[greedo]

Where I live, ground chuck goes for $4/lb, and chicken breasts go for $7/lb. Not sure what the cost per pound of an entire steer versus an entire chicken, but I don't see the same price variance that you're writing about.

Also, the ecological impact might be because Crappy Factory A is manufacturing cheap shovels and dumping their toxic waste in a local river, while Factory B has to charge more because it's following industry standards and using a reputable waste handler.

Or Crappy Factory A might be using underage employees, or dumping product to eliminate its competition.

Drawing conclusions about manufacturers based on pricing is dangerous.

[nosse]

"Drawing conclusions about manufacturers based on pricing is dangerous." I completely agree. But in my opinion, drawing conclusions about manufacturers based on reputation is as dangerous. And it takes time to get that reputation info. Time I don't have many times.

Only reliable way to have good conclusions about manufacturers is to examine their business throughly. That's obviously just impossible in most cases.

PS. Chicken breast is expensive here too. I buy whole legs.