Dairy products are better value per kilocalorie than their plant-based alternatives

An initial study by Kite Consulting reveals plant-based shopping baskets have a higher cost per Kcal (kilocalorie) than conventional baskets at the two major supermarkets it looked at.

 

The study found that the cost of a randomly chosen plant-based shopping basket from Tesco was 39% more expensive per Kcal when compared to a comparable basket of conventional products.

 

“This simple, but important piece of work assesses how plant-based diets stack up economically and nutritionally against conventional diets, on a cost per calorie basis,” comments John Allen, from Kite.

 

“This assessment seems to indicate that plant-based diets present a more expensive, yet nutritionally inferior diet for consumers. Jayne Buxton’s book ‘The Great Plant-Based Con: Why Eating a Plants-Only Diet Won’t Improve Your Health or Save the Planet’ explores this in more detail. Jayne argues that removing animal foods from the diet is a serious threat to human health, and a red herring in the fight against climate change.

 

“This Kite study is our first such assessment and moving forward it will be carried out on a quarterly basis to monitor and assess how the variation between the two shopping baskets develops.  At Kite, we feel it is imperative that consumers understand the difference these two diets make to both their wallet and their nutrition,” concludes John.

 

The study used a basket of over 20 plant-based products and over 20 comparable, conventional products, all of which would feature in a typical shop.