My wife is a brand new vegan (I’m an omnivore). She’s been one for about 3 days now. She also gave up all diet and fat free food products in one fell swoop. I’m proud of her. Whenever someone would point out how pointless it was for her to eat foods with no calories, she would always say, “I know, I know.” She also decided that she’s going to avoid any processed foods at all costs. Her primary motivation is a basic desire to be healthy (ironically, I’m the animal lover out of the two of us), an ailment that a lot of medical doctors suffer from. She was also inspired by a book called Skinny Bitch, which I guess has inspired a lot of people to go vegetarian or vegan. I haven’t read the book myself, and my wife told me that she didn’t think I’d like it. The authors speak to the reader with a very authoritative voice, I guess, and my wife knows I don’t really like that. In fact, I tend to sort of pick apart assertions if they’re too absolute. It’s in my nature. She likes it, though. In fact, she’s encouraged me on numerous occasions to adopt a more authoritative voice on this blog. I think it comes down to a matter of personal style. The authors of this particular book have sold millions of copies of their book, so obviously whatever they’re doing is working for them.
From a health perspective, there’s really only one thing you get from meat, milk and eggs that you can’t get from any other food, and that’s Vitamin B12. If you’re a vegan, or are considering becoming one, make sure you take some type of supplement to get your allowance.
In any case, the vegan buzz around our house has caused a couple of developments around our house: (1) It’s caused me to eat less meat, a development I’m fine with (I’ve been trying to eat less meat for awhile anyway), and (2) It’s caused me to think a lot about the cost of meat substitutes and meat free products. Vegetarians eat fruits and vegetables, which aren’t any more expensive regardless of whether you’re an omnivore or a vegan. They aren’t more expensive, that is, unless you’re trying to exclusively eat organically grown fruits and veggies, which my wife is. The fact that organics cost more makes perfect sense. It’s cheaper to grow extra fruits and vegetables, and have that crop have a better yield, through the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers and chemicals that cause the food to ripen more quickly. Without these, you have to wait longer for the food (and time is money), and potentially end up with less of it.
Consumer demand for organics is fairly inelastic, meaning that even as prices rise, demand essentially stays the same. This is likely because people who have made a lifestyle choice aren’t doing it based on factors that have anything to do with the price of the good they’re buying. If you believe that non-organics raise your risk of cancer, you don’t mind paying an extra $1.29 for the foods you’re buying. (For a more complete discussion on the US Food industry, check out this post by the blog’s resident energy expert, my brother-in-law RJ) RJ would add that the environmental savings of eating less meat is extreme and would easily dwarf the spending necessary to sustain this lifestyle.
Also expensive are the meat and dairy substitutes available to vegans. Now taking a place in our fridge is almond milk, as well as various organic premade bowls and meals, lots of tofu, etc. When my wife came home bearing these gifts, I asked about the grocery bill (I predict this will triple our grocery bill over time – it currently has been worse than that). She looked at me sweetly and smiled, “But I’m worth it, right?” She really is. Thanks for reading.
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What a wife you have! and what a guy she has! “She looked at me sweetly and smiled, “But I’m worth it, right?”"
LOL! Awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I am not sure if I would go vegetarian or vegan. For now, the cost is prohibitive to me. I, however, am not sure if that is just an excuse not to try it out. I asked myself… “if I were rich or well off, would I go vegan?” I could not come up with a straight answer, so I guess I like my “vices”— for now.
Maybe we should alter this and explain that I tried to be vegab, but that seems nearly impossible if you are eating out with non-vegans, vegetarian is so much more do-able, and pescatarian even more so. I kind of feel like I let myself down, but I really just don’t want to be so difficult when we go out…you must admit, I am still vegan as long as we eat at home! Are you still proud of me?