Americans love their meat; don’t let the slight, celebrity fronted, trend of vegetarian and veganism fool you. Although there seems to be an uptrend in vegetarian restaurants, the norm is still that dinner ain’t dinner unless there is a piece of cooked body on your plate.

According to the FDA, only 2.3 percent of American adults eat a vegetarian diet. And in this small group of ostracized individuals lies a healthy grudge for the overpricing of meatless meals.

While there is the occasional entitled indie-vegan that strives to make meat-eaters feel guilty for ordering a steak, most vegetarians would be satisfied if restaurants and eateries would just offer a reduced price when ordering meatless entrees. Not as a nod for trying to reduce pollution and inhumane treatment of animals, but for the sheer reason that the wholesale price of veggies and grain is dramatically lower than that of meat and poultry.

According to this year’s USDA price spreads, the average cost of meat in the U.S. is $1.95 and the average cost of vegetables is 75 cents. Thus, it would be logical to assume that vegetarian fare would be less expensive, but it’s quite the contrary.

Many vendors not only charge full price for a meal where the main cost has been removed, they have the audacity to charge a premium for vegetarian orders, marking them as “specialty items.”

At the fine establishment that is the Mesa cafeteria, you can order a sandwich piled high with all of the slippery deli meat your little heart desires for the set price of $6. But if you would like the same sandwich sans the meat and with some grilled eggplant or zucchini, it’s gonna cost you $1 extra.

Taco Surf in PB follows the same logic with their menu. A meat stuffed burrito is an average of $3 and change, but the vegetarian burrito will set you back an excess of $5.

The truth is, the uprise in vegetarianism is most likely just a pop culture trend like bottled water, and will most likely continue to phase out. But while it’s here, it’s only fair that lettuce lovers be given discount where deserved.