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Catsforfun wrote

you mentioned capitalistic hurdles, but many vegans always say it's cheaper to eat vegan. Which is true?

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Defasher wrote (edited )

A lot of poor communities in the US don't have access to fresh food at all, at any price.

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happy wrote

With access to a grocery store it is cheaper. Beans and rice and much cheaper than meats and nuts are cheaper than most other meats.

Fruits and vegetables might be still expensive, but an omnivorous diet doesn't excuse anyone from needing to eat fruits and vegetables and I don't consider an argument against veganism, but an argument that fruits and vegetables should be more accessible. That is probably the capitalistic hurdles Rempiricalality mentioned that vegan PoC are most likely to face. Living in food deserts make veganism much less convenient and access to affordable fruits and vegetables should be available to all.

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glitter_v0id wrote

Ugh, this argument.

Yes, technically a perfectly healthy diet, with no animal product analogs, is cheaper than an omni diet.

IF you have access to a grocery store. And reliable transportation to bring home a week of food, letting you take advantage of sales.

IF you have the time to prepare all. of. your. food. from scratch.

And that time one is a fucking killer. Canned beans, while cheaper by the pound than the cheapest meats, aren't actually that cheap. Dry beans are cheap, but you know what you need for that? The ability to soak overnight (req: extra bowls, safe place to keep them), then cook them for a few hours (when? Crock pots are a useful investment but not always accessible)

Tofu isn't cheap (I'm paying $3/lb, chicken thighs are $1.50). Right now anything [Disclosure: USA] that isn't a root vegetable or in-season in South America is twice what it is for more than half the year. Vegan prepared food, of any level of processed, is on par if not more than its counterpart. Frozen vegetables are a godsend but go back to "need time to prepare all food". The extra four steps when compared to a ready meal is exhausting if you work 12h/day.

Sure it's cheaper. If done involving, frankly, a lot of education. I know what I need to pair to meet my nutritional needs, but I sure as fuck didn't get it from school and only have that knowledge because I had the luxury of time and access to look into it.

But youre asking a huge time commitment and quite frankly a creature comfort commitment. If you're barely making ends meet and exhausting yourself beyond your breaking point to do it, asking that person to take even more time out of their day to drastically uproot their diet is asking a lot.

Can we please stop removing the human element from dietary choices? Shockingly, not all of our choices can be 100% utilitarian. Yes, it would be better for everyone if more people were vegan. No, that's not going to happen by spreading misleading information ("it's cheaper!", "People in 3rd world countries are vegan, all Americans are privileged!) and using that to create an even more hostile environment for the people that mainstream veganism leaves behind

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