• usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    It’s worth noting that in countries like US, it’s really only things like beyond burgers and impossible meat that cost more. It doesn’t require eating those for a plant-based diet nor are people typically eating those every meal, is why plant-based diets generally have lower costs

    Compared to meat eaters, results show that “true” vegetarians do indeed report lower food expenditures

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800915301488?via%3Dihub

    It found that in high-income countries:

    • Vegan diets were the most affordable and reduced food costs by up to one third.

    • Vegetarian diets were a close second.

    • Flexitarian diets with low amounts of meat and dairy reduced costs by 14%.

    • By contrast, pescatarian diets increased costs by up to 2%.

    https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-11-11-sustainable-eating-cheaper-and-healthier-oxford-study

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yeah people really don’t believe me when I talk about how much I save by being a low fish pescatarian. A can of beans is cheaper than equivalent beef or chicken as are mushrooms. Peanut butter sandwiches are a cheaper lunch than lunch meat ones. And I’m not hurting for protein because beans are full of the stuff

      • Illegal_Prime@dmv.social
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        1 year ago

        I’m not vegetarian, but I will stand by peanut butter being the best sandwich filling for packing lunch. Nothing compares to its ability to keep well in a room temperature ziploc bag.

    • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Oh yeah I 100% spend less on food as a vegetarian, because black beans/lentils are such wonderful cheap sources of protein.

      But sometimes I want like the premade like meat crumbles or burgers, and those cost more usually.

    • TheFriendlyDickhead@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I realy don’t get why people eat those meat subsidies. They are realy not that good and unhealthy too. Cooking a meal just with vegetables and other stuff can taste realy good, is healthy and cheap at the same time.

      • WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Probably because Americans were raised on a super meat heavy diet. Meat burgers. Meat casseroles. Meat sauces. Meat everything. Fake meats make those recipes achievable for vegetarians and vegans who long for mom’s home cooking.

        • 4lan@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          This is only a recent thing historically. Government subsidies and lobbying from the meat industry, not to mention letting agricultural corporations create our food pyramid, got us to where we are today.

          We have been led into an unhealthy lifestyle for the profit of a handful of billionaires.

          Take a look at places where people live above 100 yrs regularly. They aren’t shoveling beef down there throats like Americans are. And we die 20 to 30 years earlier on average

        • Ataraxia@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Italian here, sardegna. Sausage, porchetto, chicken, lamb (lots of it), small baby birds, brains, all kinds of fish especially sword fish, octopus and Squid, lots of cured meats… the list goes on. Every meal has a meat and we live the longest in italy.

      • KillAllPoorPeople@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Want to hear some mind-blowing information? Not everyone likes the stuff you like, you’re not the barometer on what is good or what is unhealthy.

      • MickeySwitcherooney@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        You want the real reason in a thread jerking off vegetarianism? Here goes:

        1. Meat tastes great.
        2. It gives me a sense of fullness that plants rarely do (except beans).
        3. It’s a better protein source.
        4. The iron, B12, etc. in it are more easily absorbed.
        5. Every brand of fake meat I’ve tried tastes terrible.
        6. It makes me feel the best mentally compared to eating other foods.
        • 4lan@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Why is it that countries that don’t eat red meat as much as Americans live far longer than we do?

          Okinawans live well past 100, and are doing physical activity into their 90s. Americans are falling apart by the time they turn 60, dead before they hit 80.

          I hope the flavor is worth the colon cancer!

          • fatalError@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            Not American myself, but I can think of a few factors besides meat:

            • less stress
            • less polution
            • less processed food, be it meat or not
            • less sugar
            • less sedentary lifestyle
            • genes

            Nutrition alone won’t get you to 100. Having a diverse diet keeps ypu healty, but there are many factors that impact health. I do agree that meat is overused in general population, but can’t really force the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle onto an omnivore specie.

          • MickeySwitcherooney@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            I’m sure that’s the only difference between the average American and people from those countries. Same exact genetics, lifestyles, air pollution, economy, etc.

          • mob@sopuli.xyz
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            1 year ago

            While moderation is the key to everything, and I wouldn’t be surprised if cutting out red.meat is a lot healthier for the consumer

            Feels like you just randomly made something up here by comparing some random outlier stories you’ve heard.

          • FatCrab@lemmy.one
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            1 year ago

            Impossible and beyond taste delicious in respective appropriate dishes. Dunno wtf you’re on about. Also a lot less prep and clean up to toss a frozen patty on the grill than cook a bunch of veggies. The downside is that it isn’t particularly healthy-- at least on par with a red meat burger. But the idea that they all “taste bad” is just dumb and contrary to what clearly a ton of other people experience.