Villagers ‘declare war’ on foodies stealing wild garlic
ANGRY residents plan to patrol their country lanes against invading foodies who are swiping all their wild garlic.
They have declared war on people who are cutting down swathes of the native plant, stuffing it in binbags and then selling it on to restaurants and at farmers’ markets.
Although it is legal to forage for personal use, it is against the law to harvest wild plants and flowers for commercial purposes.
But people of Lostwithiel, Cornwall, say a boom in eating wild flowers means the country roads and paths are being decimated.
One resident confronted a man using a knife to cut “all the garlic” in a lane, which is normally lined with the perennial plants.
He wrote on Facebook: “I asked him where he cooked – near Bodmin.
“So I wondered why he didn’t get garlic closer to home – ‘Oh we’ve destroyed it all!’
“So I asked him not to destroy ours. He laughed and said, ‘I’ll try not to.’
It’s not OK folks. We have to share amongst us all. It makes me very sad and a little angry that people who should know better, i.e. restauranteurs/chefs behave like this.”
One local woman reported seeing people “destroying whole swathes of plants” who told her “it was for pesto” and they would be selling it.
She wrote: “We need a patrol actually stopping them. They may not stop in other places but they may stop here!”
Another resident wrote: “There’s so much now on television encouraging foraging that all the edible plants could disappear. If people like to enjoy eating wild plants they could plant some in their gardens.
“We don’t need restaurateurs stripping our hedges and verges.” Residents have reported the incidents to regional food promotion group Taste of the West and are now planning to patrol the lanes. According to foraging guide BritishLocalFood, the law states “you can pick anything growing wild (the 4 f’s: fruit, flowers, fungi and foliage) on any land as long as it is for personal consumption”.
But it is illegal to forage for reward, sale or other commercial purpose and it is “important to always leave most of the wild garlic behind to ensure there will be enough in the future.”
Wild garlic grows in moist woodland. The leaves are best harvested in the spring before the flowers appear.