Have You Ever Seen a Cuban Cow? Do You Hope to See One?

The story of food in Cuba is not a happy one--except that they used to have it, so they can have it again. They jsut have to figure out the right carrot and the right stick to get people back into the fields, planting and harvesting food, so that the rich island can once again feed it's people. So the story of food in Cuba is an unhappy one, but the story of the cow in Cuba is almost tragic. But maybe it is changing, and once real trade with the United States resumes, this will become a thing of Cuba's past.
In 1959 there was a thriving cattle business in Cuba, with ranchers and cows travelling from South Florida to Cuba and back freely. The cow to Cuban ratio was about even at that time. Post-Castro, with all cows now belonging to the government, several things have changed. The first is that there are very few cows in Cuba. As with all things scarce, there is a rampant balck market--whcih in Cuba comes with equally severe consequences. While we were en route back to Havana from Santa Clara, we saw a man taken into custody for selling beef along the highway. If convicted, he will face a 10 year jail term for selling beef. Que lastima!
The issue of cows in Cuba is one where there are solutions that make sense, and for humanitarian reasons it seems reasonable to have trade between South Florida's cattle industry and Cuba--here is an article from 2004 discusisng jus tsuch a deal--involving a long-time U.S. ranching family that had a ranch in Cuba nationalized by Castro. Time to move on, he says. Wise man.
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2004-04-08/news/cows-to-cuba/