Question: If consumers felt the real costs that go into making a Happy Meal, would they change the way they eat? Jonathan Safran Foer: Well, I don’t think the externalities need to be felt by the consumer, but by the corporations.  So there was a study, actually after I published my book that tried to quantify the environmental costs of a 50-cent hamburger, fast food hamburger.  Putting the human health costs, putting aside the question of animal welfare, and the number they came up with was $200 per 50 cent burger.  It’s not a hypothetical, it’s not an imaginary number—that’s what it actually costs. - http://bigthink.com/videos/the-200-fast-food-burger