Thank you for sharing all that @chefsteve. Even before I was strictly vegan for the ethics, I was pretty much vegetarian because I could not afford meat. Its true what u say about traditional diets around the world. Meat is mostly reserved for special occasions, because the lifestock are their assets. The modern consumer diet could learn alot from that. Its sad to see that packaged meats get thrown in the bins when out of date, so much wastage, and unnecessary life lost!
I can buy my food off steem income but nothing else, thankfully my partner is able to pay the bills. Although things aren't always secure with steem. This is why I'm working quite hard o my website, which I would not have the motivation to do if I was in an energy zapping job. There is a big expectation in the west that we must get high paid jobs. My family think I should work in a kitchen but as someone who worked in a restaurant I know how stressful and tiring it is. For me I prefer to live frugally than have a massive bank balance. I spend more time outside and feel alot happier than when I had to work for someone else!