Vegetarian meals - less expensive? (soy, organic food, avocado, junk)

[subwayfan]

I read that being vegetarian is actually being environmentally friendly, because raising animals for meat uses more resources over just growing grains and vegetables for direct consumption.

However, in the most practical sense I wonder why as a consumer that wants vegetarian food in one of the most ubiquitous places, like a Subway restaurant, sometimes the vegetarian meal costs just as much or more than the meat meal, despite the "resources" difference. Fine if prices are the same, but it always bugs me when the veg. meal is more expensive.

Using Subway for example:
6 inch, or foot long Tuna... and you can get all the veggie toppings and cheese, and protein (or the filling) is there from the tuna.

Or the vegetarian route, which is minus the meat, but if I want to add some extra cheese to make up for the fact Subway is skimpy on cheese to begin with and I won't be filled up the same way w/o the tuna, I'm charged more for extra cheese. So, the tuna ended up cheaper.

Of course, thats just one example and I prefer making my own sandwiches but sometimes I'm stuck with Subway (another issue). I like avocados, mushrooms sometimes, green lettuce (not yellow), one tofurkey slice, and a variety of cheeses and vegetables and Subway is blander than vanilla, but sometimes I'm stuck with Subway. I don't really like their veggie patty as I've gotten rough unedible ones in the past too, though sometimes I'll get it.

Anyways, I wonder why vegetarian meals (or sandwiches at these sandwich joints) aren't cheaper in general to the meat alternatives. I know that most of these places make more profit on the drink and chips, and the sandwich prices are just averaged in factor, to the actual costs, but still.

[cr1039]

Costs less at Freebirds

Freebirds World Burrito

[katzenfreund]

One of the reasons meat is cheaper, despite the resources it takes to produce meat, is that it is subsidized, almost no subsidies for healthful foods, like veggies and fruit.
PCRM >> Good Medicine Magazine >> Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill >> Autumn 2007

[crazyme4878]

It grinds my patooty, too, but what do you do?

Subsidies also grind my patooty...you get these cranky people who laugh at organic because it is so expensive but complain about high taxes. Hello! The prices for organic are closer to the real price of food (although it is a favorite tactic for some large organic companies to stick it to us) and a whole bunch of those high taxes are going to bring down the price of food. And it isn't just meat. Corn, soybeans, wheat...all subsidized. Farmers in the midwest are subsidized to not grow things like tomatoes and lettuce, so that the farmers in California can focus on those products.

[katzenfreund]

Yep, it is pure insanity. Subsidizing corn means we have the dreaded high fructose corn syrup in everything, because it is cheaper than sugar (not that THAT is a healthy food)... cheap soybeans are fed to livestock, which means cheap meat....
If anything should be subsidized it should be healthy food, like fresh fruits and vegetables. People that are strapped for cash can eat much cheaper if they consume BigMac's and junk food, than eating a healthy diet. However all that junk causes health problems, which is one of the reasons why our health care costs are so high.

[crazyme4878]

I think healthy food is an area where nonprofits and vegetarians could really help. Gardening seems an alien thing to many people, plus there are often no spaces for people to do so. Nonprofits, or small groups of people, that put together community gardens and help hold people's hands in the beginning can make an actual difference. The next step is to share easy, good vegetarian recipes with ingredients readily available. I'm not saying this is a way for vegetarians to take over the world (wahahahaha...ahem...), but a way to help ease people's pocketbooks and improve their health.

Um, back to the original thread... Sometimes grocery stores have salad bars that can be decently priced. When I lived in a small town (appx. 4,000 people), the Pizza Hut had a to-go salad bar price and they actual greens mixed in with the ice berg, as well as carrot shavings and peas alway on the bar. The total price was less than $3! That was about 5 years ago, though. You could make up a large cold salad at the beginning of the week and buy a package of whole grain rolls and take some salad and a roll every day.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Back in the day, there used to be a lot of food cooperatives in which items could be purchased in bulk quantities. They'd then be split among the members, who woud contribute "x" amount of time to keep the place running. It was a great way to save money on (usually) healthier items, as well as interact with like-minded individuals.

I know there are still some groups around, but they don't seem to be as prevalent anymore -- or maybe I'm just not in the right place for them.

However, if you can FIND one, it's definitely worth checking out.

[Apples&Oranges]

Ask your local health food store. They often have a group of people buying bulk food and sharing.

I've been vegetarian for 20 years. Our monthly food bill is low. We eat from scratch mostly and eat very well.

[groar]

it's always bugged me that pizza places don't offer a free topping when you order a pizza without cheese. some do, but most don't. i mean, on a pizza with cheese, onions, and peppers, the cheese has to be by far the most expensive ingredient. it seems only fair to count it as a topping.

at taco bell, they charge you extra for any substitution. subbing beans for meat means a $1 charge for a side of beans. it's silly. i don't think that's exclusive to vegetarian substitutions though, it's just their policy.

cooking at home is definitely inexpensive though. people always seem to think that vegetarian/vegan diets are so expensive, but that's only if you're buying processed meat & dairly analogues. that's like saying eating meat is expensive as if meat eaters on the assumption that meat eaters buy frozen convenience foods.

of course food is more expensive if you only buy organic, but that's the case for any sort of organic food (except, for some reason, organic avocados are often cheaper than conventional ones. i have no idea why).

[Xpat]

Here's the main reason:

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ediblenation/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/pyramid-pcrm.jpg (broken link)