Unless I missed it in TFA, it doesn't say that the raw materials (the meat) are more expensive but rather that the product is more expensive. If a fast food chain can charge more for cheaper materials, that's a double win for them.
I imagine that that difference is going mostly to recoup R&D costs at e.g. Impossible right now, who is making the patties.
for now I expect you're correct. But in the long run it should ideally have really nice margins. Once Beyond and Impossible get a version that is as close as it needs to be, they can start focusing on supply chain and stuff like that.
Agree w/ you & GP, and I suspect that the parent of my reply is actually correct. I just didn't think the linked article supported the claim.
Could also be due to scaling costs and farming subsidies on meat vs the plants used in Impossible Burgers.