Kakahead

This post is appearing illegally in at Freshproducejournal.com. They never asked my permission to use it and “forgot” to credit me as the author. Sheesh.

Anyway, back to the story…

Obviously I’m in the wrong business.  Somebody somewhere is getting rich selling… garlic!?!?  That’s right folks.  Apparently Chinese garlic is being smuggled into Europe.  Recently a shipload of it arrived in Norway, and when a truck driver tried to cross the border into Sweden with 28 tons of garlic he got nabbed.  This route was chosen to avoid paying a duty on the imported garlic.

If I had known garlic was so doggoned valuable I would have smuggled some into Europe a long time ago.  I planted some in my garden many years ago and it grows like crazy.  Mind you I don’t have 28 tons… so maybe it’s not quite as valuable as gold.  However, smugglers only smuggle because there’s money to be made.

Very strange.

What I find rather sad though is the same sources that reported the attempted garlic smuggling also noted that China produces about 75% of the world’s garlic.  I mean, sheesh, isn’t there anything that doesn’t come from China these days?

Well of course there is, but not nearly enough of it.  Here in Michigan the produce is making its way into the farmers markets; and more and more of us are making a real effort to “think globally, but act locally.”  In other words, we are supporting our local growers.  Sometimes it costs a bit more but it all boils down to this:  what kind of world do we want to have?  Personally, I’m willing to pay a little more for local produce and other goods.  It just makes more sense to support my local human family members.  Much more earth friendly too when you don’t have to ship everything all over the place.

I’m also willing to get off my hiney and grow some food.  Keeps me off the streets; although this year I went a bit overboard.  I have been very busyREALLY busy in the garden this year.   The up side of course is we’re gonna get some very nice organically grown food. weeding and mulching, and I still have a ways to go to get the garden under control.  I have been lamenting to my beautiful girlfriend (wife) and friends, “this year I think I put in a retired person’s garden.”  Everyone knows what I mean pretty much instantly.  On the downside, I’m really

Maybe next year I’ll grow a few tons of garlic and load up my canoe and paddle over to Norway.  A good chunk of my bloodline is Norwegian, so maybe some of that Viking seamanship will magically whisk me across the ocean.  Sounds like there’s big money in garlic over there.  I’m much more likely to get my hands on garlic than gold.

Besides, gold doesn’t keep vampires away.

Well these folks seem to find garlic rather golden… this is an old video but the Gilroy Garlic Festival is still going strong…