Vegetarianism: Good for your heart ... and your wallet!

Posted Jul 29th 2007 3:40PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Marketing and Advertising, Personal Finance

An interesting piece on MSN Money highlights a little-touted benefit of vegetarianism, for all of cynical cheapskates out there. I probably wouldn't go vegetarian because I feel sorry for the furry woodland creatures, and I certainly won't do it for my health. Arteries? I mean come on. But they've finally found something that might just convert this steak-guzzling carnivore: Being a vegetarian can save you money.

Aside from the benefits of having good health later in life, check this out:

If you drop red meat, poultry, and fish from your diet, you'll find plant proteins cheaper than the equivalent amount of animal protein ... Contrast that with dried beans and lentils at less than $1 a pound and rice well below $1 per pound ... Even tofu, the chicken of the vegetarian world, is usually well under $2 a pound.

All right, I'm sold! Note to PETA: Instead of sending me mailings full of propaganda about animal cruelty, send me a detailed summary of how much money I can save each year by being a vegetarian. The number one thing marketing experts say you have to tell the the customer is: "What's in it for me?"

I would be willing to bet that a national ad campaign touting the economic benefits of a meat-free diet would convert a lot of cynics like me.

Tags: Diet, Vegetarian, vegetarianism

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-30-2007 @ 5:52AM

Edward said...

I know this to be true. I can attest to the fact that limiting your intake of meat or completely removing it from your diet is healthy and saves money. In the past 2 weeks I have lost 10 lbs. limiting my intake of meat to a 4-6 oz. serving or less per day with plenty of exercise 3-4 days a week. I have planned meals with out meat and surprisingly do not miss it. On ocassion I will eat chicken and maybe a small serloin steak. I feel much better and stronger, in fact more alert. It's amazing. I have even noticed a savings on purchasing vegatables rather than meat, fruit on the other hand is another story when it comes to saving money.

7-30-2007 @ 5:51AM

Chris said...

You know how it is, you get what you pay for. Of all of the ways to save money, eating like a rabbit probably wouldn't be my choice.

-Chris
http://www.nerdcouncil.com

7-30-2007 @ 9:55AM

Gayle Dean said...

Saving money, reducing environmental pollution and health are all good reasons for eliminating meat from the diet. Most people are motivated by health, although many of us are motivated by reducing suffering in the world.

The scientific information about the benefits of a vegan diet and the hazards of a meat and dairy diet are well known in the medical and scientific community.

The American Dietetic Association says at their website:

"Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber,magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol
levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

And Dr. Frank Oski, former director of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University said, "There is no reason to drink cow's milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, it was not designed for humans, and we should all stop drinking it today, this afternoon."

Dr. Spock agreed, saying, "[T]here was a time when cow's milk was considered very desirable. But research, along with clinical experience, has forced doctors and nutritionists to rethink this recommendation."

Finally, The World Health Organization says that
"western nations that consume a lot of meat/dairy have the highest levels of osteoporosis, which is caused by eating a lot of animal protein" and they
publish a lengthy report laying bare the common myths about the benefits of dairy: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241546123_chap4.pdf