Let Them Eat Rabbit Is Venezuelan President's Response to Food
Shortages
Philip Reeves, National Public Radio, 14 September 2017
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has unveiled an unusual
strategy to help ease the chronic food shortage faced by many of
his nation's 30 million people — something he calls Plan Conejo, or
"Plan Rabbit."
Maduro and his ministers are embarking on a somewhat
surprising — and to many, alarming — campaign to convince
Venezuelans to eat rabbits. They say rabbits will make an excellent
source of protein for the large number of people who don't have
regular access to red meat or chicken as the result of the
country's economic collapse.
Maduro hopes the small mammal will counter the impact of what
he calls a huge "economic war" waged against him by "imperialists"
— notably the United States and his arch-enemy, President Donald
Trump.
During a strikingly light-hearted televised discussion, a
cheerful-looking Maduro told his cabinet on Tuesday that rabbits
have the added advantage of, well, "breeding like rabbits."
The rabbit plan, however, has already run into a hole. While
rabbit dishes are not uncommon elsewhere in the world, it's rarely
found simmering away in Venezuelan kitchens. Rabbits in Venezuela
are much more likely to feature as mascots for soccer teams or
characters on birthday cards than as dinner.
Freddy Bernal, the Venezuelan government minister in charge of
the plan, acknowledged during the meeting that there is a "cultural
problem." His task is to change the widely held Venezuelan view
that the bunny rabbit is a loveable friend — much like a kitten or
a puppy — and has no place in the human digestive system.
And it's likely to be a difficult task. Bernal told his fellow
ministers that during a pilot project for the rabbit plan, a batch
of baby bunnies — to be used for breeding and, eventually, tossing
into the cooking pot — were distributed to families in poor
neighborhoods.
He said some people responded by tying bows around the
rabbits' necks, giving them cute names, and even cuddling up with
them in bed at night.
Reversing this pattern of behavior is part of the Venezuelan
government's "battle to win the economic war," Bernal informed his
colleagues. He's proposing a nationwide publicity campaign to
convince Venezuelans that rabbits are actually "two and a half
kilos of meat that is high in protein and without cholesterol," and
not mascots or pets after all.
The amusement on display among Maduro and his ministers as
they discussed the rabbit plan doesn't appear to be shared by many
Venezuelans, who've faced serious struggles in recent months to
afford — or even find — basic food items.
Contemptuous messages from Maduro's critics — some coupled
with cartoons of a gloomy-looking Bugs Bunny — have flooded social
media sites.
"Are you serious?" asked Henrique Capriles, one of the most
prominent Venezuelan opposition leaders, in a video response to
Maduro's plan, posted on social media. "You want people in this
country to start raising rabbits to solve hunger in our
country?"
The answer, it seems, is yes.
What economic decision always causes a shortage – any time,
any place?