A zero sales is worse than losing 12.5 cents on a sale.
I can't believe you typed that.
Although you sort of clarifyed it with the drink and beans... that statement is false as written.
The burger chains might be willing to lose 12.5 cents ON THE BURGER BASED ON THE MAJORITY OF CUSTOMERS BUYING A DRINK THAT COVERS THE LOSS AND THE PROFIT NEEDED TO STAY OPEN.
You can not outcompete chicken when the feed conversion is 2 to one or less in poultry compared to what, 6.5 to 7.0 in beef? Any feeders know the actual cost of feed per lb of cattle feed vs. chicken feed?
Now with that paragraph you are starting to ask the right questions.
Its not just the feed conversion, as chickens need high quality feeds (grains) and cattle utilize roughage and other low cost feeds that cannot be used by humans, it is the 6-8 weeks of turn over the chickens have.
Good cattle are getting down to that 5 pounds of feed to 1 pound of gain, but most are that 6-7 yet. A finishing ration is usually 70% grain so the better cattle are converting 3.5 pounds of grain to a pound of gain.
The margin on chicken is slim, but the volume is where they make it up. Beef has always had a larger margin because of being the prefered meat. We need to keep that preference.
The number 1 served meal at food service in North America is still the burger. Competition for limited consumers dollars has led to the value meals, a sale with a small PROFIT (not a 12.5 cent loss) is better than no sale.
In Canada the value meals are priced at $1.39, costs in our dollars are higher.
The same competition exists between packers. Boxed beef prices fall to move more product just as burger prices fell to move more product. In a market where supplies are tight the margins shrink. Packers even run in the red for periods of time trying to fill the demand. They can't just raise boxed beef prices because their customers tell them what they will pay, and retail outlets (like the burger places) won't tolerate losses for long as they have no way to recoup those losses.
Any business that operates at a continued loss has no way to survive.