This is an opinion article I wrote that appeared in the Perth Weekender.
The topic is Garlic, and what I hope is a both humorous and thought-provoking on the question of "Why Garlic from China, Why not Garlic from Lanark?" I wrote this to tribute the victory 10 years ago by the Garlic Growers Association of Ontario against the dumping of garlic from China, as well as 10 years since the Garlic Festival was born. Minor edits here to the original.
Why Garlic from China, Why Not Garlic From Lanark?
Why is the garlic in my grocery store shipped thousands of kilometres from China, instead of a farm 30 minutes away? Ten years ago, the Perth Garlic Festival was born. It’s also ten years ago that the Garlic Growers Association of Ontario won their first complaint against China for ‘dumping’ garlic, the practise of unfairly underselling domestic producers to destroy competition. Yet today, I can find only Chinese garlic at my local grocery store, local farmers tell me they can’t get theirs in. Garlic growers know it, you and I can smell it. Leonard Cohen knows that “everybody knows the fight was fixed, the poor stay poor and the rich get rich, that’s how it goes...” It’s clear that the deal is still rotten.
Bring this question to our political, business and labour leaders and have them explain how we might get out of this mess. Candidates in the provincial election should have answer. Ask Steve at the Independent in Carleton Place. What will Stephen Harper’s answer be? Will DFAIT call a Commission? How will the Fraser Institute respond? What about the Centre for Trade Policy and Law? David Suzuki should be reporting on the garlic carbon footprint. Maybe Noam Chomsky can explain why we are subsidizing global shipping with oil wars. Just how low are the wages for intensive labour in China? This could be the next Michael Moore movie.
But no need for traders to worry child labour or human rights, the Chinese government has everyone under control. Students today know little of the June 4th massacre; it’s been erased from Chinese history, and barely mentioned here. As long as money is pouring into New York, Toronto and Beijing coffers, China is our Great Friend. I know because Jean Chrétien says so. I do have many Friends that would prefer me not to buy from China. The Canadian Friends of Sudan, Canadian Friends of Burma, Ottawa Friends of Tibet to name a few. But it’s really hard isn’t it? The Great Wal-Mart of China is everywhere, and GT - the Great Canadian Store – is a storefront for Communist/Capitalist China! We’re bidding farewell to Canadian manufacturing, but not to worry, there are plenty of low-wage retail jobs at Future Shop, and the future is selling Chinese products. The future is also in selling organs harvested from live political prisoners, but Price Chopper doesn’t carry them yet, you still have to go to China.
By way of making an exemplary stink about garlic, perhaps this is will be the most compelling economic and political question of our day. Why garlic from China, why not Garlic from Lanark? Why not produce in general from Lanark? With millions to feed in Ontario, farmers should be making money. Maybe we will respect them more when the world runs out of oil sooner rather than later.
And there’s the follow-up question. How do we reverse the situation? The answer should go to the root of the problem. It speaks to all that is “Made in” or “Product of” elsewhere, rather than Canada. It goes to the ‘fierce global competition’ which has displaced democratic governments everywhere. We never elected a vicious cycle of unfair trade to decide all things, but there it is. Just what are the rules of the game, who makes them, who benefits, and is there really such a thing as free trade?
The answer to the Great Garlic question should go to the heart of a vision for the Canadian agricultural and manufacturing economy. Enlightened self interest also leads us to a will to make poverty history globally. The regression of the economic status of producers and workers is accomplished through the globalization of vast reservoirs of cheap labour in poor and poorly governed countries, a race to the bottomless pit. Call it the Globalization of Grapes of Wrath. Trade liberalization is full of holes and corruption, and business as usual won’t do. Nor will the solution be simple economic nationalism.
Solve the garlic question and win a Nobel Prize in Economics. Dump free trade, and let’s invent freedom trade. Let’s be concerned with the how and why in trade, not just more of it. Let’s have trade that promotes dignity, democracy, human rights and opportunity for all, that saves the planet for our grandchildren, one which allocates resources efficiently and equitably through freedom markets. Let’s reverse the situation where being an ethical and proud local consumer means avoiding 95% of the products on a store shelf. Let’s bring the rich and poor closer together.
We can start by asking the powers that be, why garlic from China?
Arif Jinha
