Post by: Zulean Cruz- Diaz
Every regional food system develops a little differently. Puerto Rico, like many other regions, had centuries' worth of unique transformations and evolution. Before Spanish colonization in the 1490s, Puerto Rico’s Taninos (original inhabitants) led a relatively self-sufficient food system with some trade involving nearby Caribbean islands. Once the Spaniards - and some French- set foot on the island, there was new crop production introduced by Europeans, and a diminished of native food production knowledge.
It was not until the Spanish-American War of 1892 that the new American territory transformed into a cash-crop production island. In the late 1890’s, American investors took over land for the sugar production. By the 1930’s Puerto Rico was one of the principal sugar producers worldwide. Unfortunately, this did not last as other locations on the mainland had more viable acreage and access for big cash-crop expansion.
In 1947 a US government effort known as Operation Bootstrap, created tax breaks and economic initiatives to focus on building the manufacturing and tourism industries in order to “modernize” the island. These initiatives led to the demise of the already dwindling agriculture industry on the island and molded it into the pharmaceutical production and tourist destination it is today.
A few years before 2017 a small renaissance in the local food movement began to root in Puerto Rico. The concept of value-added local foods gained traction and there was a small revival of the strong agriculture roots on the island. Unfortunately in September of 2017 Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, swept through the Caribbean, destroying 80% of the island’s crops, killing almost 3,0000 US citizens, and leaving its people isolated- without access to internet, transportation infrastructure, electricity, and running water. These conditions lasted from a couple of months to over a year. With so much sorrow, destruction, and hardship, the people of Puerto Rico still persisted. Farmers that had never met their neighbors were now creating brigades to help each other reconstruct.
“In the absence of government reconstruction support, these Brigades formed extensive networks of mutual aid throughout Puerto Rican society. Farmers—both conventional and organic—were working together for sustainable reconstruction.” - Puerto Rican Farmer’s Movement Boricuá Wins US Food Sovereignty Prize
In this way, Puerto Ricans illustrate the potential of resilient communities to come together to rebuild their agricultural foundation. Organizations like la Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica, the World Center Kitchen’s Plow to Plant grant fund, Puerto Rico Resiliency Fund as well as many other organizations and individual efforts gave way to education of more resilient growing models, horticultural methods, and recovery funding. These changes are well underway, but will likely take years to fully rebuild the island. Puerto Rico has endured changes before, and is using this tragedy to transform itself once again - this time, to change its food system for the better.
“The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture is aiming to have food imports down to 65 to 75 percent by the end of the year, which could represent as much as a 20-percent decrease on pre-Maria levels and a 30-percent drop from the island’s post-Maria peak.” - A Local Food Revolution in Puerto Rico
This remarkable goal is not only an infrastructure change but a whole mindset shift. Once again, looks like another food system shift is on the horizon. A topic to follow in Puerto Rico’s future is to see how it plans for the future of a local food system. This will be integral in the expansion of this local food movement streaming through the island. Only time will tell the direction Puerto Rico takes on agriculture and its food system.
Siga pa’lante Puerto Rico! (Keep moving forward Puerto Rico!)