Or vegans are more affluent and locked in so the take what they can get.
Americans earning less than $30,000 annually are more likely to identify as vegetarian. Nine percent of this group say they are vegetarian, a higher percentage than is true of Americans in the two higher-income groups. Differences in levels of veganism among these three groups are not statistically significant.
Oh man, staple crops are subsidized waaaaaayyy more heavily than beef. Some of this grain goes to the beef industry as feed, so it is indirectly supported by taxes. But the reality is that the soy, barley, beans, or whatever else is in that veggie burger are subsidized directly and more extensively.
Where in the WORLD did you hear that bit of propaganda?
https://agriculturefairnessalliance.org/news/2020-farm-subsidies/
https://www.aier.org/article/the-true-cost-of-a-hamburger/
I can’t even find any source saying more money is spent on any crop than on beef. It seems like it’s totally made up. The numbers vary because it’s hard to pin down, but I can’t find a source saying anything besides “most subsidiaries go towards beef and dairy”
… The very first link you provided shows a chart that has more assistance going to corn than beef, more going to soy than dairy and more going to wheat then pigs.
https://agriculturefairnessalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2020bdcat-1320x743.png
???
I think you should read more carefully what that chart is showing.
Corn for example is purple and gray mostly.
Purple = live stock feed gray = biodiesel
Soy is mostly purple, so most of it goes towards feeding live stock.
So most of the subsidiary is just being spent to make it cheaper to raise live stock.
I don’t want to speak for them, but one can interpret crops subsidized for the purposes of livestock feed AS a subsidy for livestock. If you look at the sum of the purple sections (livestock and feed), it’s the largest.
But you are right: buddy’s own chart does show a larger direct subsidy for corn than direct subsidy for beef.
Pigs and chickens don’t eat air, you know.
70% of US soy becomes animal feed. Some of the rest is used industrially, or becomes biodisel. Relatively little US soy becomes soy sauce, tofu, etc.
Soy subsidies, in practice, mostly function as a chicken and pork subsidy.
You’ll notice that we heavily subsidize animal feed crops like corn and soy, and spend much less money subsidizing fruits and veggies, nuts, and other legumes like black beans or lentils.
Many of those types of crops used for feed aren’t really aligned all that well. Corn for instance isn’t going used so heavily in a plant-based diet as it is subsidized (corn is the most subsidized crop in the US). There is also separate food-grade and feed-grade soybeans. 90% of US soy production is going to feed (and not to mention a good portion of the other 10% is going to soybean oil which is not super helpful for a plant-based meat)
90% of U.S. soybeans produced are used as a high-quality protein source for animal feed
https://soygrowers.com/key-issues-initiatives/key-issues/other/animal-ag/
Further, they are still getting massive amounts of direct subsidies
The Department of Agriculture has spent almost $50 billion in subsidies for livestock operators since 1995, according to an EWG analysis.
By contrast, since 2018 the USDA has spent less than $30 million to support plant-based and other alternative proteins that may produce fewer greenhouse gases and may require less land than livestock.
Also worth mentioning that beans are not particularly highly subsidized unless you are counting soybeans mentioned earlier.
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
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.
But do you spend less because you’re vegetarian, or because you don’t have options for spending money at fast food / restaurants?
I mean a pound of beef costs $4.
A pound of raw lentils like a $1.
Lentils are more calorie dense.
Lentils are more protein dense.
Black beans are in similar camp.
Rice and wheat products are cheaper per calorie, but lack the protein.
So yeah, it’s just cheaper to be a vegetarian, even with massive beef subsidiaries. But veggie patties are still more expensive because of processing and they are smaller batches.
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.
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.
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
You want the real reason in a thread jerking off vegetarianism? Here goes:
- Meat tastes great.
- It gives me a sense of fullness that plants rarely do (except beans).
- It’s a better protein source.
- The iron, B12, etc. in it are more easily absorbed.
- Every brand of fake meat I’ve tried tastes terrible.
- It makes me feel the best mentally compared to eating other foods.
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!
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
If you learn how to make your own patties from scratch it’s pretty cheap - or to save time you can do what I do and eat beans directly from the air fryer 🤤
I actually just rinse off canned beans, spray them with vegetable oil, toss em in at 400F for 8-12 minutes, then shake them in a baggie with salt and spices. Or mix them in a bowl with hot sauce. Or use them as a topping for rice. Or throw them in stir fry. Or sauteed onions and bell peppers, then put them on tortillas.
God damn I love air fried beans
Yes I could stop eating a pound a day but keto and vegetarian don’t mix well
