I'm one of those people with a garlic intolerance. I have no problem with the flavour/smell of garlic; I'm just no fan of nights of gut-wrenching misery. I can appreciate where these campaigners are coming from. Many a time I've wished it were easier find "garlic-free" Italian or even Asian dishes. On the other hand, it's not like people with other food allergies/intolerance have it easy either and they're not trying to make restaurants stop serving those foods. I am glad however that this campaign is getting such press. Perhaps, at least, garlic allergies will be more widely recognized as just as real of a problem as other food allergies.

Sarah, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

People associate italian food with garlic. In fact unless you go south of Rome I cannot remember eating a dish with garlic in. Considering most of the dishes people associate with Italy (pizza excepted) come from the North this paradoxical.

Is Italian food the most misrepresented or is it Chinese?

Outside of Italy - you'll find geniune italian food in London (benefits of the emilia/romagna immigrants) and Argentina and south of Brasil. New York and Sydney being surprisingly very poor.
They should be made to call it American/Italian food, its basically quite heavy Neapolitan cooking done for Americans.

Terry, london,

ban garlic what are they noeconservatives looking for more revenue with medication or a religious clan looking for more world domination and revenue for medication or just a bunch of neoconservative religious gogs and magog fools suppling revenue puting their vapid vanity over a healthy living instead of a goog good living wait i`ve got it pro melon farmers from a far far away universe fighting a vegi war huh

dazza, perth, australia

I can see it now....garlic police, a garlic "mob", garlic tax, black market garlic, what's that? garlic sensor at all italian airports???? give me a break and will someone please tell them to grow up....

Carla, Page, US, IA

Italian cuisine when it's sophisticated and advanced tends to avoid garlic. It uses olive oil and parmesan cheese as essentials. Parmesan cheese and garlic NEVER go together. That is GOLDEN RULE 1 for anyone that's about to start cooking anything remotely resembling Italian primi piatti. Yet this rule is broken by Italian chefs themselves at times.
Italian country fare and much of Neapolitan and Sicilian cooking use garlic yet the flavours are subtle not strident .
Most sea food sauces for pasta would have to use garlic and parsley but shrimp and other risotti would not , so it's very tricky. You have to rely on your tastebuds that instinctively tell you what goes with what. Taste is the effect on the palate while you eat and not about whether you stink skunklike afterwards ! May you always have Mr. Berlusconi around offering you mints after you've enjoyed your garlic laden meal.

saloni, Rome, ITALY

I bet if Barlusconi owned stock in garlic farms he'd have a different opinion! Garlic would be his best friend. What an idiot. Same goes for all the rest of those bandwagon jumpers!

Carla, Page, US, IA

I live in Naples and real pizza is made with tomatoes, garlic and oregano.
it would be impossible to leave the garlic out. The most important thing is the actual quality and freshness of the garlic. A lot of restaurants in England use stale garlic and that is why it smells so bad. Grow your own, eat it fresh and enjoy it!

maria mansi, Naples, Italy

You can either like garlic or you don't but improper preperation will just make you stink and slow your reaction time.

The 10-minute "standing period" after chopping or crushing the garlic enables an enzyme naturally present in certain garlic cells to come in contact with and act on chemicals in other cells. Chopping or crushing the garlic opens the cells and enables the enzyme to start a reaction that produces chemicals called allyl sulfur compounds that possess anti-cancer properties.

"The allyl sulfur compounds produced from the enzyme's reaction are critical to garlic's anti-cancer effects," Song noted. "If garlic was heated or roasted immediately after crushing, the enzyme was de-activated by the heating process and garlic's anti-cancer effects were blocked."

As far back as the 1950s it was known that garlic reduced reaction time by two to three times when consumed by pilots taking flight tests.

Search: Penn State+garlic and then pilots+garlic

Fuzzybutton, Lancaster,

What an interesting world we live in.

Mike, Brermen,

Italian food without garlic? That's unthinkable!
That Berlusconi is even worse than I thought him to be!
I love garlic, I'm lucky enough for it not to affect my breath (not the same with raw onion, unfortunately!), but my son does not like it since he was a baby (yes! we crazy Portuguese put garlic in our babies purees!) so I simply do not give it to him (although I give him steaks, hamburguers and chicken breast seasoned with pureed garlic).

Raquel Seabra, Lisbon, Porutgal

Anti-garlic is anti-Italian. I don't like hotdogs, but I wouldn't ban them from Americans that do; that would be anti-American. In America, when you don't want something in a dish, you just ask that it not be included and you meal is customized for your needs - so, what's the big deal? I can't believe that there are anti-Italian garlic Nazis in Rome no less, God help us.

Geminate, Orange County, USA, California

Wow.

Someone doesnt like Garlic, so he's going to bully, cajole, and whine about restaurants that serve it... and the elites cave like sheep. What about all those tomatoes people might be allergic to? Or dairy? Or asparagus - THAT smells bad.

Is there anything about this that doesnt scream prima donna? This Rosella guy is a joke, and I'd say that to him with garlic on my breath.

Abe Froman, Chicago, IL

Here's an idea. Instead of attempting to force your problems on others; when ordering food why not, like any intelligent person would, request for them to not use garlic in your food?

I don't like certain foods / additives and I'm allergic to MSG but that doesn't mean I go around attempting to have places ban those things just to meet my needs. I know many people, and not a single one dislikes / is allergic to Garlic.

Josh Elder, Lexington, United States

To all the people who "can't digest garlic", I recommend the removal of the green stem inside the garlic clove prior to cooking or eating. Works wonders!
As regards to that anti-garlic campaign, the only word that comes up is: pathetic!

Steph, Paris, France

Splendid. Now get restaurants, supermarkets and anyone else preparing food not to automatically stuff it full of onions, which are even more indigestible to some!

Robin Somes, Fawley,

It would seem that Italy has no serous problems to face if such importance is given to eating or not eating garlic. This is the problem Hamlet would say. Over 60 years ago we have been fighting a war for freedom and this should have included also that of eating garlic, but it would seem that this is not the case.

Roberto Castellano, Salsomaggiore, Italy