Vegan Food Is Too Expensive
Granted, in recent times, the growth of vegan foods on offer has blossomed into quite the buffet of choices. Many of these foods do have a rather large price tag giving the illusion of vegan being out of reach for many people.
The odd thing is that I stepped onto the vegan path for the opposite reason. Vegan foods back in the late 90s and early 2000s were cheap, very cheap. The poverty line I was bordering on gave me the incentive to ditch meat and turn to beans and lentils. Buying these in bulk was extremely more cost-efficient than purchasing animal products.
Mind you; there was the disadvantage that the legumes had to be soaked, then cooked before being able to be used. But I quickly got it down to a fine art. Soaking a large batch, cooking and then freezing into smaller lots. These bags were my version of the cans they now come in.
And what about now? I’m please to report that the most inexpensive plant foods are still available in bulk to us all. Whole grains, lentils, black beans and more are not only affordable but abound in nutrients which are far superior to the more expensive meats that are on offer.
Not only inexpensive but exceptionally good for our health whole plant foods stand out as an absolute bargain.
But most people are not willing to go the extra step of soaking and cooking they would prefer to put their hand into the refrigerator or freezer and pull out a ‘ready’ made fake meat, and this is where the expense can come in.
Vegan specialty foods are more expensive than their counter-part due, in most cases, to the fact that many animal products are heavily subsidized. Because of this, it means that they can be sold at a reduced price. Plant food manufacturers do not have the same advantage.
Another reason is supply and demand. The more a particular food is consumed, the more production can increase, which means that the costs can come down. We recently saw this with Impossible Burger. They cut their prices due to demand.
They also have been facing rather stiff competition as more meat alternatives come onto the market, another incentive to lowering prices.
I believe this is the way of the future. My prediction is that over the next decade we will see a dismantling of factory farming and the subsidies go bringing the price of meat up. This will increase the demand of the plant alternatives driving their prices down as companies compete for a share.
In the not too distant future, the idea that vegan food is too expensive will no longer be a viable excuse for omnivores not going plant-based.
To help you on your plant-based, journey pop over to my resource website www.goldcardvegan.com for all things vegan.
Until next time…
Originally published at https://goldcardvegan.com on August 31, 2020.
