The Short-Lived Zebu and Beef Boom in Cuba Before the 1959 Revolution: A Socio-Environmental Approach

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, Animal History has gained influence within the environmental History of Latin America and the Caribbean. Animal environmental histories centred on livestock, however, remain limited. Therefore, more confluences between these perspectives could be fruitful in the future. Here we seek to integrate perspectives from socio-economic histories of livestock with those from animal studies by examining the history of the zebu boom for beef production in Cuba during the 1940s and 1950s. The success of this breed in the Americas in the twentieth century was possible due to the zebu's tolerance of tropical heat and humidity. Still, as the article shows, it is essential to consider economic, social and political contexts to understand the history of zebu. Finally, with the triumph of the 1959 revolution, the importance of the Cuban Zebu declined after the revolutionary government prioritised milk production over beef.