by Dawn Yanek
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Why? Put simply, meat is expensive, and over the last 10 years, the prices of animal products like beef and seafood have increased by more than 40 percent. And the better the quality, the higher the prices. Many plant-based sources of protein, on the other hand, are incredibly affordable. “Beans, lentils, chickpeas and other legumes are the cheapest sources of protein on the planet,” says Robert Graham, MD, an internal, functional and integrative medicine specialist and the founder of FRESH Med NYC.