Hold that burger—wait, is that a veggie burger?
If you’re wondering whether there are good reasons to go vegetarian, keep reading. Can you survive (and even thrive) in a world full of amazing barbecue? Spoiler: yes.
A few interesting facts (thanks to FoodRevolution.org):
You might find yourself not only setting the burger down but also feeling inspired to do more—maybe even picket fast-food chains in a silly ad-style way. Or at least read on to learn how you could save thousands of dollars while improving your health and helping the planet.
About ten years ago we were given Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat by Howard Lyman. I read passages aloud to Mrs. Cubert on a drive back to Michigan over Easter. By the time we arrived, I’m not kidding—we’d decided to stop eating meat.
Picture showing up at a family gathering and declining the Easter ham. Eggs were plentiful, but that dinner became the start of some awkward vegetarian vs. meat-eater conversations.
People asked, “Why did you decide to go vegetarian?”
“It’s a mix of reasons—health, the environment, and animal welfare,” we’d answer.
“And don’t you miss bacon?”
“Could you get enough protein?”
Back to Lyman: Mad Cowboy opened our eyes to industrial cattle ranching in the U.S.—the pesticides, synthetic hormones, herbicides, and antibiotics used to manage filthy, disease-prone conditions. It’s a far cry from pre-industrial days when cows grazed freely on grass.
Lyman, a cancer survivor, even faced a frivolous lawsuit after appearing on Oprah to share his views—Texas cattle groups sued, and Oprah won. So yes, you can take on Texas, apparently.
Knowing where most steaks and burgers come from makes some people switch to chicken. But then you learn about industrial poultry, and maybe you move on to falafel.
Those first vegetarian years were mostly smooth. The hardest part was smelling a neighbor’s barbecue while out for a run. That was torture sometimes.
Around year three I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Great stuff for a new vegetarian—lots of useful insights, though some ideas deserve scrutiny. The main takeaway for me: prioritize local, traditional, organic food—“locavorism.” Don’t rule out meat entirely if it’s from a sustainable, local source.
That worked for me. Every so often we’d fire up the Weber for an organic, grass-fed steak. Today the family is about 99% vegetarian (we still eat eggs and dairy). I’m the one who still eats meat occasionally—maybe once or twice a week on a date night. Like Confucius said: moderation in all things.
A vegetarian diet can be healthier than the standard American meat-heavy diet. Don’t just take my word for it—look at Seventh-day Adventists in southern California, many of whom live long, active lives.
But a vegetarian diet needs thought. You can’t swap a quarter-pounder with cheese for processed meat substitutes or a pile of refined carbs and expect health benefits. A common mistake is clinging to old habits and just replacing meat with packaged fake meat or a lot of fries and milkshakes.
Our early days included some of that—Chipotle’s vegetarian burritos, Boca burgers, fake breakfast sausage. It felt like a victory at first. But long-term, you need to focus on whole, organic foods. Even better if you can grow some food yourself.
Now for the money side, which I love. Think about the priciest items in your cart: steaks, diapers, pork tenderloin, single-origin coffee, chicken breasts. Some costs are fixed—kids will outgrow pull-ups; coffee is forever—so meat becomes the main variable to save money on.
How much do U.S. families spend on food? Gallup suggests $150–$200 per week per family (not including dining out). Our family of four spends about $900 per month on groceries—not counting meat. The USDA gives a range of $650 to $1,278 per month for a family of four, so we’re in the middle. I shudder to think what a full-meat household’s bill would be. NPR reports that Americans spend roughly 22% of their grocery budget on meat.
If our household ate meat, that 22% would add about $198 per month to our bill (0.22 × $900). But we already spend money on protein substitutes—eggs, beans, nuts, and occasional veggie burgers—so let’s subtract those. Say four dozen eggs at $3 each = $12/month, eight cans of organic beans at $2 each = $16, a few veggie burgers = $15, and nuts (Costco runs) = $25. That’s about $68/month on substitutes.
Net savings: roughly $198 − $68 = $130/month, or about $1,560 per year. Invested over 20 years with typical market returns, that could grow into roughly $74,000—enough to help pay for college or other big expenses.
On longevity: some evidence supports longer life for vegetarians—Adventists show lower cancer rates, and Blue Zones (Okinawa, Sardinia, Ikaria) point to limited meat consumption among long-lived populations. Heart disease and red meat have a complicated, often linked history.
But not every study finds a big gap. One large Australian study followed a quarter-million people over 45 for six years and found no clear difference in death rates between vegetarians and omnivores. Why the contradiction?
Researchers suggest it’s not just diet alone. Vegetarians often pay more attention to other health habits. In some studies, vegetarians had a 29% lower risk of early death from heart disease and an 18% lower risk of cancer—outcomes likely tied to overall lifestyle, not just cutting meat.
The lesson: quitting meat isn’t a magic bullet if you don’t live a healthy life otherwise. If Homer Simpson stopped eating meat but kept drinking Duff, never exercised, and worked at Mr. Burns’s nuclear plant, his lifespan probably wouldn’t improve much.
My bottom line: across many studies and the Blue Zones, there’s a strong link between limited or no meat and healthier, longer lives.
I’m glad Mrs. Cubert stuck with it. We started in early 2008. I’ve slid back to about 80% vegetarian—sometimes following “primal” or Paleo ideas—and we’ve found what works. The kids are mostly vegetarian too, though bacon can turn them into little Homers.
That primal phase bumped my meat intake for a while, and oddly, my cholesterol and blood pressure stayed low despite more meat and coconut oil. Extra protein helped then, and after 40 it’s smart to increase protein because we don’t process it as well as we used to.
There are plenty of non-meat protein sources: eggs, cottage cheese, beans, nuts, and plant protein powders for smoothies. Yes, those powders cost money, but we’d likely spend on some performance supplement even if we ate meat.
The main point: cutting meat isn’t only about saving money. Try going meatless one day a week—better yet, try vegan one day—and slowly increase from there over a year. You can look forward to better health, a longer life, and the satisfaction of making choices that help the planet. Now go eat a salad.