I wanna talk about Garlic

You heard me - garlic. There a few staples of cooking that I cannot be without. Salt and Pepper are a given, but garlic, onions and parsley are my all time favs for being readily available, cheap and given to longevity in the bowels of my fridge.
I had a dozen years living a couple of hours away from the garlic capital of the States - namely, Gilroy,CA. I have been to the Garlic Festival and endured the pleasures of garlic cook-offs by major chefs and the ignominy of eating garlic ice cream ( never again). So why is it, I wonder that is so freakin' difficult to get Gilroy Garlic here in Renton - or anywhere else, it seems to be?

Here is an article from NPR on the current state of garlic growers - fighting the inevitable tide of Chinese grown garlic. Christopher Ranch in Gilroy is the largest producer and they have tried to break the tide by going to automated grading of bulbs from hand sorting. But still I go to our local Safeway and I have to dig and beg for garlic grown anywhere near here, and in soil and conditions that the FDA should have to approve. The difference in buying within the US - pennies.
I got lucky - at the holiday times Safeway had this lovely braid of Garlic - proudly marked for all to see from Gilroy - but the rest of the bulbs at the store, after careful inspection - were all from China.
I know - this isn't a local story - but think of it as a coastal one. I am stepping down off my soapbox now - it's funny what will make you get your righteous hand waving in the air - and Garlic is just one of mine...