Along the lines of this topic perhaps someone in the CR can answer:
I understand as to why Kosher meat is much more expensive then treif but why must Chalav yisrael and kosher cheese product(other then fresh milk) cost between 50-75% more then chalav stam or non-kosher?
A few examples a box of chalav stam ice cream sandwiches are 5-6 dollars while a box of smaller chalav yisrael are between 6-8 dollars. A large pack of non-kosher string cheese costs five dollars kosher is between 10-12 dollars.Chalav stam cream cheese bet. $1.79 and $2.50 chalav yisrael bet.4-5 dollars
In my admittedly basic understanding of Chalav Yisrael aside from shemira and delivery cost, I do not fully know the costs involved or the reasons for the cost differentials.
Also are we paying for some products to be labeled chalav Yisrael when it is do to misunderstanding as to whether certification is truly necessary? (i.e. certain milk powder products)
It could be I picked a wrong comparison but as compared to meat I can’t find the reason for the higher price as compared to treif.
Comparing cheese to meat:You dont need an army of shochtim, kashrus inspectors, people flying around to cattle ranches, inspections on every level, and even after it reaches the retail level we still need supervision for meat.
Re cheese product: after it is manufactured by machinery its done. We pay at least double for many chalav yisroel products even in heavily Jewish populated areas.
Additionally, with many non-Jews worried about by-products there are also many non-jewish cheese manufactures that do not use trief.There is a chance with certain modifications that it is possible to manufacture kosher cheese on a large scale.Or kosher manufactures could market to those that don’t want treif and could sell on a larger scale bringing down overall manufacturing cost. Many non-Jews by kosher for the reason of no by-products and increased supervision.
Many people read this forum. Perhaps someone could please shed some light on the cost and manufacturing processes of kosher cheese/dairy product.(I do realize that kosher does have to cost more but why so much more)