The price of meat in the average supermarket has, over the past half-century, remained remarkably (0) STABLE in real terms — a fact that has long been celebrated as a triumph of agricultural efficiency. Yet a growing chorus of economists and environmentalists argues that this apparent abundance is on a series of hidden subsidies, both financial and ecological. Factory farming its low shelf prices largely to intensive feed production, which in turn heavily on freshwater reserves and arable land that could, in principle, feed people directly. Add to this the carbon emissions with livestock and the antibiotic burden on public health systems, and the true cost begins to considerably from the number on the label. Calls to these externalities into the retail price have met, , with political resistance, since few governments relish the prospect of telling voters that their weekly shop must rise. The uncomfortable implication is that cheap meat, far from being a sign of a well-functioning market, may point to a market that has failed to count what matters most.