In 2023, I took the Dean Ornish heart health program and it changed my life in many ways. It’s a vegan diet plus exercise, meditation, and group support. It’s also low fat, eliminating avocadoes, coconut products, and other high fat foods because fat isn’t good for heart health. In addition, skip sweets. I lost 20 pounds without even trying. I recommend it for anyone who wants to be more healthy.
Oct. 1 is World Vegetarian Day. Nov. 1 is World Vegan Day. With meat prices increasing more due to inflation than fruit and vegetable prices, it’s a good time to consider a vegetarian or vegan diet. The difference? Vegans don’t eat dairy and eggs while vegetarians do.
To find the places that make a switch to a plant-based diet easiest, WalletHub, a personal finance website, analyzed the issue and prepared report on “2026’s Best Cities for Vegans and Vegetarians.”
To determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities on 17 indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness. The data range from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians to the number of salad shops per capita.
Top 20 cities for vegans and vegetarians
1.Portland, Ore.
2. Los Angeles
3. Austin, Texas
4. San Francisco
5. Oakland
6. Seattle
7. Orlando
8. San Diego
9. Madison, Wis.
10. Tampa
11. Cincinnati
12. Miami
13. Atlanta
14. Chicago
15. New York
16. Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
17. Pittsburgh
18. Birmingham, Ala.
19. Washington, D.C.
20. Pheonix, Ariz.
One reason Portland is at the top of the list is that it has the third-largest number of affordable restaurants with vegetarian or vegan options that have at least 4.5 stars on Yelp. In addition, the city has a high number of organic farms, community gardens, farmers markets, and vegetable nurseries per capita.
About 5 percent of U.S. adults are vegetarian and vegans, which is about 13.3 million people. The number is likely to increase as it’s getting easier to find the special foods at restaurants and supermarkets. A growing number of businesses, including popular fast-food chains, have started offering vegetarian or vegan meals.
Bottom cities for vegan and vegetarian food
96.North Las Vegas, Nev.
97. Chula Vista, Calif.
98. Memphis
99. Anchorage
100. Durham, N.C.
To adopt a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle on a budget, build meals around affordable staples such as beans, lentils, rice, pasta, oats, potatoes, frozen vegetables, and local, seasonal produce, Marybeth Gasman, distinguished professor at Rutgers University—New Brunswick, said in an email.
“You can save money by purchasing store brands, planning your meals ahead, cooking at home (which is also better for your health), and avoiding meat substitutes, which are more expensive,” Gasman said.
To make the transition smoother, begin with a few meatless meals each week, then move to more as you get used to it, she said
“If you have enough variety, you won’t miss meat for long,” Gasman said. “The trick is having a variety of tastes and textures. Spices are your best friend. I would avoid meat substitutes, as they typically don’t taste great and you’re more likely to go back to eating meat.”
She said the most common mistakes people make when being on a vegan or vegetarian diet are relying heavily on processed food, adding it’s better to eat fresh vegetables and whole grains.
