Interesting read. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the assumption that a straight vegan diet is the easiest, cheapest, most accessible thing in the world. For many, right here in America, getting fresh produce on a daily basis is a near impossibility. Growing your own produce is not NEAR impossible, it IS impossible.
The availability and expense of fruits and vegetables—or a variety of other foods that would be needed to support a balanced vegan diet—are absolutely dependent on where you live, how much money you make, and how much time you have to devote to getting your food, preparing it, and eating it. Being unaware of the fact that for many, having a balanced vegan diet is extremely difficult due to economic reasons absolutely is the result of economic privilege. It is possible to be poor and to be vegan, absolutely. But there are probably other factors that enable that dietary choice. Economics are about more than just how much money you bring home.
This is a point that comes up in a whole host of arguments—most commonly in conversations about obesity and the “education” of poor people on nutrition—but I get tired of this argument that poor people could have the healthiest diets of all time, if only they just DID it. The problem with such arguments is that they simply fail to address the reality many people live with.
Well said.
