A $4.50 Burger in Tokyo

Imagine you live in Tokyo and one day decide to go to a McDonald´s in Shibuya. Well, you walk into the fast-food place and order a hamburger for $4.50. Yes, it´s a little cheaper in Tokyo than in New York. Anyway, that’s the price you think you’re paying. But the truth is, that is not the total price. If we added the hidden costs; the costs that you, your children, and the planet will pay later, here’s what it might actually look like:

• Water use: Growing cattle for beef requires thousands of liters of water per burger. Real cost: +$1.50

• Deforestation: Forests are cut down to make space for cattle. This destroys biodiversity and releases CO₂. Real cost: +$2.00

• Greenhouse gases: Cows produce methane, a powerful contributor to global warming. Real cost: +$1.20

• Health costs: Diets high in red meat contribute to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Medical systems bear this cost, but so do you through taxes and insurance. Real cost: +$2.50

Your “$4.99” burger now costs $12.19.

What the hell is going on? These hidden costs pushed onto nature, society, and future generations are called EXTERNALITIES. Right now, companies don’t have to pay them. But they don’t disappear. Someone will pay. Guess who? You will, your children will, and the planet will.

And here’s the thing: You can live without that burger, but you can’t live without clean air, water, and a stable climate. Destroy nature, and nature will stop taking care of us.

So, if all these costs were included in the burger, would you actually buy one? $12.19. Just the burger. No coke, no fries. I hope next time you are chomping down a Big Mac you think a bit about this and then ask yourself the question, ¨Hey? I pay $4.99 for this thing and later we all have to pay for the other $7.20. How come? What about McDonald´s? They don´t pay any of these costs?¨

Now that´s a great question. And the answer is NO. They don´t. Because they don´t account for the Externalities as a real costs. Basically, they pocket that amount - the $7.20 as profits, because the rest of us, the suckers - Yes, you and me - end up subsidizing this global company and their owners. Amazing, ah?

Thanks for Reading. Abrazos.

Diego Rojas