Going vegan could save more than $650 a year on groceries, new research shows

A low-fat vegan diet reduces food costs by 19%, or $1.80 per day, compared to a standard American diet that included meat, dairy and other animal products, according to new research from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in JAMA network opened. The study also found that a Mediterranean diet costs 60 cents more per day compared to the standard American diet. Total food costs were 25% lower, $2.40 per day, on a vegan diet compared to the Mediterranean diet.

“As grocery costs remain stubbornly high, consumers should trade meat and dairy for a low-fat vegan diet based on fruits, vegetables, grains and beans to potentially save more than $650 per year on their grocery bill, compared to a standard American diet , and more than $870, compared to the Mediterranean diet,” said Hana Kahleova, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the paper and director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “A vegan diet won’t just save money; it can save lives by helping prevent or improve conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.”

The cost reduction on the vegan diet was mainly due to savings of $2.90 per day on meat, 50 cents per day on dairy products and 50 cents per day on added fats. These savings outweighed the higher expenditures of 50 cents per day on vegetables, 30 cents per day on grains and 50 cents per day on meat alternatives within the vegan diet.

The new study is a secondary analysis of an earlier Physicians Committee study that compared a low-fat vegan diet with a Mediterranean diet. In the study, participants were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet, which consisted of fruits, vegetables, grains and beans, or to a Mediterranean diet, which focused on fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, low-fat dairy products and extra-olive oil. first pressing, for 16 weeks. Neither group had a calorie limit.

The participants then went back to their base diet for a four-week washout period before switching to the other group for another 16 weeks. The study found that a low-fat vegan diet has better results in weight, body composition, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol levels, compared to a Mediterranean diet.

To assess food costs, intakes from study participants’ dietary data were linked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Thrifty Food Plan, 2021, a database of national food prices calculated from data collected for the Consumer Price Index.

Previous research from the Physicians Committee, which found that food costs fell by 16% on a low-fat vegan diet, had compared a vegan diet to a diet that included meat, dairy and other animal products.

Provided by the Committee of Physicians for Responsible Medicine