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Isn’t a Vegan Diet Expensive?

This isn’t really an easy question to answer because it’s not as cut and dry as you might think. It’s a mixture of new things you will want to buy, as well as some things you won’t be buying anymore. How that final equation balances out will be different for everyone.

According to NPR, the average American household spends around 21% of its food budget on meat, and then another 11% on dairy products. That means approximately one third of your grocery budget is going to animal products. Once you start a vegan diet, all that money then gets freed up to be used for other purchases. And since meat is considerably more expensive than fruits, grains, and vegetables to begin with, that means you can buy a lot more food while not changing your overall expenditures.

So buying that organic soy milk may seem like an added expense compared to the usual cow’s milk, but don’t forget that you won’t be buying any chicken breasts, pork tenderloin or roasting beef either. You have to look at the whole picture before you can really calculate the costs.

The trick is not to fall into the replacement trap. As a new vegan, you’ll quickly find that you spend most of your money on the meat, dairy and egg replacements. You have to shift your eating habits altogether to add more fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables to each meal rather than find some “fancy” alternative to the meat you are used to. That’s how you keep your budget under control.

The bottom line is that many vegan products can cost more than their conventional counterparts, but when you factor in all the meat and dairy you’re not eating, it isn’t as bad as you might think. With a little planning and effort, you probably can eat for less as a vegan, even with that organic soy milk or non-dairy cheese.