Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
2.6K
Woman Shares Product Prices In Her Area As A Response To Guilt-Tripping By Vegans
While most of us don’t think twice about the food we’re gonna cook and eat today, people in remote parts of the world are not that lucky. In the Arctic part of Canada, fresh produce can’t be grown due to endless winters and food has to be shipped long distances by plane or ship. This inflates food prices and a full grocery bag can cost a fortune.
One Inuit woman who goes by the Twitter handle @KataraPiujuq has recently created a thread to share fruit and vegetable prices in the Arctic. After being called “a murderer for trying to feed themselves,” Katara made a thread to inform people of the harsh reality of food prices where she lives.
“A lot of Inuit live in poverty-stricken homes and can’t afford to live an expensive vegan lifestyle. We need to hunt to eat,” she tweeted. The price tags of products from the supermarket aisles are self-explanatory, and they leave no doubt that for native Arctic people, a nutritious fruit and veggie diet can be simply unattainable.
RELATED:
The Inuit woman created a viral Twitter thread where she shared insane produce prices in Arctic supermarkets
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
And stepped ahead of those who were about to say to move south
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
The price tags on fruits and veggies in the Arctic are self-explanatory
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Bored Panda reached out to the Inuit woman who goes by the Twitter handle @KataraPiujuq behind the viral thread, who agreed to share what life is like in the Arctic. “A week’s worth of groceries typically costs around $600. If I make one trip to the shop and buy 1-2 bags of groceries, it would typically cost $50-100.”
An average weekly grocery bag consists of milk, bread, sugar, coffee, macaroni, rice, fries, soup, juice, meat boxes, frozen vegetables, butter, pasta, and occasionally fruit. The woman also said that her household buys a lot of processed food because “they’re cheaper in bulk and we have eight people living in one house.”
The Inuit woman encouraged everyone who thinks Inuit choose to “murder” animals for fur, meat, and culture to get some perspective of the world outside them. “Inuit have lived in the arctic for thousands of years. The animals have stayed consistent and they’ve never gone extinct. We are no different than polar bears who hunt seals, seals who hunt fish, fish who eat shrimp.”
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
The Inuit also said that even though veganism is great and she feels heartbroken about animals who live in factory farms and never lived lives as animals, when it comes to Inuit people, the world is a lot different there. “
There was a picture that was circulating of an owl’s nest that was made of lemmings. Inuit live like that. Nature takes care of us, it protects us, always has for millions of years,” the woman, who wakes up every day to help her 5 younger siblings and work at a care center, concluded.
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
To find out what an expert in vegan activism had to say about this unusual case, Bored Panda reached out to Alex J. O’Connor, an impassioned animal rights advocate and the founder of the Cosmic Skeptic YouTube channel, podcast, and blog, all dedicated to philosophical ideas and debates in an accessible format. Alex has produced videos with notable figures such as Peter Singer, Richard Dawkins, and William Lane Craig.
In relation to the Inuit woman’s situation of being accused of murdering animals, Alex said that the case highlighted the importance of vegans considering the individual circumstances of the people they are talking to. “It is very easy, especially online, for vegans to make blanket statements that do not in fact apply universally, and therefore place an unreasonably high standard upon people incapable of practically reaching it.”
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Alex explained that “veganism is, by definition, a minimization of one’s contribution to the suffering of animals to the highest extent practicable.” That means that for someone like him living in Oxford, United Kingdom, it’s very easy to adopt a vegan diet, and “the highest extent to which I can eliminate animal cruelty from my diet is its complete removal.”
But he warned that this may not be true in other areas of the world, or even the country. Alex further explained that “this means that someone can agree with the vegan philosophy (properly stated) and yet continue to consume animal products, should their situation genuinely require it.”
“In reality,” the animal rights activist added, “somebody can simultaneously be eating animal products required for their health and survival whilst also eating the minimal amount possible and from the least unethical sources they can practically access.” He again stressed that “no vegan should hope to eliminate all animal suffering, as this is impossible,” but rather, to aim at minimizing animal suffering.
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Moreover, Alex added that the author of the Twitter thread specifically mentioned hunting, which is “a completely different animal to factory farming.”
He went into detail: “The vast majority of animal products in my country are procured via factory farming, which is an undeniably cruel and brutal method of production in which incomprehensible numbers of animals face unimaginable tortures.”
However, “hunting, whilst still in my view unethical if done without good reason (such as in trophy hunting, or hunting for food when vegan alternatives are easily accessible),” in comparison, “is a far less cruel fate for an animal.”
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Alex concluded that “it’s ethically irresponsible for vegans to administer the same moral analysis upon someone like myself buying factory-farmed animal products, and an Inuit hunting for food without any practical alternative.”
Even though vegans would prefer a world in which every person has reliable access to a plant-based diet, Alex warns not to get confused by this. “This is a goal, not a description of the current state of the world.”
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
The Inuit woman shed light on the difficult situation people in the Arctic are living in and asked others to do research before judging
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
Image credits: KataraPiujuq
And this is what others commented in the thread
Image credits: Shenaniganiry
Image credits: InvisibleFly21
Image credits: AlHendiify
Image credits: SapphireLightn1
Image credits: ashleymarinep
Image credits: Yi_Sun_Shin
Image credits: vegan_vexation
Image credits: OlomaaJ
Image credits: OlomaaJ
Image credits: Smoltog
What do you think ?
Little Wonder 5 years ago
I'm a vegetarian, but lets be honest. A skilled hunter killing an animal and using as much of that animal as possible is how an animal should be used.
Viviane 5 years ago
The vegans and vegetarians around me are pretty respectful and open-minded. The folks who bug me more are the urban meat-eaters who feel bad for animals that are hunted. Factory-farming is better??
Load More Replies...
Gabby M 5 years ago
Upvoted and stood and clapped. I was reading thru before I posted the exact same. How bout you mind your diet and I will mind mine!
Load More Replies...
Rose the Cook 5 years ago
This is a problem in so many places healthy food, whether vegan or not, is out of the price range of a lot of people. All those celebrity and nutritionist diets are just too expensive for all but the highest income earners.
Sandij D 5 years ago
There are food deserts throughout the US. Community farm plots are springing up & many are buying direct from local/regional farms & farmer markets. These efforts & relationship are crucial to the health of consumers & non-corporate farms.
Load More Replies...
Phil Boswell 5 years ago
What's the betting that the same people who shame indigenous people for their lifestyle are also those who shout loudest about "cultural appropriation"?
Jane Doe 5 years ago
To commenter Saphirelightning who thinks the poster is ingenuous because a healthy diet includes five fruits and vegetables a day, therefore these photos are not inclusive of all options. Yes, they are. It is ingenuous to think that people in "food deserts" like the Antarctic (and urban and rural areas of even first world countries) have the privilege of eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day. Please look in your own backyard and see what poor people have access to and what they can afford to buy on their income.
Marnie 5 years ago
I think they do have a point in just that the prices shown showed fresh vegetables, but you can buy dried legumes in a bad. It's about $1 for a bad here in MN. I'd be very curious what it costs there. Considering the cost of the peanuts they did show, seems those would also be exhorbitantly-priced. I would add that one thing about eating lots of vegetables is the vitamins and nutrients. The native people of the arctic used to eat most of the animals they hunt, including organs. If they still do that, they are getting vitamins from the meat - vitamins that most people in the US would never get from eating meat.
Load More Replies...
Dre Mosley 5 years ago
Most vegans I've encountered personally have come across preachy and self-righteous. Not saying all are that way, just my experience.
Beans 5 years ago
I think the self-righteousness etc started with PETA. This kind of militant veganism ignoring of the facts to promote the cause at all costs has kinda spawned from them. And the facts don't matter; vegans (some not all) will outright lie to push the cause even if their lies do more harm than good. Even though PETA has fallen out of favor (puppy killing practices, killing animals to free them etc) now, their methods kinda prevail.
Load More Replies...
Nizumi 5 years ago
$105 for 24 500ml bottles of water?!? It's $4 in Montreal for the same thing! I knew it would cost more, but not THAT much more. I get it - the weight of the item plays a role in the price due to the cost of shipping. But seriously, the government needs to honour its promises about making sure everyone has clean, drinkable water. Every time I hear someone say, "Oh but you Canadians are so nice." I'm like, "Oh yeah? Lemme tell you a few things..."
Computernaut 5 years ago
I'm not sure that should really be the government's problem. Also, most arctic areas have running water. Bottled water is and always will be overpriced.
Load More Replies...
Jo Choto 5 years ago
How do you survive when you can't afford any fresh fruit or veg? I am sure there are some native berries for vit C that can be seasonally picked and preserved, but charging that much for produce is insane. I feel like the government should be subsidizing food in the arctic region so people can actually afford to eat it.
Jon S. 5 years ago (edited)
Animal organ meat, especially livers, has vitamin C in it. If you have a meat-based diet you have to eat the whole animal to survive, not just the lean muscle we mostly use in the western world.
Load More Replies...
True Blue 5 years ago
I have no problem with Vegans but in most Indigenous peoples only take what they need! So it's not like 1000 of animals are hunted a day by one tribe maybe over many tribes yes but I honk you get my point
Viviane 5 years ago
My sister in Canada's Northwest Territories explained that it's illegal to waste wild meat. Outside the pandemic times, when a trophy hunter (who pays big bucks) kills an animal, it's given to the elders, who then distribute the meat.
Load More Replies...
Little Wonder 5 years ago
I'm a vegetarian, but lets be honest. A skilled hunter killing an animal and using as much of that animal as possible is how an animal should be used.
Viviane 5 years ago
The vegans and vegetarians around me are pretty respectful and open-minded. The folks who bug me more are the urban meat-eaters who feel bad for animals that are hunted. Factory-farming is better??
Load More Replies... Gabby M 5 years ago
Upvoted and stood and clapped. I was reading thru before I posted the exact same. How bout you mind your diet and I will mind mine!
Load More Replies... Rose the Cook 5 years ago
This is a problem in so many places healthy food, whether vegan or not, is out of the price range of a lot of people. All those celebrity and nutritionist diets are just too expensive for all but the highest income earners.
Sandij D 5 years ago
There are food deserts throughout the US. Community farm plots are springing up & many are buying direct from local/regional farms & farmer markets. These efforts & relationship are crucial to the health of consumers & non-corporate farms.
Load More Replies... Phil Boswell 5 years ago
What's the betting that the same people who shame indigenous people for their lifestyle are also those who shout loudest about "cultural appropriation"?
Jane Doe 5 years ago
To commenter Saphirelightning who thinks the poster is ingenuous because a healthy diet includes five fruits and vegetables a day, therefore these photos are not inclusive of all options. Yes, they are. It is ingenuous to think that people in "food deserts" like the Antarctic (and urban and rural areas of even first world countries) have the privilege of eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day. Please look in your own backyard and see what poor people have access to and what they can afford to buy on their income.
Marnie 5 years ago
I think they do have a point in just that the prices shown showed fresh vegetables, but you can buy dried legumes in a bad. It's about $1 for a bad here in MN. I'd be very curious what it costs there. Considering the cost of the peanuts they did show, seems those would also be exhorbitantly-priced. I would add that one thing about eating lots of vegetables is the vitamins and nutrients. The native people of the arctic used to eat most of the animals they hunt, including organs. If they still do that, they are getting vitamins from the meat - vitamins that most people in the US would never get from eating meat.
Load More Replies... Dre Mosley 5 years ago
Most vegans I've encountered personally have come across preachy and self-righteous. Not saying all are that way, just my experience.
Beans 5 years ago
I think the self-righteousness etc started with PETA. This kind of militant veganism ignoring of the facts to promote the cause at all costs has kinda spawned from them. And the facts don't matter; vegans (some not all) will outright lie to push the cause even if their lies do more harm than good. Even though PETA has fallen out of favor (puppy killing practices, killing animals to free them etc) now, their methods kinda prevail.
Load More Replies... Nizumi 5 years ago
$105 for 24 500ml bottles of water?!? It's $4 in Montreal for the same thing! I knew it would cost more, but not THAT much more. I get it - the weight of the item plays a role in the price due to the cost of shipping. But seriously, the government needs to honour its promises about making sure everyone has clean, drinkable water. Every time I hear someone say, "Oh but you Canadians are so nice." I'm like, "Oh yeah? Lemme tell you a few things..."
Computernaut 5 years ago
I'm not sure that should really be the government's problem. Also, most arctic areas have running water. Bottled water is and always will be overpriced.
Load More Replies... Jo Choto 5 years ago
How do you survive when you can't afford any fresh fruit or veg? I am sure there are some native berries for vit C that can be seasonally picked and preserved, but charging that much for produce is insane. I feel like the government should be subsidizing food in the arctic region so people can actually afford to eat it.
Jon S. 5 years ago (edited)
Animal organ meat, especially livers, has vitamin C in it. If you have a meat-based diet you have to eat the whole animal to survive, not just the lean muscle we mostly use in the western world.
Load More Replies... True Blue 5 years ago
I have no problem with Vegans but in most Indigenous peoples only take what they need! So it's not like 1000 of animals are hunted a day by one tribe maybe over many tribes yes but I honk you get my point
Viviane 5 years ago
My sister in Canada's Northwest Territories explained that it's illegal to waste wild meat. Outside the pandemic times, when a trophy hunter (who pays big bucks) kills an animal, it's given to the elders, who then distribute the meat.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
288
303