I’m pretty sure a more useful measure of this is calories per unit of water than straight weight/mass. Which tbf is a metric meat will probably still be less efficient by.
There’s also like multiple factors of this, if you’re growing meat at industrial scale then you are farming crops specifically to feed the cattle so its doubly wasteful; but not everything is like beef, goats grazing on mountains where you can’t plant crops easily can feed a family with minimal labor, and they produce more than just meat. Ideally you wouldnt be raising cattle for just the meat.
I think the line is kind of arbitrary where people care for animals in regards to how equal to treat them to humans. Like you can argue an ant also “experiences the world”, hell even coral are technically animals. I dont think that reasoning works unless you literally think every insect is equivalent to a full grown human–which is ludicrous to basically anyone today and we will just never agree if thats the case.
I think if someone is there torturing a cow just for amusement then that is obviously sadistic and wrong, but if someone is raising them as a livelihood or to feed their family then I dont think its wrong to one day eat them.
Also this is coming from someone who loves animals and would care for injured crows and things. I’ve grown attached to chickens and named them–I still went and wrung out their neck when it was time for them to reach my family’s dinner plate.
Like you can raise animals humanely, and I believe you can do so sustainably in places where people have deemed unfeasible for planting crops.