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"Veganism is expensive."
beans, rice, lentils, grains, potatoes, oats and seasonal vegetables and fruit are among the cheapest foods there are. What's expensive is some processed products, such as plant-based cheeses and meats, which are optional. A 2021 study of 150 countries concluded that vegetarian and vegan diets were generally the cheapest of the healthy and sustainable dietary patterns, and can cut food costs by up to about a third in upper-middle and high-income countries.
Short answer
Beans, rice, lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, oats and seasonal vegetables and fruit are among the cheapest foods in the shop, and they're vegan. What's expensive is the processed products that imitate meat and cheese, and they're optional. A 2021 study of 150 countries concluded that vegetarian and vegan diets were generally the cheapest of the healthy and sustainable dietary patterns.
For children
Rice, beans, potatoes, bananas, carrots, oats and lentils are cheap foods, and they're vegan. What's expensive is some store products that imitate meat or cheese. But nobody needs them to be vegan.
"Is a kilo of beans more or less expensive than a kilo of meat?"
Como pode aparecer
"Vegan food is for the rich."
"Vegan cheese costs a fortune."
"I can't afford to be vegan."
"Veganism is a privilege for those who can pay."
"Plant-based substitutes carry a premium price."
"Poor people have no access." (which is J2)
The strongest version
"Vegan food is for the rich. Vegan cheese costs a fortune."
Strongest version (steelman):
- P1Processed vegan products, such as plant-based meats and cheeses, tend to cost more than their animal-based equivalents.
- P2Many people are on a tight budget.
- CSo veganism is expensive and out of reach for many.
P1 is true for many products. So is P2. The problem lies in the conclusion: it confuses veganism with processed products, which aren't necessary.
The argument is valid for those who depend on such products. Its soundness fails because the basis of a vegan diet is cheap.
Full answer
- a
Reconstruction and diagnosis
The argument compares specific products, not diets:
Type of food Relative price Beans, rice, lentils, potatoes, oats, seasonal vegetables Among the cheapest Meat, cheese, fish More expensive Processed plant-based meats and cheeses Often expensive, but optional - b
Where the argument breaks
1. The basis of a vegan diet is cheap.
The foods that make up a healthy vegan diet are among the cheapest, and many are already staples of traditional cuisines around the world.
2. Studies confirm it.
Springmann and colleagues analyzed diets in 150 countries and concluded that vegetarian and vegan variants were generally the most affordable of the healthy and sustainable diets, with cost reductions of up to about 22% to 34% in upper-middle and high-income countries.
3. Processed products are optional.
No one needs vegan cheese to be vegan, just as no one needs imported cheese to eat cheese.
4. Meat is expensive.
In many places, protein from beans and lentils costs a fraction of protein from meat.
5. The situation varies.
In low-income countries, healthy diets in general cost more than current diets, which is a problem of poverty, not of veganism.
- c
Data and sources
Source What it says Note Springmann et al., 2021, *Lancet Planetary Health* Vegetarian and vegan diets were generally the most affordable healthy and sustainable patterns; up to 22% to 34% cheaper in upper-middle and high-income countries An analysis of 150 countries; in low-income countries, healthy diets in general cost more - d
The strongest counter-reply: time costs too
The most serious version grants that basic foods are cheap, but says cooking takes time and skill, and ready-made products with meat are more convenient for people who work long hours.
- e
Why the counter-reply doesn't reach the conclusion
It changes the argument.
It stops being about money and becomes about time (J9).
There are convenient, cheap options.
Beans cooked in bulk and frozen, rice, roasted vegetables, canned legumes.
Ready-made products with meat aren't healthy either.
And they're often more expensive.
- f
Back to the moral question
If a vegan diet can be cheaper, the cost argument doesn't justify eating animals. The moral question remains: for those who can choose what they eat, what justifies choosing the option that requires someone's death?
Reasoning errors
Logical
Is the form valid?
Selective comparison
Epistemological
Does the evidence support it?
Not knowing prices
Moral
Is the criterion coherent?
Cost as justification
Biases
Availability bias
The image of the expensive vegan product comes to mind first
General literature on heuristics
Extrapolations
The principle being tested is: "if there are expensive versions of a diet, the diet is expensive".
If it applied to…Diets with meatTap to see
They'd be expensive, because prime cuts exist
No one concludes this
If it applied to…Diets with cheeseTap to see
They'd be expensive, because of imported cheeses
No one concludes this
If it applied to…Vegan dietsTap to see
They'd be expensive, because of processed products
The same error
Contradictions
Which are vegan and cheap.
Which shows price isn't the criterion.
But requires it of vegans.
What the argument gets right
What is true
It's true that many processed vegan products are expensive, and that price is a real barrier for those who depend on them. It's also true that in some places access to fresh, varied food is limited (J2).
But
But the basis of vegan eating is made up of some of the cheapest foods there are. For most people, veganism can cost less, not more.
Connections
Usually comes before
Usually comes after
Go deeper in Questão de Ética
Chapters from the open-access collection A Journey Through Animal Ethics that discuss this argument in more detail:
- Is Veganism Only for the Rich? Vol. IV, ch. 10