Talking heads and food security for The Bahamas and Cuba

by Rick Lowe (http://www.weblogbahamas.com)

Wherever talking heads are gathered in The Bahamas you hear someone mention how wonderful Cuba is.

Stories abound of great health care and educational systems and don't forget food security.

Of course this is a measure of our so called failure here in The Bahamas. We don't farm so we are worse off as a result.

But is it true that Cuba is self sufficient in food? Oh, and don't forget how that dastardly US embargo has forced them to be self sufficient in food and how great the Cuban government is in providing for her people.

I submit that it's all a myth.

Here's a snippet from a news story that ran on CBS news:

"There are open-air markets all over Cuba with mostly home grown products. But the truth is that Cuba doesn’t come close to producing enough food for its people, reports CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell. Up to thirty percent of the food Cuba imports comes from the United States — that’s more than from any other country."[More...]

So the US alone is selling Cuba, a country that is reportedly self sufficient in food, how much food per annum? "$100's of millions or billions of dollars" worth?

Come on talking heads, who are you kidding?