Also from Tree Hugger:

:: Cuba's Organic Revolution

August 14, 2006 07:12 AM - Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO

After forty-seven years of rule, Cuban president Fidel Castro's failing health may well spell the end of his political revolution. Another, quieter revolution has taken place in the island country since the Soviet Union fell, leaving Cuba without guaranteed food subsidies and markets for its sugar cane: the rise of organic agriculture. In response to the loss of its economic lifeline, and the subsequent hunger that many Cuban experienced (average daily caloric intake fell from 2600 to 1000 to 1500), the Castro government set out on a bold experiment to create a self-sustaining food system in the country based on thousands of "oganoponicos," or very small urban land allotments for growing food. According to experts who have watched this development, the Cuban organic transition has been remarkably successful:

»Continue reading this post»