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kalium comments on Open Thread, October 13 - 19, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion
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Being a vegetarian does not have a positive monetary cost, unless it makes you so unhappy that you find yourself less motivated at work and therefore earn less money or some such. Meat may be heavily subsidized in the US, but it's still expensive compared to other foods.
I would rather pay $8,000 a year than be a vegetarian. Consequently, if my donating $8,000 to a charity would do more good for the rest of the world than my becoming a vegetarian would, it's socially inefficient for me to become a vegetarian.
You can make a precommitment to do only one or the other, but if you become vegetarian you don't actually lose the $8,000 and become unable to give it to MIRI. In this sense it is not a true tradeoff unless happiness and income are easily interconvertible for you.
I have a limited desire to incur costs to help sentients who are neither my friends nor family. This limited desire creates a "true tradeoff".