Feeding America Its Cheeseburgers Is A Costly Proposition

American pays a lot more than the average $4.49 for a cheeseburger, according to food writer Mark Bittman, who attempts to describe and quantify “the true costs” – beyond the price – of buying fast food, symbolically the simple cheeseburger. Those true costs include “external” costs borne by producers, including litter from the packaging. The external costs of the 16 billion cheeseburgers eaten by Americans each year range from $0.68 to $2.90 per burger. Included are carbon generation of beef cattle and obesity, and ensuing health costs related to cardiovascular disease.  Other external costs are difficult to quantify, but include elevated fertilizer nitrates in water supplies,  the cost of food stamps to help support poorly paid fast food workers, the beef industry’s role in increasing antibiotic resistance, etc. The conclusion: “Industrial food has manipulated cheap prices for excess profit at excess cost to everyone.”