A U.S. imposed blockade against Cuba seriously limits the resources of people living on the island. With that in mind, traveling to Cuba for two weeks this past summer led me to question the feasibility of sustaining myself as a vegan. The travel ban and economic blockade censors accurate information U.S. residents receive of life there. Knowing some people who know vegans who have traveled to Cuba helped me prepare for the trip.
In general, dairy is not widely available in Cuba. Beef and fish aren’t widely available either. Pork is the meat of the island. Fortunately, Cuba has the BEST mangos I’ve ever had.
Cuba grows the biggest mangos and guavas I have EVER seen.
Who needs anything else when you’ve got enormous, delicious mangos?
For the first couple of days breakfast was mangos, papaya, and bread smothered with peanut butter.
Lunch and dinner were the same for a few days. More mango, papaya, roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, yuca, and white rice—starch galore.
The advantage of the first place where I stayed was the buffet style meals. I was able to have seconds and thirds and was full most of the time. I didn’t need to dig into the ProBars I had packed.
The second and third places where I stayed were another story. At the second place, vegetarianism and veganism were daunting tasks. By that point, most omnivores had gotten some sort of food poisoning and about 12 people had gone vegetarian. It was difficult for the staff to accommodate a large number of vegetarians.
The third place where we stayed was pretty tough. Breakfast consisted of an egg and a piece of bread. By that point I had had enough peanut butter with bread and resorted to eating my ProBars. Lunch and dinner were the same meal: white rice, bread, cucumber, and mango.
I got a little creative and when avocado was available made myself cucumber and avocado sandwiches.
During the trip, it was important to keep in mind my U.S. privilege and check myself whenever feelings of frustration or hunger kicked in over having to eat the same meal continuously or having no food to eat. I had the biggest cravings for beans a few days into the trip, but none were available. On a day trip to Havana, I eagerly went to restaurants looking for beans with no luck. The picture above shows a small bowl of beans on one of the two occasions they were served.
*****
It was amazing to be in a place where tv, radio, and print advertisements are nonexistent. A country where all have access to healthcare, the literacy rate is over 97%, and the political education of the people is a priority. I met a young doctor to be from El Salvador who was attending medical school in Cuba. I’ve been to El Salvador a couple of times and have seen schools without electricity or basic supplies, homes without furniture or running water, children without shoes — people living in unacceptable and unnecessary poverty. I asked the young man to compare poverty in El Salvador to poverty in Cuba. He looked at me and in Spanish said, “The poorest people in Cuba would be middle class in El Salvador.”
U.S. vegans and omnivores alike have the constitutional right to experience Cuba and have a glimpse at a slice of what another world can look like. Moreover, the people of Cuba have the human right to obtain basic resources for their survival.
End the economic blockade!
End the travel ban!
Free the Cuban 5!
Incredible blog!! Wanna hear more about Cuba!! And aguacates!! Y mangos!!
Thank you! I really want one of those mangos. When the blockade ends we can indulge in some of those babies :p
I find it very cool that you documented the different kinds of food we ate while we were in Cuba(although I ate considerably more pork and beans then you did lol, although I got sick of that after two weeks). Gives an intimate sense of what life is like there. Tbh I was always curious why there was not more seafood available, given that we were on an island. Maybe it is the regions we visited.
Also your anecdote about the Salvadoran student makes an important point-lots of people, even ones who call themselves ‘progressive’ or even ‘leftists’, unfairly judge Cuba as a ‘failure’ because it is not a prosperous wealthy country like the US. Even ignoring the inequality and poverty that exists in the US itself, that’s a completely unrealistic expectation. It is literally impossible for a small Third World country under an embargo and without massive oil fields like Venezuela to have its people living like the middle class or upper middle class in the US or Western Europe. It’s only realistic options have been-either a tiny number of rich people backed by foreign imperialism while most other people rot in poverty(like most of Latin America), OR most people living a relatively Spartan lifestyle but in which everyone or nearly everyone has enough live on. It’s a mark of privilege, really, to be blind to this.
Having lived in Egypt where I saw children in rags playing in giant piles of garbage in Cairo, to see that Cuba has succeeded in eliminating the worst forms of poverty and suffering deeply, deeply impressed me.
What is striking is that if a country with Cuba’s meager resources and size can accomplish what is has with socialism, what could the United States accomplish with a socialist system? Probably end poverty, globally, forever.
Sorry I went on for so long. Thanks you, again, for posting this.
Hey, thank you for commenting and don’t apologize for the length. I agree with a lot of the points you’ve made and I agree that it was interesting to see what Cuba has done with the little resources they have. It’s even more interesting to compare it to life in other latin american countries.
oh, btw, i also think it’s interesting how adoption is virtually nonexistent in Cuba. There is so much that’s so unique to the island that I love to think about.
Thanks for such an informative piece. Mango heaven too!
I am so happy to see thawracomics mention socialism. Ah, how I would love to see the death of capitalism, and the rise of socialism! If the profit motive was eliminated from our economies, we would see a fairer system for human and non-human animals. We would certainly see a better outcome for the environment. A capitalist mindset regards the planet as something to be pillaged and ravaged in order to increase profit margins. We just can’t live like that anymore.
Happy new year, ally!
I completely agree with you about an end to capitalism being one of the, perhaps THE only way to live in a more humane world. A profit driven world only leads to commodification at everyone’s expense.
…soon
I totally agree with what you are saying and it should be said… on the prime time news channels …. thanks for sharing the story and the yummy fruit too….:) muchos gracias mi vegano amigo !!
De nada, Thombeed. The media is so good at controlling the narrative :/