A recent survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Morning Consult found that a majority of US adults incorrectly believe that a plant-based diet is more expensive than one that includes meat and dairy.
The survey, which polled 2,206 US adults between June 10 and June 12, 2025, revealed that more than 60% of respondents share this view. Baby Boomers were the most likely to think that plant-based eating is significantly more expensive, with 67% of them believing plant-based foods cost somewhat or much more than a typical Standard American Diet.
The issue is that for a lot of these people their idea of a plant based diet is an analogous to what they currently eat, and products that emulate that are quite expensive. Bean tacos are cheaper than beef tacos, but imitation ground beef tacos are more expensive.
Perhaps it’s a lack of imagination on the part of people and perhaps it’s that the marketing of plant based diets has largely been pushed in the mainstream by companies offering premium meat substitutes.
TVP is a lot cheaper than either and analogous.
Real problem is people don’t know how to cook.