This Garlic Was Made for You and Me

Have you noticed that our garlic has been grown in China. You will find it at the grocery store, or the corner market, or at the pizza place in boxes labeled "peeled garlic." I guess I have been eating it for awhile. My complaint is that it seems ridiculous to get garlic from China, and by that I mean everyone's garlic -not just a few restaurants that want a special garlic that can only be grown in China, sort of the Prosciutto diParma of China kind of thing. If it ain't coming from China, I guess its coming out of California. Do you remember Gilroy garlic? Gilroy is in California, and thats still pretty far from here. Isn't it one thing to get apples from Argentina in April, but another to get garlic from northern China in late spring? I mean, its not a seasonal issue, just a cost concern. How did this happen? Remember the garlic saves you from a heart attack phase of American Life? I think too much garlic went into making pills and then we started needing huge quantities of tasteless garlic for those pill-popping types trying to stave off that next heart attack. This turned on the global garlic market, maybe. Or was it that Chinese garlic growers were just waiting for a place to ship all that extra garlic they were growing. I don't know if I should care about where my garlic comes from. Or should I grow it myself in pots on the sidewalk, CSA the damn bulb, and what about all that garlic going into the food we eat out or that is processed?! Michael Pollan, TAKE ME AWAY!