Local Food, Sustainability, and Cuba's National Food Program
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LOCAL FOOD, SUSTAINABILITY AND CUBA’S NATIONAL FOOD PROGRAM By Audrey C Fusco Submitted to the Department of Geography And the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s of Arts ____________________________ Dr. J. Christopher Brown, Chair ___________________________ Dr. Garth Myers ___________________________ Dr. Terry Slocum Date Defended: _____________ The thesis committee for Audrey C. Fusco certifies That this is the approved version of the following thesis: Local Food, Sustainability, and Cuba’s National Food Program Committee: ____________________________ Dr. J. Christopher Brown, Chair ___________________________ Dr. Garth Myers ___________________________ Dr. Terry Slocum ii Abstract There is a tendency in food systems research and planning to associate sustainable and socially just food provisioning with the local scale of organization. This thesis questions two assumptions that tie local food provisioning systems to sustainable food production: that localization is the key to environmental sustainability and that food security is best achieved through development of local food systems. I examine the relationship between scale and food provisioning by applying scale and politics of scale theory to a case study of Cuba's food system. I analyze several historical periods leading up to and including the Special Period which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Special Period Cuba transformed its food system from one based on industrial and export-based production to a system focused on achieving national food security and environmental sustainability. Analysis of the Special Period focuses on the changes that occurred in relationships among places involved in food provisioning at community, regional, national, and international scales. The thesis concludes with ideas about how to move beyond the argument for rescaling and forward to a discussion of how to actually create food provisioning systems that are sustainable and just. iii Acknowledgments It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to the many people who made this thesis possible. I particularly want to thank Dr. J. Christopher Brown, my advisor, for his insights. He has inspired me with his perpetual enthusiasm and energy and his efforts in making the world a better place for all of us. I also want to thank my committee members, Dr. Garth Myers and Dr. Terry Slocum, for their excellent teaching ability and for their support through the process of completing this thesis. The Department of Geography at the University of Kansas has provided me with a series of incredible opportunities throughout my graduate career, ranging from researching ice sheets to learning about development practices in Cuba. I give a special thanks to the faculty and students of CReSIS and Haskell, for extending my graduate learning experience beyond the classroom. I would also like to give a heartfelt thank you to the entire faculty of The University of Kansas Geography Department for creating such a motivating and supportive academic environment. A special thank you goes out to the people of Cuba for extending a warm welcome to me during my field research, as well as ICAP for promoting open exchange of culture and knowledge between Cuba and other countries. I also thank the Latin American Studies Department for its support of my research. I want to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my family and friends for their love and support through my Master’s education. I especially thank my grandparents in Texas for introducing me to farming; my father and brother for enduring countless conversations about scale and agriculture, and for sharing my ideals for the world; my grandparents in Kansas for their constant love; my mother for listening to my insights about the world for all these years; my aunt Judi for her passion for education; and Joe, Rob, Jason, Asher, Sophie, Skyelar, and the rest of my family for their positive influence on my life. I also want to thank especially Gustavo Diaz, my roommates throughout this time, Lisa Rausch and Heather Putnam, and the rest of my fellow geography graduate students for keeping my life interesting during these years. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the work of all of the great thinkers that influenced my work. Finally, I give a heartfelt thank you to all farmers across the world for their work. This thesis is dedicated to all of you. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Figure 1: Material and Social Components of Agricultural Production ..................................10 Chapter 2: ‘Politics of Scale’ and ‘The Local Trap’ ........................................................16 A. Scale Theory and the ‘Politics of Scale’ ........................................................................... 20 B. A Brief History of Agriculture............................................................................................ 24 C. The Local Trap in Food provisioning systems Research and Practice ............................. 33 D. Research Method ............................................................................................................ 39 Chapter 3: Historical Scales of Food Provisioning in Cuba ...........................................47 A. The Colonial Scale (1494 to 1958)................................................................................... 51 B. The Revolutionary Scale (1959 to 1963).......................................................................... 62 C. The Soviet Scale (1963 to 1989) ..................................................................................... 68 D. Scalar Findings................................................................................................................ 75 Chapter 4: Food Provisioning in the Special Period ......................................................79 A. Ecological Farming .......................................................................................................... 83 B. Social Adaptations........................................................................................................... 93 C. The Special Period Scale .............................................................................................. 113 Figure 2: Scales of Social Support ..................................................................................... 117 D. The Case of UPBC Alamar............................................................................................ 118 E. Outcome of Special Period Scale .................................................................................. 121 F. Conflicts and Reformations............................................................................................ 124 Chapter 5: Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture ...................................................129 Figure 3: Places and Networks of Support for Sustainable Practices ................................. 134 References Consulted.................................................................................................139 Appendixes..................................................................................................................153 Appendix A: Classical Model vs. Alternative Model (from MINAG) ..................................... 153 Appendix B: Measuring “Success” During the Special Period ............................................ 155 Figure B-1: Barrels of Oil Consumed and Imported in Cuba 1980-2002 ........................ 155 Figure B-2: Index of food production and resources 1980-2002 .................................... 156 Figure B-3: Percent of Arable land Dedicated to Sugarcane Production........................ 158 Figure B-4: State and Non-State Sugarcane Production 1980-2002.............................. 159 Table B-5: Nutrition During the Special Period............................................................... 160 Figure B-6: Population throughout Special Period ......................................................... 161 Appendix C: Organizations and Contacts in Cuba.......................................................162 Appendix D: Global/Local Binary........................................................................................ 164 Appendix E: Properties of Agroecosystems ....................................................................... 165 Appendix F: 40 Year Trend of Oil Production and Consumption ........................................ 166 Appendix G: Field work locations in Cuba.......................................................................... 167 Appendix H: Administrative Structures for Agriculture ........................................................168 Appendix I: Land Tenure Structures................................................................................... 169 Appendix J: Soil and Agroecological Zone Maps of Cuba .................................................. 170 List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................ 171 v Chapter 1: Introduction “When