Amid Cuba's severe food crisis, a woman named Yesi Concepcion took to Facebook to share a 46-second video that has gone viral. In the clip, she demonstrates how she prepares slugs in sauce for dinner, having collected them from the ground following a rainfall.
The video has amassed over 67,000 views, serving as a stark testament to the island's dire lack of food resources.
"This is what I'm going to eat in Cuba, folks, because there's nothing, no meat. Well, there is, but it's very expensive. So, I'm going to prepare my slugs in sauce," Yesi explains.
In the footage, she shows the process of cutting up the mollusks, planning to cook them with white rice, tomatoes, and ripe plantains.
"Well, folks, as I always show you, this is what I'm going to eat. It rained, and I went out to gather some slugs because that's what I'm having tonight," she states with a candidness that heightens the clip's impact.
Cuban Cuisine's Unusual Ingredient
Slugs, which are shell-less gastropod mollusks, are not a part of traditional Cuban cuisine. Furthermore, certain species may carry the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which can cause meningitis if consumed raw or improperly cooked.
Soaring Food Prices Amid Economic Collapse
As of August 2026, pork on Cuba's informal market costs between 1,400 and 1,900 Cuban pesos (CUP) per pound, while chicken exceeds 11,300 CUP per package, and eggs reach 4,200 CUP per dozen, compared to an average state salary of merely 6,930 CUP per month.
Pork production has plummeted from 200,000 tons in 2018 to just 9,000 tons in 2026, based on industry figures.
Desperate Measures for Survival
A report from the Food Monitor Program indicated that by May 2026, 96.91% of the Cuban population lacked adequate food access, with one in three households experiencing hunger in 2025.
In recent months, Cubans have resorted to hunting wild birds, cats, and iguanas as protein sources in response to the chronic shortages. In early January 2026, a video showed farmers roasting a rodent for New Year's Eve dinner, and in March 2025, neighbors slaughtered and consumed an abandoned cat, a scene that also went viral on social media.
Other viral videos from 2026 have depicted Cubans making do with fruit bomb and fried eggs due to a lack of rice, croquettes made from chicken bones, root vegetable puree as a rice substitute, and bread with oil as the only available option.
Understanding Cuba's Food Crisis
What are the main causes of Cuba's food shortage?
Cuba's food shortage is primarily caused by economic mismanagement, the collapse of local agricultural production, and the high cost of food imports, exacerbated by political and economic isolation.
How has the Cuban population adapted to food scarcity?
Cubans have adapted to food scarcity by hunting wild animals and resorting to unconventional food sources, such as slugs and other untraditional ingredients, to cope with the lack of available food.
What are the risks of consuming slugs?
Consuming slugs poses health risks as some species carry the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which can cause meningitis if ingested raw or undercooked.