Is Chinese Garlic a Threat to National Security?

IS A STAPLE ingredient in your kitchen secretly undermining American sovereignty? Sen. Rick Scott (R–Fla.) seems to believe so.

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He’s asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to investigate whether garlic imported from China constitutes a national security threat—yes, really. This would potentially be the first step toward imposing more tariffs or limiting imports.

“There is a severe public health concern over the quality and safety of garlic grown in foreign countries—most notably, garlic grown in Communist China,” Scott, not mincing words, wrote to Raimondo in December. Citing cooking blogs and YouTube videos, Scott argued that China allegedly grows garlic in unsanitary conditions, including using human feces as fertilizer.

“If our food is not safe to eat,” he wrote, “we cannot expect our men and women in uniform to be equipped and able to do their jobs.”