I agree with your criticism towards the source. “Being vegan is expensive” is quite a generalized statement in need of citation from someone holding up “high scientific standards”, though. I am convinced it is false in its generality. (Convenience and substitute products are expensive, but in no way necessary.)
You’re completely right that I didn’t apply the same standards to that statement. This is because Rule 3 is intended in favour to medical advice (and preventing quackery). So even if I was completely pulling the “being vegan is expensive” out of my ass, it would technically not be rulebreaking as that isn’t medical advice, unlike the persons comment above who insinuates being vegan will help autism and cancer.
But here’s my rationale (which is not peer reviewed lol) for why being vegan is expensive (TLDR personal experience, read the rest if you want details).
I mean unless you’ve got a lot of of time on your hand, which would mean you’re privileged, it’s going to be hard to not risk deficiencies as it is a tough balance to achieve. (I spent two yeats vegan).
And unless you’re willing to splurge a lot on expensive nut milks, B12 is really hard to get enough of.
Then there’s calcium, iron, Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D, none of which are necessary to supplement if you’re doing the diet right but you’re going to need to either live somewhere with a very large product selection (like a city) to have varied sources of, or be meticulous in your dieting and tracking, which can mean spending a long long time checking food labels and planning meals.
Most people will end up having to buy a couple of these supplements which are extremely expensive.
Of course, being vegan isn’t magic and doesn’t just cure cancer or whatever, but In my experience, being vegan is quite cheap.
If there isn’t a sale, vegan multivitamins are like $15 for 100, and you generally need to get the omega3 separately, which is also like $15 for 100. I am using CAD, so it’s likely cheaper in the USA.
That’s about 60 cents a day, which is not expensive. Especially when it means I’ve not buying meat or random snacks during my journeys hither and yon.
