source of fibre, iron and protein are even inexpensive in both canned and dry form.

Answer 2

The faux meat I get isn't usually any more expensive than meat would be, so the cost hasn't been much too of an issue. Everything else (vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, etc.) I can usually find pretty cheap. I've been a vegetarian since January of 2007.

Answer 3

It is quit the irony that when you want to eat healthier (like i only eat organic and natural) it can cost more so that is a bummer if you cant afford it like people i know so they still eat some junk food but you just gotta make it work the best you can and i would rather pay more for my health then go back to eating meat

Answer 4

I've found the vegan diet is no more expensive than that of a meat-eater; however, my diet consists of mostly vegetables, fruits, and grains. I make a lot of my own food and don't eat much in the way of meat substitutes, vegan butters and cheeses, etc. I drink soymilk and eat tofu, and have been known to indulge in Morningstar soy crumbles for tacos every now and then, but they're really not that expensive.

It really doesn't get cheaper than fruits, veggies, pasta, beans, and bread.

Answer 5

Vegetarian/vegan can be cheaper.  If you buy alot of the processed stuff - not going to be cheaper.

Meat is too costly in comparison to what I can do with it and the amount of people that I can feed vs. vegetables, fruit, grains, and legumes.

Answer 6

I spend the same amount either way.  Although as a vegetarian I notice I can bring home more for the same price.  

The price of corn, milk and meat are going sky high though.  The corn is going for ethanol and feed for cattle.  The farmers pass the high prices onto us :)

Also it's easier to grow a garden at home than raise and slaughter livestock.

Answer 7

Personally if you buy everything you eat it is usually a dollar or so more. So add that up if your buying alone about 20-25 dollars but, I personally buy mostly produce and my family eats that so its only like 10 dollars more.

Answer 8

It still depends on the exact foods. Both can be done cheaply if you'll cook your own foods while it can be expensive for both if you consume a lot of "heat and eat" type of things.

Answer 9

unfortunatly it is more expensive to have a varied vegetarian diet then a meat eating one. i shop for myself and my meat eating boyfriend and there is a big difference.

Answer 10

When my wife and I first got married around 1960, the cost of vegetables and fruit was negligible compared with the cost of meat. Eating an omni diet on a tight student budget, we counted the cost of meat carefully but usually didn't even think of the cost of the produce because it was so cheap.

How things have changed! I bought some chickens today for 69 cents a pound, and pork is often under $1 a pound. But try and find a vegetable or fruit item for under $1.50-$2.00 a pound! I paid 89 cents a pound for onions today, for heaven's sake.

Rice is still relatively cheap if you buy it in quantity, especially when you consider how it bulks up in cooking.

Answer 11

It depends far too much on how you cook and eat to really answer that.  A vegetarian who relied heavily on mock meats and other processed convenience foods would likely have a higher grocery bill than a meat eater who similarly relied on convenience foods.  There's a larger market for "regular" convenience foods, so it often costs less than the vegetarian counterpart.  But if you compared a vegetarian who relied mostly on whole foods cooked from scratch to a meat eater with a diet based highly on convenience foods, the vegetarian would undoubtedly come out better monetarily.  Staples like bulk legumes and grains are downright cheap.

I used to spend about $225 every time I did a major grocery shopping; we had one convenience food vegetarian and one convenience food meat eater in the household.  When I went vegan I switched to a diet based far more on whole foods and my boyfriend (the meat eater) agreed to go vegetarian at home (vegan when I was cooking dinner, but with cheese and eggs he could use for other meals.)  Our grocery bill for the same time period went down to $165.  That's over a 25% decrease, but it had more to do with how we were eating that whether we were vegetarian, vegan or meat eater.