Tariffs

How Regulation, Immigration Policy, and Tariffs Made Your BLT More Expensive

A BLT looks simple, but bacon rules, lettuce labor shortages, and tomato tariffs show how government meddling can make even lunch more expensive.

Eric Boehm | 9.30.2026 3:45 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Economist Leonard Read famously observed that no one on Earth is capable of single-handedly making a pencil.

What about a sandwich? You can slap together a BLT—a bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich, a classic of the deli counter—in a few minutes, and the ingredients will set you back no more than a few bucks. It's simple and delicious, which is all a good sandwich needs to be.

But don't be fooled. The humble BLT is a lesson in the incredible complexity and remarkable ability of markets to meet our needs, even without anyone coordinating the whole process. Getting that bacon, lettuce, and tomato to your plate requires farmers, truckers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and more. 

It is also, unfortunately, becoming a lesson in what happens when........

© Reason.com