> Shouldn't it be more efficient with mass production of meals? It already is: McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. The difference being that in the examp

> Shouldn't it be more efficient with mass production of meals? It already is: McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. The difference being that in the examples given the means of production are also controlled by the business. With fast food, and McDonald's as the example, they control their own supply chain[1]. It's the reason that everything tastes the same no matter which McDonald's you go to. Many fast food businesses emulate this process because it has been so successful for McDonald's. With your example of a Soviet kolkhoz, the state owned the agriculture and determined the prices because they had control over the whole supply chain.[2] I would also argue that this is what people are buying when they buy pre-packaged frozen meals. People seem to forget that home refrigeration wasn't a thing until it became really accessible starting in the 1930s. Then with the invention of the frozen dinner in 1950s changed how a large set of people looked at meals. You suddenly didn't have to cook and didn't have to pay someone else to cook you a meal on demand. For a price comparison, a frozen dinner in the 60s was around a dollar[3] or less [4]. Whereas a restaurant would have cost approximately an extra 100%, 200%, or more[5] "1964 A one-plate turkey dinner at Howard Johnson’s $1.49" (specifically the standard fare, not fine dining). [1] https://boxaroundtheworld.com/mcdonalds-supply-chain-management/ https://boxaroundtheworld.com/mcdonalds-supply-chain-managem... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz [3] https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports-and-everyday-life/food-and-drink/food-and-cooking/frozen-foods-industry https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports-and-everyday-life/food-a... [4] http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60sfood.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60sfood.html [5] https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/restaurant-prices/ https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/restaurant-prices/