Jerky is expensive because whole cuts of beef are expensive. It seems even more expensive for jerky because the dehydration condenses the mass of the product, but when it is sold by the pound originally, all of the water weight is counted.
A pound of steak becomes a few ounces of beef jerky, and the few ounces of jerky need to cover the cost of the steak and energy required to evaporate all the water and add the tasty smoke.
Slim Jims are cheaper because they’re made of scrap meat (and a lot of organ meat…eww), but if you want to eat the equivalent of an eight ounce steak for a snack you’re gonna hafta pay for it.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.