Page 14 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Made in America Over the last year, with the changing of the political landscape in the United States, one phrase has started to enter the vernacular of Americans more frequently than in the past. The phrase “Made in America” seems to be something that is heard over and over, and it is understandable why. With tariffs starting to increase the cost of goods across many categories, people are becoming more concerned with where the items they are buying are made. The purpose of this article is not to look into tariffs or to argue whether they are good or bad. Rather, the question being posed and examined today is whether it is truly possible to have all goods become “made in America.” Is it truly possible for all consumer goods purchased in the United States to be made here? Let’s start with the most commonly purchased goods. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) listed several categories that American households with an average income of about $100,000 per year purchase. These categories included food made at home (groceries), food purchased outside of the home (out to eat/take out), apparel, vehicles, gasoline, personal care products, and entertainment. With groceries, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of items that people will purchase at various grocery stores across the country. The website Newsweek, using data from the website Statista, published a chart claiming that the top five most frequently bought grocery items in the United States are fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats and sausages, and bread and bakery products. For dairy products, this should not be much of an issue. Milk is being consumed at a lower rate each year, and the U.S. produces plenty of cheese, producing more than it consumes. Eggs also do not seem to be an issue, as the U.S. has consistently produced more eggs than it consumes year-over-year. The website Indexbox published a report that stated the U.S. is the largest producer of bread in the world. This being the case, it is unlikely that the U.S. would have trouble producing enough bread for its citizens. According to the website Our World in Data, the United States is the
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