A point and counterpoint consideration
A plant-based diet is often associated with greater health benefits, advocating for animal welfare, reducing one’s environmental impact, and a less expensive grocery bill.
However, is it truly an affordable lifestyle?
Though you might be saving money by passing on the meat department, you might be spending more on dairy-free alternatives, vitamins and supplements, or organic produce.
Vegan groceries and restaurants are also often limited or difficult to access for those who don’t live in urban areas. Still, vegan options have become more plentiful recently, making the transition to a vegan lifestyle much easier.
To gain some perspective on this topic, I talked to a few of my food choice-conscious friends, all of whom are currently vegetarian or had once been vegan or vegetarian for an extended period of time in their lives.
While both vegetarians and vegans are often quite similar, the distinction is that vegetarians follow a diet and vegans often follow a lifestyle.Vegetarians generally do not eat any meat, but some may include eggs or dairy, while vegans abstain from consuming any type of animal product at all, including gelatin which is found in gummy candies and marshmallows, as well as leather goods such as shoes and wallets.
I decided to ask my friends who were vegetarian rather than vegan, because while the article focuses on veganism, I prioritized the fact that the vegetarians were aware of all the benefits and disadvantages of veganism. They had made the active choice to be a vegetarian rather than a typical meat-eater or a strict vegan, and had points to make about both sides of the argument.
Yes, veganism is a privileged lifestyle
In Western society, animal products are widely accepted as the norm and that means that vegan options just aren’t as easy to come by.
Compare the price of a bag of marshmallows: a gelatin-free vegan bag of Dandies Marshmallows is $6.99 and only available at a select few health food stores scattered across Canada, while a similarly-sized bag of regular marshmallows are usually $1.99 at most grocers.
The companies that value cruelty-free options are often smaller and independently owned and operated, meaning that they’re usually unable to offer the competitive pricing that large-scale production companies are able to.
Another way veganism is inaccessible to most people is the lack of vegan options in restaurants.
“It’s a social sacrifice, sometimes you can’t go out for dinner with your friends,” said Helen Toner, who has been a vegetarian for one year.
Going out to dinner with non-vegan friends at the average restaurant can be a nightmare when you’re trying to order from the menu, sometimes you can only order fries or a plain salad.
On quitting vegetarianism after two years, Amber Summerfeldt mentioned that, “Convenience was the main factor. […] Unless you’re cooking at home every day and getting groceries on a regular basis, it’s hard to maintain. Many places don’t offer very many veg options, and if they do they’re usually not healthy.”
Besides restaurants, it can also be a burden on your friends and family who invite you over for dinner.
Toner explained that, “You have to ask your friends to change the food they serve when you come over, which kinda makes life a little more complicated for them.”
No, veganism is not a privileged lifestyle
While vegan options can be expensive, they don’t have to be. It’s all about shopping smart and picking the right foods.
“I think it depends if you know where to shop,” Leena Patel, who has been a vegetarian for 20 years, commented. “I know a few vegans and one usually finds super affordable food, but then the other literally spends $120 per two weeks on groceries.”
Additionally, if you’re eating a healthy, balanced meal, vegans only need supplementary B-12, the only essential vitamin that can’t be found in a plant-based diet.Vegans can easily gain this vitamin from B-12 fortified foods such as soy milk, or take a weekly 2000 mcg B-12 pill that can cost as little as $7.15 for 100 tablets.
Other nutrients that plant-based diets are criticized for lacking, such as protein and iron, can be easily obtained by eating spinach, avocados, broccoli, tofu, and nuts.
“I think that it’s affordable if it’s something that matters to you,” said John Reed, who has been vegetarian for 15 years. “It’s about as affordable as eating healthy foods but if it’s not something you care enough about to invest in, it may seem too expensive.”
If it matters to you, it will be achievable
Though some of the peers I spoke to are no longer following a plant-based diet, they all agreed that the feasibility of a vegan lifestyle depended on how far the person was willing to go to maintain their strict diet.
Kate Schievink, who has been vegan for one year and vegetarian for seven years, said, “My opinion is that a vegan lifestyle could be adopted by anyone, but having greater access to resources (financial, mobility, friends, etc.) makes the lifestyle much easier, much more accessible, and more sustainable for that individual. Same goes with time: I’d argue that cooking balanced vegan meals takes more time, thought, and effort, and if someone is in a situation of struggle, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to make eating vegan a priority for themselves.”
As veganism becomes an increasingly acceptable lifestyle, many more vegan options will become available and more affordable. The more people participate in and support a plant-based diet, the more accessible it will become.
Photo by Karen K. Tran.