The Right to Food: Where Human Rights and Sustainable Development Meet

By Francesca Sabia

"Human beings shall enjoy freedom (…) from want (…) as the highest aspiration of the common people states the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Yet, is the community worldwide enjoying its basic right to freedom from wanting safe access to food to satisfy its needs?

Credits: Pexels

The agri-food system is a well-suited example to demonstrate the solid nexus existing between human rights and long-aspired sustainable development championed by the UN 2030 Agenda and worldwide entities. Yet, the nexus above might be easily challenged and hindered, leaving the agri-food field and people living off of it hanging on a fine line, witnessing how delicate this existing balance is when it comes to food-sector insecurity. 

Briefly opening parenthesis on the historical roots of the right to food as a primary human being – international organizations have recognized more intensely ever since the 2000s the increasing number of people being prevented from accessing food for various reasons and decided to reinforce the legal frameworks and guidelines, calling for countries to act and reverse the ever-escalating trend – which has later reached an almost irreversible stage.  

Understanding that without safe nutrition, there wouldn’t be any progress in humanity, the right to adequate access to food –  as previously framed by Article 25 of the Human Rights Charter and Article 11 of the ICESCR –  has been put even more at the center of the global agenda.

Ever since 2004, in the Voluntary Guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security endorsed by FAO member states, the right to food has been defined as «the right of every man, woman, and child, alone or in community with others, to have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement».  It is indeed emphasized how access to food does not merely mean ensuring a certain caloric intake to people, yet the right to food as a human right is deemed as the right to a nutritious, culturally appropriate food that is healthy for one’s well-being and is produced in a sustainable manner such that the same right can be ensured for the times to come and for future generations.

Likewise, the topic is approached by the OHCHR – strictly linking the right to appropriate nutrition as a primary human right, within the framework of the overall right to development. As the climate conditions worsen, as poverty skyrockets and food insecurity is always harder to tackle, a « transition to sustainable food systems, (…), as an essential approach to simultaneously adapting to climate change and fulfilling the right to food» is more urgent than ever. 

With this framework in mind, the cross-cuttingness between human rights and sustainability for the agri-food system proves to be crystal clear. By integrating a strict human rights-based approach into the development agenda, governments, and international organizations can create more resilient and just food systems. Food isn’t a mere necessity, rather, it is a main component of human development, intersecting itself with broader sustainable goals. 

The agri-food system – in its comprehensiveness, from the farmers’ fields to supermarkets and consumers – touches upon all branches of the global society; thus, achieving a widespread right to food for all populations contributes to advancing other UN goals – including poverty reduction, health and well-being, inequality reduction, and safe environmental actions. The pivotal role that this sector plays in sustainable development is undeniable since it provides livelihoods to billions of civilians, allows to yield money for living, and ensures primary nutrients for people’s well-being. Yet, this same sector is tackled by grave issues – i.e., soil degradation and climate hazards, lack of technologies or supplies to improve agri-food practices, high costs borne by poor families, inequalities and marginalization of vulnerable groups (smallholders,  women, and indigenous groups), and criminality badly affecting crops or food hubs. 

When basic socio-economic and political rights are violated, or denied, the simplest right of all – the right to food – is denied and restricted as well as correlated and inseparable consequences. Only by addressing these systemic gaps in human rights – for instance, by promoting gender equality and empowering marginalized communities – development in the agri-food sector can be sustainable, fair, and granted to all.

Firstly, strengthening the social protection system is advisable; governments must adopt urgent social measures such as school feeding programs, economic measures, and policies aimed at protecting vulnerable classes. Secondly, a transition to sustainable farming methods that enable long-term biodiversity protection and food security, whilst empowering smallholder farmers, females, and Indigenous communities are imperative objectives to tackle inequalities. Finally, justice sector reforms are needed, to protect the affected local indigenous population from the crimes of ecocide committed by larger enterprises and stop corrupted practices occurring even within the afri-food chain.

 Main sources available here: FAO’s work on the right to food