Why does it cost more to produce a gallon of milk than a gallon of gas?

Answer 1

well, first you must buy a cow. then you must feed it, shelter it, exercise it, protect it (by building fences, veterinary expenses, etc..), then milk it (or hire someone/buy a machine to do so). then you need equipment to homogenize it, then truck it safely & under a certain temperature. then it is bought by a bottling company as a comodity, then bottled and pasturized safely, then trucked to the point of sale (that buys the bottled product as stock). then it has to be stocked and sold, and there is a large amount of waste that is not bought by the "sell by" dates & must be removed from the shelves & disposed of... i think that's everything.

oil is drilled from the ground, bought as crude (a comodity) by refineries, refined into gasoline, trucked to the gas stations (that buy it as stock) safely, then stored & sold. no other containment or pasturization costs, oil wells don't need shots/hay/water/exercise/barns, and very little human contact is needed, since most drilling/refining work is done by machine... i think that's it...

Answer 2

Because the cow to human process requires procedures that are compatible with / conducive to the health of both .
Sanitation and animal diet have to be monitored.
Gas is a direct and dirty process , get it out and into the vehicles, no need to make it safe for human consumption.