I was told recently by a friend (and this led to a spirited discussion), that it was too expensive for most people to eat a vegan diet. He said that veganism was considered to be only available to people of privilege, that it was a North American thing (I recently read that it's a G20 thing), not available to most people in the world. This is not verbatim but I feel like the basic premise of what my friend said is here and needs to be addressed.
First of all, it needs to be stated that Veganism is not a diet. It is an ethical stand against cruelty towards animals (including human animals...my friend seems quite concerned about migrant farm workers and rightly so) to the extent that it is possible and practicable. No one is suggesting that a person starve to death if he lives in an area where the only sustenance available is fish (for example) and there are such places. It is another one of those progress not perfection kind of things. One does the best that one can. And while I am not well placed to address the plight of migrant farm workers, that does not mean that I should do nothing at all. That would be taking an all-or-nothing position and...nothing would be accomplished. I am still in a position to reduce cruelty on the planet (though there will likely always be cruelty) by not eating animals or consuming animal products (including migrant farm workers ....sorry; that certainly borders on offensive). Many people eat plant-based because they are concerned about their health and the impact that animal agriculture has on the environment and climate change and that is admirable but veganism is more specifically defined as above.
But the question that I will attempt to address here is one of affordability and accessibility for you and me, and the many who struggle to make ends meet, right here in Metro Vancouver. Hopefully, in future posts, I will be able to address the issue of cruelty towards animals in the dairy and egg industries (hint: it is most certainly as bad as the meat industry), and the damage that animal agriculture does to the environment (hint: by some metrics, it is considered to be as much a contributor to climate change as fossil fuel). You can wait for that or you can do some research for yourself (avoid the temptation to use TikTok or Facebook) and realize what is actually going on. Or you can keep your head buried in the sand which is a popular choice. On some level, I don't actually blame people for choosing to remain ignorant as realization and change are hard. For many people, forming an opinion and sticking to it, excludes the possibility of correcting that position (OK, Boomer).In my own life, I have made several massive policy swings as I grew and educated myself and I can tell you that some of those changes were difficult and required humility.
It is probably a pretty common idea that the reason veganism is expensive is that vegans only eat organic and non-GMO foods from Whole Foods or farmer's markets. While I do not question anyone's right to do that (I made the mistake of mentioning Woody Harrelson to my friend who he apparently considers to be a bit of a weirdo and who probably imports expensive exotic fruits on yachts because he has unlimited money and therefore it is easy for him to be vegan. I doubt that is a fair picture of WH but I have admittedly exaggerated my friend's reaction (for comedy effect!) to him as well. Of course, Woody could afford to be a carnivore and not give a shit also.). The fact remains that there are people who spend a lot of money avoiding animal products and that is their right but such is not necessary. Just like omnivores might choose to eat only wagyu beef or vegetarians may choose to eat only Taleggio cheese and truffles (for the record, I miss Taleggio a great deal), we can spend a lot or a little on our nutritious food. I am not an advocate of insisting on non-GMO foods (the science of GMOs is keeping us alive even now) or organic farming which, as it produces about half of the produce of conventional farming, makes it definitely inaccessible to most people of the world. I admit that I do like to browse at WF because they have cool stuff like wildly coloured carrots but I rarely buy anything.
Also admittedly, my wife and I eat out at least once on most weekends. It's not because we have to but because we like to, we can afford to and I like to have fodder for this blog. When I first began leaning in the cruelty-free direction, I was not flush with cash (I am not really currently flush with cash either) but I realized that the most expensive things in my grocery cart were meat and dairy products! Now going vegan does not just mean removing those things from the cart (although that is a good first step) but requires some intelligent replacement. Another idea out there might be that vegans replace meat with faux meat (like Impossible Nuggets) but that would not be the intelligent way to make a transition and would be very expensive. I like to think of Impossible Nuggets as the vegan's trip to MacDonalds.
So what is in my grocery cart and what do I eat most days? Fruits and vegetables (the first section we run into in most grocery stores) of course and I try to eat 3 fruits a day and at least 3 vegetables. I try to buy the in-season, reasonably priced produce and refuse to pay $5 for a cauliflower. I like to include something green such as broccoli, spinach or even the dreaded kale makes an occasional appearance. I love sweet potatoes. I'm not against eating frozen fruits and vegetables (I've become a sucker for the blueberry propaganda and sometimes the frozen ones are cheaper and may be fresher than the actual fresh product). Overall, it's pretty simple and cheap and I hope even omnivores and vegetarians include more than just potatoes and bananas in their cart.
I do make a pass down the dairy aisle (we most often shop at RCSS) as I admit that I like vegan (coconut) sour cream. It is a little more expensive than regular sour cream but I largely use it as a condiment so not really an essential. I also have some vegan cheese in my fridge some of which is pretty good these days but it is not a necessity and I would never consider paying regular price for it. I always have some sort of plant-based milk in the fridge but I don't drink it like we drank dairy milk as kids when we were told we needed it for strong bones and teeth! Speaking of condiments, I have a fridge door full of the usual stuff including mayo (Hellman's Vegan Mayo is the same price as regular) and vegan butter which is actually cheaper than the dairy stuff! I have a lot of Asian, South Asian and Southeast Asian condiments including vegan oyster sauce. I generally have some sort of seedy whole grain bread in my freezer and pita and tortillas. None of these is too expensive and I'm sure most people have them at home as well. Oh, and there is always peanut butter in the pantry, occasionally some avocados in the fridge and the vegan cliche product, nutritional yeast. In case you're wondering, I take a vitamin supplement to make sure I get enough B12.
The last category is whole grains, nuts and seeds, and beans and pulses including tofu (from soybeans, obviously). This might qualify as our meat replacement category. I'm not going to address people who think soy is bad for you. The whole estrogen in soy problem has been debunked and does not need to be addressed. If you are concerned about protein (and I am not), this is where you will find most of it. Diet For A Small Planet written decades ago, explained how the amino acid deficiencies and strengths in grains and beans complement each other and provide complete protein. Nuff said. There is probably not a place in the world where a bean/grain dish is not central to the diet. India has its curried lentils and rice, Mexico has tortillas and black beans, and Japan has soba noodles and tofu. My friend blurted out that Indians do not like dal and rice but I'm going to need some empirical evidence before I accept such a bizarre assertion. The point is that veganism is accessible to most people on the planet. The second point is that dried or canned beans, whole grains, tofu (I love tofu properly prepared and eat it almost every day) and even nuts and seeds if you are sparing with them, are cheap AF compared to a meat and dairy filled diet!
Special equipment? Yes. I have a slow cooker and a rice cooker if you consider that special equipment and you are going to need to plan ahead a little more if you previously relied on pork chops or eggs to provide your viand. I also recently treated myself to a Vitamix which was like $400. I hope it will last a long time and it is a monster for breaking down everything from ice to cashews. I did without it for a long time though and I would not consider it essential.
Yes, I meal plan. I cook for several days at a time including my lunches for a week. Despite all that I often give in to temptation, occasionally micro-dosing on chips (not easy to eat just a few) and vegan ice cream (Ben and Jerry's vegan Cherry Garcia when I can find it) or sorbet. Even Oreos make an occasional appearance as the great accidentally vegan cookie. None of these things are good for anybody but everyone deserves a treat.
So why does veganism seem elitist? Well, I don't think it does. Maybe you care what celebrity influencers say. I don't particularly. I am a fan of Earthing Ed, Happy Healthy Vegan and yes, even Woody Harrelson who has been a vegan for decades, long before Beyond Meat was even a thing. The early vegans were by necessity, anything but elite and all of the influencers that I mentioned above are humble and down to earth. Look for them on YouTube. On the other hand, if you listen to a lot of dumb shit from Joe Rogan and Jordan Pettersen then of course you are going to be critical of vegans.
Further questions for discussion...Will cows become extinct if we stop eating dairy? Well probably since we bred them into existence to be docile and largely immobile as the perfect milk machines but hopelessly in need of human protection. We could keep some in a zoo if you like (or I know some sanctuaries that have cows) Also, their ancestors (I'm guessing wildabeest, carabao, bison kind of things?) would survive nicely if we don't hunt them out of existence.
What would happen to all the animals if we suddenly all went vegan (Oh, I'm sure that could happen)? Animals are a commodity and bred on a supply and demand basis and as demand fell, their populations would fall. I would prefer to see them engage in an armed revolt but that is really only a concept for a video game.
Why are vegans so judgy? Answer: It's hard not to be judgy when you're completely right! Hah! Just kidding! You can eat whatever the fuck you want but don't try to tell me that since you are a vegetarian you are not responsible for animal harm! You will feel my wrath! Hah! Just kidding again!
Of course, cruelty-free eggs and dairy are theoretically possible even while remaining ethically questionable but where do we all actually get our dairy and eggs? Well, not from nice little pastoral family farms but from factory farms where they crank out huge volumes of animal products but are motivated 100% by dollars and 0% by compassion. If only cruelty-free animal products were produced from those little lovely family farms, there certainly would not be enough for everyone! Talk about inaccessible and elitist!
BTW, as near as I can piece together, cows would normally live 20 years or longer. On a dairy farm, a cow is first artificially inseminated at 2 or 3 years of age. Their calves are taken from them and become meat at some point (a certain number of the females obviously feed into the milk production). My friend says that dairy cows are happy cows because he has been on a farm and knows. When I say that cows are stressed by having their calves taken away from them that is apparently anthropomorphism...but the happy cows picture is not. Anyway, the cows can bear 3 or 4 cycles of calving and then giving milk (to us) for about a year each time. Then they are retired (at say 6 or 7 years) to a lovely field with all the grass and clover they can eat, for the rest of their lives. Hah! Just kidding again! We kill them! But farmers love their cows so that makes it ok.
Thank you so much if you actually did read this and didn't just look at the pictures! Why not comment? Maybe we can discuss this further.
