Burgers, Fries, and Lawyers, by Todd G. Buchholz (in Policy Review, No. 123) attacks the notion of suing fast-food restaurants for causing obesity. In the process, the article describes how efficiently fast-food restaurants deliver quality nutrition, measured in grams of protein per dollar (or cents per gram of protein):
On average, a gram of hamburger protein found in a Burger King Whopper or McDonald?s Big n? Tasty costs about 7 cents. Each sandwich provides 25 grams of protein. During a recent national campaign, both of these restaurant chains slashed their prices, bringing the dollar/protein ratio down to just 3.8 cents. The supermarket survey shows that a gram of protein from a ground beef patty and bun costs about 8 cents (leaner beef would cost somewhat more, standard ground beef somewhat less). Again, the cost of supermarket beef does not include the cost of accompaniments such as lettuce and tomato, nor does it include any time or labor costs for preparing a sandwich yourself.