“I am lucky enough to afford to eat a vegan diet. It can get pretty pricey and I assume dissuade many people who don’t have the means. Just curious if you have helpful advice or argument to those who would say veganism can be classist in that impoverished people cannot afford the lifestyle? I just want to personally improve my reasoning for veganism and I’ve come across the money issue before with people.” -A.N.
There are plenty of expensive vegan products on this planet. The same goes for non-vegan products. If you’re looking to burn cash, it’s not hard. But while it’s true mock meats and cheeses tend to be expensive, you don’t need to buy them to be vegan or healthy. And globally, many cultures sustain themselves on primarily vegan foods because meat and dairy are more expensive to produce than grains and beans, etc. Meat is still expensive to produce in the United States, we just have very corruptly organized government subsidies that make meat cheaper than it actually is–at grave cost to the environment and all the poor people and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by environmental politics.
That said, my understanding is that generally in the US affording vegan food is less of a problem than access to vegan food (see food deserts). That’s why it is a privilege if you’re able to be vegan, because not everyone has the option of making food choices and being vegan for them is much more difficult or impossible. That’s about politics more than anything else. And there are amazing groups like Food Empowerment Project that focus on these issues and do wonderful work around it. This is also why it’s important that as advocates for veganism, we should also be advocating for human rights and equality, so that all people are able to make choices about what they want to eat and the industries they want to support.
I do wonder though who’s asking you these questions? Because often it’s people who are privileged enough to maintain a vegan lifestyle, they just try to poke holes in veganism for whatever reason. If that’s the case, we have a post that might be relevant. Also, while the mainstream view of veganism is that it’s for rich white people, there are all kinds of vegans. Don’t let your friends erase the lower income vegans or vegans of color just so they can play devils advocate.
In short: it’s definitely a privilege to be in the position to maintain a vegan lifestyle because having food and purchasing choices is a privilege. Veganism isn’t classist in and of itself I don’t think, but insisting that anyone can easily be vegan is.
If you want more information on being vegan on a budget, there are great resources online like these tips from FEP.
Got a question? Just email tips@vegansaurus.com and ask a Vegansaur!
