How We Will Eat Come the Revolution: The Cuba Diet
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.29.06
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's industrialized farming collapsed as well, lacking fuel, equipment, fertilizers and subsidies- its agricultural production fell off a cliff. They weren't going to get a lot of help from the US, and so Cuba truly became an island, "outside the international economic system, a moon base whose supply ships had suddenly stopped coming.". The Cuban diet went from 3,000 calories a day to under 2,000, and everyone was hungry. Not any more: essentially, Cubans learned to be organic farmers.
"In so doing they have created what may be the world's largest working model of a semi-sustainable agriculture, one that doesn't rely nearly as heavily as the rest of the world does on oil, on chemicals, on shipping vast quantities of food back and forth. They import some of their food from abroad—a certain amount of rice from Vietnam, even some apples and beef and such from the United States. But mostly they grow their own, and with less ecological disruption than in most places." They are still short of meat and milk, but everyone is eating again.
Cuba is not a political model that we have any wish to emulate, but the lessons they have learned about agriculture may have something to teach us as we face our own problems with oil-based agriculture. Read the fascinating article by Bill McKibben in ::Harpers
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Ramsar Wetland Convention Meeting in Korea: Protecting Rice Paddies
- $5 Billion in Corn Ethanol Subsidies Should Be Eliminated, Food Before Fuel Urges
- Ethanol Industry Still Dodging Blame For Role In Global Food Crisis
- An Organic Cash Crop in the Galapagos?
There is an amazing documentary called "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived PeakOil" (2003) that most of the information in this article and the Harper aticle seem to use. It's great, inspiring, and scary. Basically, the reason they were able to successfully bring their food production up to speed without fossil-fuel based fertilizers, was because the people believed that sharing what little they DID have (food, land, resources) with each other was more important and for the greater good than hoarding it for themselves. Also the governement was very encouraging, and allowed all unsused urban land to be turned into incredibly productive gardens. The somewhat repressive culture they had been living in for for the last several decades allowed this team spirit to work.
There agricultural output is still down 40% of their production in the 1950's. Mean while the rest of the world has experience the "Green Revolution" of hybrid crops and intensive agriculture. For the first time in recorded history we are producing more food than the WORLD can consume.
Pakistan and India and all of Central America are net exporters of food. While Cuba is still unable to feed it's own.
What part of the glorious Cuban Revolutionary Agricultural system should we emulate again?
They had a lot of motivation, as people were starving. Can't see it happening otherwise, unfortunately.
Article didn't mention Cuba's huge sex trade business, catering mostly to German men on sex tours, it is currently a big source for foreign capital.
The future is changing. The author also didn't comment on the effect of Cuba's agreement with Chavez; Cuba supplies doctors and gets free oil in return.
Things could change rapidly in Cuba, and not for the better.
Why is Cuba not a exporter of food like the free markey econony of Mauritius, same population, climate and Cuba has a bigger land mass. To provide 3000 cals per person on an island of sugar cane is a disaster.
Why is Cuba not a exporter of food like the free markey econony of Mauritius
"Net exporter"? Mauritius' ag sector is 90% sugar cane.
same population
Cuba has roughly 10 times the population of Mauritius.
=====
Pakistan and India and all of Central America are net exporters of food.
Define "net exporter". It's a meaningless term. The subject is self-sufficiency, not whether you send more ag products, on a value basis, out than in. And please provide data to back up your claim, while you're at it.
While Cuba is still unable to feed it's own.
Really? What's the starvation rate in Cuba?
Its a good thing they are in the lush sub tropics, with plenty of sun and rain.
If they had land, weather and short frowing seasons like much of the agricultural US they would have been really screwed.
Interesting that Cuba resorting to primitive agricultural techniques, not seen in the West since the Middle Ages, is viewed as some sort of romantic "success".
By that standard, Mao Tse Tung's forced collectivization in "The Great Leap Forward", and later on, The Khmer Rouge of Cambodia's policy of relocating entire urban populations to collective farms for forced labour must be viewed as the gold standard in "sustainable" agriculture.
Ironic, then, that the only people in Cuba who are getting fat (besides high-ranking party members) are detainees of The Great Satan in Guantanamo Bay (being alloted a whopping 4200 calorie/day diet).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100300665.html
One lesson here is that organic farming – often considered an insignificant part of the food supply – can feed an entire country. Especially considering that Cuba is using basic "primitive" farming methods.
Sometimes less is more. Less oil, less pollution, less pesticides, less factory farming, less soil erosion, etc. Less calories, sure, but this probably translates into lower rates of diseases of affluence such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Probably they are feeding much less to farm animals and eating closer to a vegetarian diet.
Someone told me that right after the collapse of their Soviet-supplied system, the Cuban diet dropped to less 2,000 calories a day - less than in Sudan where their was a famine. Yet no one starved to death in Cuba thanks to a much more equitable distribution system.
I wouldn't say no one starved to death in Cuba; although no one literally starved, many were quite weakened and made more suseptable to other illness. Soviet wheat and lard were major parts of the diet. Even today there are shortages and sometime a lack of diversity in availible food which can make eating very boring. Meat is very espensive and a lot of the better quality food, including meat and fish, is used in restaurants which are out of the reach of most people. Even though there are many great things about the low consumerism of the society, the quality of life of day to day living is too greatly compromised.
It is my opinion that this is the shape of things to come. As the global population blossoms, we're going to have to find more creative ways to farm. Yes, that mean less oil. It also means being more inventive, a la the chicken tractor. All said, it shouldn't be asked whether sustainable farming works. Actually, it has to work.