04-10-2008, 06:34 AM
This is indeed a very interesting article Myra and he brings out many salient points.
In contrast, the next island to Haiti in the Caribbean, Cuba is now fully food secure. Food security is now seen as indivisible from national security. It is has not always been that way. Firstly, as a US de facto colony it grew mostly sugar and tobacco neither of which could feed the local population but was exported cheaply to the US and its main services were sex workers and gambling facilites again for US consumtion. Food was imported mostly from the US. Later after the revolution food and other things were obtained from much of the Comintern countries. With the counter-revolution in the USSR and eastern Europe and the breakdown of their economies Cuba went through a very difficult period. There was no fuel to run tractors, no petrochemicals for fertiliser, very little resources for electricity production. There was severe food rationing. Thing had to change radically and they did. There was much input from the Australian (and others) permaculture community into how to grow sustainable agriculture. Many interesting articles here: http://www.beyondpeak.com/cuba-beyondpeak.html
I can highly recommend this DVD The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil http://www.amazon.com/dp/0910420327?tag=...amp=211189
If you get the chance to see it jump at it.
Cuba is our future. They've been to the future. We should all learn how they have done it, their successes and failures so we can build a better community where ever we live. If only Haiti could do it too.
In contrast, the next island to Haiti in the Caribbean, Cuba is now fully food secure. Food security is now seen as indivisible from national security. It is has not always been that way. Firstly, as a US de facto colony it grew mostly sugar and tobacco neither of which could feed the local population but was exported cheaply to the US and its main services were sex workers and gambling facilites again for US consumtion. Food was imported mostly from the US. Later after the revolution food and other things were obtained from much of the Comintern countries. With the counter-revolution in the USSR and eastern Europe and the breakdown of their economies Cuba went through a very difficult period. There was no fuel to run tractors, no petrochemicals for fertiliser, very little resources for electricity production. There was severe food rationing. Thing had to change radically and they did. There was much input from the Australian (and others) permaculture community into how to grow sustainable agriculture. Many interesting articles here: http://www.beyondpeak.com/cuba-beyondpeak.html
I can highly recommend this DVD The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil http://www.amazon.com/dp/0910420327?tag=...amp=211189
If you get the chance to see it jump at it.
Cuba is our future. They've been to the future. We should all learn how they have done it, their successes and failures so we can build a better community where ever we live. If only Haiti could do it too.