I just want to put out this disclaimer before I post. This is my own experience, Not something I have read, No speculation, this is me, this is what I have lived.
In my intro, I stated that I am Pro hunting, that Hunting often is cheaper, and that even in Canada some people do not have the option to go vegan. brimstoneSalad pointed out that this is an infrastructure problem. He is right, and I agree with him, but it still does not change the fact that it is a problem. A problem that still hasn't been solved, that probably wont be solved for a long time (We all know how difficult it is to have government make meaningful, necessary changes.). So the problem still remains, thus these people do not currently have the means to go Vegan. I'll start off with my story as an example, then ill move on to something maybe a bit more tangible.
I come from the north, I wont say exactly where but I'm sure you will be able to peace it together with some of the examples i will give. Anyways, I grew up in a Mining, hunting, trapping town. Living conditions were what a lot of people today would consider substandard, everyday was a camping trip. Water delivery (which meant water rationing), Wood heat, unstable power (which meant Oil lamps and candles), an outhouse, and Long winters with no way out. These are all things you deal with when you live in a remote location. I no longer live their, so I no longer have to deal with this stuff. The nearest town with a grocery store was a 5 hr drive, when the road conditions where good. Nearest city to that town is 24hrs drive. Growing up, we would try and do two shops, one when the road would clear up and we would stock up for the summer and another one during fall just before the winter. As I said, food would come from 24hrs away, trucked up or flown up, but that meant that the food in the grocery stores was already more expensive then southern Canada, transportation cost where taxed on, then of course the grocery store would place a markup on it. At the end of the day, we would be a good 50-70% more expensive then Quebec. (I'm comparing to Quebec because I remember my father ranting on how much cheaper it was when we would go down to visit my grandparents). Anyways it was just not feasible to stock up on everything we needed at the grocery store, so every year we would go and hunt for 1 moose. That would usually be enough to carry us threw winter with all the other supplies we had purchase, canned or dried for the winter. Was it cheaper to hunt, Yes, yes and again yes. Just as an example, If I were to buy 150 pounds of pork, about half a side, it would set me back about 300$ canadian, A moose on average yields about 900lb of meat, this is net weight. Now comparing it to pork price your looking at about 1800$. all this would fit nice and neat in a chest freezer. In comparison i don't think im fitting 900lb of potatoes in my freezer. Just want to make a note here that, we would not keep 900lb to our self, often it would get distributed to other members of the community who were unable to hunt.
The cost of the hunt, Let see, well the guns, 800$ but you have paid that off after your first hunt,
The ammunition $25 for a brick of 20.
Your knife and "equipment" often times purchased long ago for other things so, i will not incorporate it, in the price.
Transportation, You're already in the woods, use your legs, Sometimes we would borrow a horse at the cost of some the bounty.
time, Usually 24hrs.
Prepping, Cutting, storing excluding the bleeding, curing, smoking or drying, usually gets done in 8-12hrs. Over all, even with the time put in, Much cheaper then purchasing from a grocery store or local farmer. Essentially the start up cost was high, but unless you were moving to this location from a big city and weren't already equipped, you most likely already had the majority of what was required.
while it may not be cheaper for everyone, in our case it was, and if i still lived their, it probably still would be. anyways, I could write a lot more on the subject, just trying to give you a generalized view. I will answer questions as best as I can.
Now on the second part of my post
http://www.chatelaine.com/living/when-5 ... or-a-week/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nun ... -1.2929573
I'm using this as an example, because it's recent, it's relevant and close to home. I also spent 8 months last year working in nunavut, so i know how bad it is there. Not only are the food prices really freakishly high but their is also a very high rate of poverty. A lot of the friends I made there who are Inuktitut would not be able to survive there with out the ability to hunt. I maintain that becoming Vegan is a choice, but not only that, in some parts of the world it's a privilege.