 |
| California garlic from Longos in Toronto |
Locally grown garlic will be more flavorful, fresher and higher in the antioxidants that make garlic good for you, and more likely to be free of pesticides and contaminants. Most of the fresh garlic you'll find in the supermarkets is imported from China.
China was accused of dumping below-cost garlic in Canada starting in 2001. Mark Wales, now president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said the strategy was "to destroy the industry here."
CBC Marketplace reported in 2007 that tariffs were not renewed by the Canadian government because by then, "Most Canadian growers are out of business or have turned to other crops." Today, Canadian-grown garlic is mostly found at farmers' markets and in specialty shops."
The situation was the same in the United States. Some large Californian growers even use imported Chinese garlic in their processed garlic products because they pay their workers relatively decent wages and even they can't grow the garlic as cheaply as they can buy it from China.
In the Greater Toronto Area, local farmer's markets sell fresh local garlic in summer and fall. But Canadian garlic supplies are pretty well gone by January. My local Metro, Loblaws, Food Basics and No Frills stock imported garlic from China.
2020 Update: This fall I ordered garlic bulbs from a Canadian grower and planted them in my mother's front garden, in a spot by the steps that gets sun every afternoon.
China was accused of dumping below-cost garlic in Canada starting in 2001. Mark Wales, now president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said the strategy was "to destroy the industry here."
CBC Marketplace reported in 2007 that tariffs were not renewed by the Canadian government because by then, "Most Canadian growers are out of business or have turned to other crops." Today, Canadian-grown garlic is mostly found at farmers' markets and in specialty shops."
The situation was the same in the United States. Some large Californian growers even use imported Chinese garlic in their processed garlic products because they pay their workers relatively decent wages and even they can't grow the garlic as cheaply as they can buy it from China.
In the Greater Toronto Area, local farmer's markets sell fresh local garlic in summer and fall. But Canadian garlic supplies are pretty well gone by January. My local Metro, Loblaws, Food Basics and No Frills stock imported garlic from China.
2020 Update: This fall I ordered garlic bulbs from a Canadian grower and planted them in my mother's front garden, in a spot by the steps that gets sun every afternoon.
