The U.S. media discover how food production works without access to cheap oil 12

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1. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 6:52 am
   10 Jun 2008

   Power of CommunityThe story of Cuba's permaculturish revolution is captured well by this documentary:
   http://www.powerofcommunity.org
   Highly recommended.
   Erik
   
   The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
   
   

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2. 

   Charles Barton Posted 8:10 am
   10 Jun 2008

   A model society?Great, Gristmill now thinks that Communist Cuba is a model society whose example we should emulate.  
   
   Charles Barton

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3. 

   PermieWriter Posted 8:59 am
   10 Jun 2008

   Cuban sandwichesIt is impressive how Cubans managed to avoid starving when the hammer of a political peak oil came down. I've seen "The Power of Community" and spoken with people who have traveled in Cuba. It's been very hard and people lost a lot of weight - many died of starvation. There were, of course since it's humans we're talking about, political factors that made these changes more difficult. But they dug in and planted gardens and made it happen. This is much-needed proof that post-industrial people can, in fact, feed themselves.
   I don't think that anyone (anyone would would be taken seriously, anyway) is suggesting that America take up a hereditary communist dictatorship. But Cuba's hardworking example of self-sufficiently, externally exposed as it may have been, should be inspiring to anyone who appreciates the perils of peak oil. Anyone denying those perils should feel free to starve for their principles.
   
   Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

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4. 

   Delay And Deny Posted 10:30 am
   10 Jun 2008

   Es calidad!
   
   Wow, the US can be just like Cuba.  Growing all our food year round in flower boxes outside the apartment.   Like right now, here in Kent, WA the temperature in June is like...oh, 55F and dropping...so I could grow...what?  Wheat?  A pumpkin?  Winter squash?
   http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Cuba-CLIMATE. ...
   Except in the mountains, the climate of Cuba is semitropical or temperate. The average minimum temperature is 21°C (70° F), the average maximum 27°C (81° F). The mean temperature at Havana is about 25°C (77°F). The trade winds and sea breezes make coastal areas more habitable than temperature alone would indicate.

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5. 

   Craig Allen Posted 11:05 am
   10 Jun 2008

   Cubans do many things wellThey have a much better health system than the US and rather than armies they export thousands of medical practitioners to third world countries. You could do worse than model yourself on some of their better characteristics.
   Their current political system leaves something to be desired, but that of the US is far from being a model of well functioning democracy from the point of view of anyone living outside the US fantasy bubble. And at least Cuba doesn't have a leader who is reviled and regarded with contempt world-wide.

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6. 

   Delay And Deny Posted 2:35 pm
   10 Jun 2008

   Health versus Health Care
   
   They have a much better health system than the US and rather than armies they export thousands of medical practitioners to third world countries</blocqkuote>
   No...what Cuba has is much better "Health" not Health Care.   If you live in a climate with 70-80F range temperatures, with sea breezes, you are going to be healthier...period.
   In effect, what is being advocated here is Global Warming.  If and when real Global Warming were ever to occur, and suddenly Seattle was 70F-80F all year round, then yes, it would be a paradise.
   And another thing -- back in 1830, was Cuba like 50 degrees or what?   How come Cuba isn't 150F every day?

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7. 

   racc Posted 3:46 pm
   10 Jun 2008

   We Have a Lot to LearnWe have a lot to learn from the rest of the world. Sure, Cuba is far from perfect, but lets not be so arrogant to think they don't have anything to offer.We have society that has been completely built around cheap energy and resources. Now that both are gone, we have start over again almost from scratch. We are so far behind the rest of the world. The sad thing is we still don't know it.

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8. 

   MattThaKing Posted 3:47 pm
   10 Jun 2008

   ¡De pinga asere, pero ya tú sabes, no es fácil!I actually lived in La Habana for four months on a study abroad program through Harvard, and while my focus there wasn't on urban agriculture I lived just a few blocks away from one of the many urban farms. The Cuban agriculture system is truly amazing as they managed to recoup around 1,000 calories in the Cuban diet after the fall of the USSR (went from around 1500-1600 per person per day in 1994 to 2,500 or so by 2000), much of it through fruit and vegetables, much of it organic, and much of it local and non-mechanized, though a lot of it from imports. I just want to point out a few issues with idealizing the Cuban agriculture system. Firstly, you fail to mention here the fact noted in the CBS article that 80% of Cuba's food is imported. The United States is actually the nation's largest current agricultural trading partner for the past 5 years. In 2000 Congress passed the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) due to heavy lobbying by the agricultural sector. Cuba didn't actually start buying from us until 2001 since they were so insulted by the fact that the US demanded that everything be paid in cash up front, but after Hurricane Michelle ravaged the island in 2001 they decided to start and have been buying about $350 million dollars worth of food from the US since (mostly wheat, corn, soy, chicken, and powdered milk, but also processed foods like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and Heinz ketchup). And that's only about ¼ of their total food imports. This shows that while the urban farm system has definitely increased access to fresh produce, it is by no means a cure-all. Cuba just doesn't have the hydrological resources or climate to grow certain staple products, and I'm sorry, but not everyone can be a fruitarian.
   With regards to your comment on the salary of these urban farmers, you need to make clear that the average salary of between $15 and $20 dollars a month is what is paid to workers officially by the government. It is absolutely impossible for even the most thrifty Cuban to survive on that and so you have the phenomenon of Cuban's stealing from their jobs or having second, third, or fourth jobs to make extra cash "por la izquierda" (lit. on the left, but translates best as on the side). Most jobs only require the employee to work two 36 hour shifts per week so there is ample time to "resolver" (find other sources of money), as the handyman at our apartment complex would say, "I'm done working for Fidel for today, now I'm going to work for myself and my kids" as he went to his workshop to make furniture and other odds and ends to sell to friends. I talked to the farmers and they work about 5 days per week, so the average Cuban's real salary may be a lot closer to that $100-250 dollars per month for urban farmers cited by CBS.
   The Cuban agricultural story may be appealing to greens, and it should be, we absolutely have a lot to learn from them. Yet you should not make the mistake of saying that it is a silver bullet. Peak oil is a scary reality looming ahead of us and will require a lot more than urban gardening, especially since as some others have pointed out many place in the world don't have the climate or soil structure to make it possible on the Cuban scale.
   Check this out:
   http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/cuba/CubaSituation0308.pdf
   PS You guys aren't hiring staff writers are you?

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9. 

   MattThaKing Posted 3:54 pm
   10 Jun 2008

   Para que sepasSorry, I forgot to mention that I was there last spring (2007). Also I forgot to mention that the people have no political freedom (Raul is changing that poco a poco, but we'll see how far he takes it), poverty is still ubiquitous, their economy anemic and increasing inequally distributed and dependent on tourism (which will disappear with the end of cheap oil). Our group was definitely monitored and one of the security guards at our complex was fired because he had, according to the government document he showed us, "forged unacceptable relationships with foreigners" (i.e. he was friendly with us and sometimes pestered us to use our computers to burn him porn, but we damn well didn't rat him out).

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10. 

    PermieWriter Posted 7:37 am
    11 Jun 2008

    Cuba's exampleNobody has all the answers. I think the best inspiration we can take from Cuba is to actually tackle the problems that come with Peak Oil instead of dodging them.
    
    Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

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11. 

    Wolverine Posted 8:10 am
    11 Jun 2008

    Two Things Wrong With This Column"a less-than-ideal diet of rice and beans and canned goods from Eastern Europe"?
    Excuse me, but using rice and beans for protein IS an ideal way to get protein and carbohydrates, especially if the rice is not white (black or brown, and wild "rice," which is actually another distinct grain, are what you want).  This is both a healthier way to generally get protein and much a much less environmentally destructive method than getting relying on meat for protein.
    "Of course, on $100-250 a month, you're not going to be ponying up for the newest iPhone or jetting off on vacations."
    Good!  Those things both cause significant environmental harm.  Live simply so that others may simply live, especially non-humans.

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12. 

    PermieWriter Posted 4:23 am
    13 Jun 2008

    Rice and beans, beans and riceI know a guy who lived for a summer on rice and beans plus some ground rodents he hunted (a pest at the ranch where he was living). This was during a period of great stoic asceticism in his life. He doesn't recommend it unless you need to for a little while as a retreat and focussing exercise. And not as a lifestyle.
    There's only so many ways you can cook rice and beans. And no one should have to eat canned food from Eastern Europe. People need fruit, nuts, greens and lots of other variety besides their grains and legumes, even if they're not going to eat animal flesh.
    We're not going to convince people to save the world by espousing simplicity. As McDonough says, people want life, they want sex, they want variety, they want children.
    A McDonough koan: How many cherry blossoms does it take?
    
    Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

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