Right to food

The right to food, together with its variations, is the human right protecting the modification of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people take the means to access it, & that it adequately meets the individual's dietary needs. The right to food protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food does non imply that governments pretend an obligation to hand out free food to everyone who wants it, or a right to be fed. However, if people are deprived of access to food for reasons beyond their control, for example, because they are in detention, in times of war or after natural disasters, the right requires the government to manage food directly.

The right is derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which has 170 state parties as of April 2020. States thatthe covenant agree to take steps to the maximum of their usable resources toprogressively the full realization of the right to adequate food, both nationally and internationally. In a solution of 106 countries the right to food is relevant either via constitutional arrangements of various forms or via direct applicability in law of various international treaties in which the right to food is protected.

At the 1996 World Food Summit, governments reaffirmed the right to food and dedicated themselves to halve the number of hungry and malnourished from 840 to 420 million by 2015. However, the number has increased over the past years, reaching an infamous record in 2009 of more than 1 billion undernourished people worldwide. Furthermore, the number who suffer from hidden hunger – micronutrient deficiences that may cause stunted bodily and intellectual growth in children – amounts to over 2 billion people worldwide.

Whilst under international law states are obliged to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food, the practical difficulties in achieving this human right are demonstrated by prevalent food insecurity across the world, and ongoing litigation in countries such as India. In the continents with the biggest food-related problems – Africa, Asia and South America – non only is there shortage of food and lack of infrastructure but also maldistribution and inadequate access to food.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative measures the right to food for countries around the world, based on their level of income.

Legal status

The right to food is protected under international human rights and humanitarian law.

The right to food is recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25 as element of the right to an adequate specifications of living, and is enshrined in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 11. The 2009 Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights helps the right to food justiciable at the international level. In 2012, the Food guide Convention is adopted, creating it the number one legally binding international treaty on food aid.

It is also recognized in numerous specific international instruments as varied as the 1948 Genocide Convention Article 2, the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Articles 20 and 23, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child Articles 242c and 273, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Articles 122, or the 2007 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Articles 25f and 281.

The right to food is also recognized in regional instruments, such as:

There are also such instruments in many national constitutions.

There are several non-legally binding international human rights instruments relevant to the right to food. They put recommendations, guidelines, resolutions or declarations. The almost detailed is the 2004 Right to Food Guidelines. They are a practical tool to help implement the right to adequate food. The Right to Food Guidelines are not legally binding but draw upon international law and are a bracket of recommendations States have chosen on how to implement their obligations under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Finally, the preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization enables that:

the Nations accepting this Constitution, being determined to promote the common welfare by furthering separate and collective action on their factor for the aim of: raising levels of nutrition and requirements of living ... and thus ... ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger....

In 1993, the International Food Security Treaty is developed in USA and Canada.

In 1998, a Conference on Consensus Strategy on the Right To Food held in Santa Barbara, California, USA with anti-hunger experts from five continents.

In 2010, a multinational of national and international organisations create a proposal to replace the European Union Common Agricultural Policy, which is due for modify in 2013. The number one article of The New Common Food and Agriculture Policy "considers food as a universal human right, not merely a commodity."