Saving - Haiti Observer Blog

There are many things that can be said that play on the Haitian peasant and the Creole pig, but there is true tragedy behind every punch line. In one of the government's single most devastating moves, done in the 1980's to placate the American's fear of a swine flu outbreak in the Dominican Republic contaminating their Pork industry, a nationwide slaughter of Creole pigs, noted to translate to 30% of the income of peasants, was undertaken.

Another serious misstep was the government's method of damage control. Seeing the devastation wrought on the livelihood of the peasant farmer, they attempted to replace what had been taken with American pigs from Iowa farmers. This too proved a failure, as the new breeds could not adapt to the inevitably harsher methods of farming, including but not limited to table scraps for food and no formal shelter.

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