Introduction: In Search of Better Options: Food Sovereignty, the Right to Food and Legal Tools for Transforming Food Systems

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Claeys ◽  
Nadia C. S. Lambek
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-152
Author(s):  
Busiso Helard Moyo ◽  
Anne Marie Thompson Thow

Despite South Africa’s celebrated constitutional commitments that have expanded and deepened South Africa’s commitment to realise socio-economic rights, limited progress in implementing right to food policies stands to compromise the country’s developmental path. If not a deliberate policy choice, the persistence of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms is a deep policy failure.  Food system transformation in South Africa requires addressing wider issues of who controls the food supply, thus influencing the food chain and the food choices of the individual and communities. This paper examines three global rights-based paradigms – ‘food justice’, ‘food security’ and ‘food sovereignty’ – that inform activism on the right to food globally and their relevance to food system change in South Africa; for both fulfilling the right to food and addressing all forms of malnutrition. We conclude that the emerging concept of food sovereignty has important yet largely unexplored possibilities for democratically managing food systems for better health outcomes.


Author(s):  
Hannah Lambie-Mumford

Chapter 3 sets out the key theories with which the book engages: food insecurity and the human right to food. Following on from a conceptualisation and definition of food insecurity, the right to food is introduced. Emphasis is placed on normative element of ‘adequacy and sustainability of food availability and access’ and on the state’s obligation to ‘respect, protect and fulfil the right to food’. Theories of ‘othering’ and ‘agency’ are employed to assess the social acceptability of emergency food systems as a means of acquiring food, and the power of providers to make sufficient food available through these systems and of potential recipients to access it. Theories of ‘care’ and ‘social protection’ are employed to explore the ways in which charitable providers are in practice taking responsibility for the duty to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food and how shifts in welfare policy are affecting need for this provision.


PLoS Medicine ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e1001223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev C. Patel

Author(s):  
Olivier De Schutter

Sovereign debt and the measures imposed on indebted nations, in conjunction with trade liberalisation under the WTO or other similar regimes have forced many countries to forego traditional food security schemes, particularly through state subsidies. As a result, price fluctuations in staple commodities as well as currency fluctuations have forced poorer nations to effectively surrender their food sovereignty in favour of their multilateral trade obligations, investment obligations and debt repayment agreements with both private and public lenders, particularly through the facilitation of multilateral development banks. This chapter traces the roots of food insecurity as a result of sovereign debt-related measures, policies and effects. It does so through particular paradigms, especially through the work of pertinent UN mandates. It examines in what manner the right to food, as enshrined in the ICESCR, may be fulfilled as well as how food security can co-exist alongside trade liberalisation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (57) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Virginia ZAMBRANO

ABSTRACT Objective: To demonstrate that the effectiveness of the right to food is strictly dependent on the adoption of appropriate public policies, capable of guaranteeing conditions of transparency and information, and granting individuals and groups the possibility to participate in the taking of decisions. Next, the focus is on the role played by the courts to address the issue of legal consideration of this right. Methodology: The study methodology included the analysis of jurisprudence on the right to food, as well as the constitutional recognition of the right to food. Likewise, the position of the courts and the political aspect of the right to food were challenged. Results: It has often been discovered that people are not even aware of the possibility of using litigation as a tool to promote the realization of the right to food. As well as the lack of knowledge on the part of politicians to implement public policies to realize this essential right to food. Contributions: The main contribution lies in realizing that it is not at stake or in the recognition of this right by the courts. While it is true that the role of the courts is essential because it facilitates the creation of a cultural climate sensitive to human rights, it is also true that the implementation of rights through jurisprudence means that the problem of access to justice is resolved. KEYWORDS: Fundamental rights; right to food; food sovereignty; legal consideration (justiciability); comparative law. RESUMENObjetivo: El objetivo de este ensayo es demostrar que la efectividad del derecho a la alimentación es estrictamente dependiente de la adopción de políticas públicas apropiadas, capaces de garantizar condiciones de transparencia y información, y otorgar a individuos y grupos la posibilidad de participar en la toma de decisiones. A continuación, la atención se centra en el papel desempeñado por los tribunales para abordar el problema de la justiciabilidad de este derecho. Metodología: La metodología del estudio comprendió el análisis de la jurisprudencia sobre el derecho a la alimentación, así como el reconocimiento constitucional del derecho a la alimentación. Asimismo, se cuestionó la posición de los tribunales y el aspecto político del derecho a la alimentación. Resultados: A menudo se ha descubierto que las personas ni siquiera son conscientes de la posibilidad de utilizar el litigio como herramienta para promover la realización del derecho a la alimentación. Así como a la falta de conocimiento por parte de los políticos para implementar políticas públicas para hacer realidad de este derecho esencial a la alimentación. Contribuciones: La contribución principal radica en darse cuenta de que no está en juego ni en el reconocimiento de este derecho por parte de los tribunales. Si bien es cierto que el papel de los tribunales es fundamental porque facilita la creación de un clima cultural sensible a los derechos humanos, también es cierto que la implementación de los derechos a través de la jurisprudencia supone que se resuelva el problema del acceso a la justicia. PALABRAS-CLAVE: Derechos fundamentales; derecho a la alimentación; soberanía alimentaria; justiciabilidad; derecho comparado.


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