Misleading Myth #19 … “But vegan food is so expensive” (07/23/14)
Actually, nothing could be further from the Truth …
Grains and legumes served as the staple crops of human civilizations around the world since the domestication of agriculture around 10,000 B.C. Up until very recently, animal products such as meat, cheese, milk and eggs were rarely eaten by the majority of people; they were actually a “luxury” that only the wealthiest people could afford. With the advent of the industrial revolution, the production of animal products began to escalate in response to “advancements” made in mass feeding, mass transport and mass slaughter (note: all of them, “mass cruelty”) technologies. Heavy government subsidies to animal agriculture then came into play and pushed the price of animal products down to unprecedented lows that almost anyone could afford.
Despite this disturbing trend, it is STILL more cost efficient to go vegan than to consume meat & dairy products. More efficiently stated: GOING VEGAN WILL SAVE YOU MONEY.
Consider the following facts:
*Fact #01: Vegan staples (e.g. lentils, beans, rice, quinoa, oats, barley etc) are as inexpensive as they are nutritious. Once your dietary habit patterns shift (a biological-psychological process that generally takes 2-4 weeks), you will become more efficient in how you use these foods, and thereafter your health will increase — along with the size of your savings account.
*Fact #02: No matter how expensive vegan food might be in your local grocery store, eating vegan will always be cheaper than the hospital bills you will inevitably be asked to pay as a consequence of a diet laden with meat & dairy products.
*Fact #03: The prices on your meat & milk-based foods are misleading — i.e. you are actually paying far more for them than you think. In fact, American taxpayers currently pay 38 BILLION DOLLARS every year to fund the government’s corporate welfare programs (a.k.a. subsidies) to the meat & dairy industry. In fact, there are between $2 & $3 in hidden costs (taxes, subsidized subsidies, health costs, environmental reparative outlays, animal welfare expenses etc) that Americans incur for every $1 of animal product they purchase.
Of course, when it gets right down to it, veganism is not about you and your comfort. It is about matching your actions with your ethics … It is about refusing to fund animal cruelty & animal abuse … It is simply about doing what is Right.
And yet I do realize how important financial matters are to most folks, which is why it gives me such great joy to champion a change to veganism — a change that will you save money while “saving your Soul” …
Peace to ALL … S
“Eating healthy might cost you money, and yet eating unhealthy will definitely cost you your life.” ~ anonymous
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