Unless you've been starving, you should have noticed the cost of food is on the rise. Government figures show that grocery costs have gone up 5.1 percent in 12 months. According to Labor Department figures, eggs alone are up a dramatic 25 percent over last year. Eating healthier seems to becoming more expensive every week. If you're looking for ways to cut down on food costs you may consider buying less meat, eggs and dairy.

With household budgets strained by higher food costs and increased prices at the pump, switching out some of the more-expensive meat protein for cheaper plant protein can help reduce food budgets.

There's also evidence that meat production may be a factor in climate change.

In 2006, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report that the ingredients that go into meat, eggs and dairy production -- including fertilizer, feed, transport and processing -- add up to about 18 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, more than the greenhouse gases produced by the transportation sector.

SOURCE: Reuters

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