Resilient food systems and the right to food
By Clare James, Postgraduate Researcher, School of Law
Access to an adequate, safe, and healthy diet is a fundamental human right. You cannot live a dignified life, take part in society, and make free choices if you are hungry or malnourished. Dignity is a foundational principle of international human rights law, and the right to food is featured in many binding international treaties, that create legal obligations for states. The right to food is most fully stated in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), but despite the right to food being part of a widely ratified international human rights treaty, hunger persists across the globe. We currently produce more than enough food to easily feed the population of the world, yet in June 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that 783 million people are hungry and malnourished. Hunger and malnutrition do not only affect developing and least developed countries, in the UK, foodbank usage is rising with a reported 17% of households experiencing food insecurity in June 2023.
We produce more than enough food, but it is not accessible by those who need it, resulting in hunger and potential violations of the legal right to food. Weather events, pandemics and war can all impact the global food system. The global food system is complex, with food moved around the globe and prices affected by sometimes volatile markets. Rapid price increases or decreases can negatively impact consumers and farmers and increase levels of food insecurity. The causes of the 2007–8 food crisis are multiple, but it is widely agreed that increased demand for certain food staples, export restrictions and adverse weather events reducing food production, all combined to cause rapid increases in prices which were followed by increased levels of hunger and riots. Following the 2008 crisis, there were calls to change the global food system, to make it more resilient, however, recent events indicate that the global food system is still susceptible to shocks from global and regional events.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in interruptions to the global food supply chain, with the UK experiencing empty shelves in supermarkets, limiting some people’s ability to access food. Following Brexit, the UK continues to experience periodic food shortages, most recently a lack of availability of tomatoes and salad products. The war in Ukraine has resulted in a reduced availability of grain, risking increased hunger in countries that receive World Food Programme aid. The war in Ukraine has also led to increased fuel costs, resulting in increased farming and food production costs which are contributing to current dramatic rises in food prices. The rate of food inflation in the UK is driving food insecurity and food bank usage to a level higher than seen in the pandemic. In July, India, followed by other countries started limiting rice exports, raising fears of price increases of this staple, and the potential for increasing levels of hunger. The combination of the effects of the war in Ukraine, the rice export restrictions and the extreme heat this summer resemble the situation in 2008.
The global food system is still vulnerable to a variety of shocks which can limit access to food resulting in hunger and violations of the right to food. Article 11 ICESCR states that everyone has a fundamental right to be free from hunger. It also indicates that states should cooperate to improve methods of food production and ensure an ‘equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.’ However, the rights in the ICESCR are to be progressively realised, which can leave states unclear as to their precise legal obligations — if torture is absolutely prohibited in international human rights law, it is clear you cannot torture someone, but if a state is to progressively realise the right to food that includes aspects of nutrition, scientific development and production, the legal requirements are less clear.
This lack of clarity around legal obligations can contribute to violations of the right to food. Determining the content of state obligations created by the right to food in Article 11 ICESCR is fundamental to ensuring a resilient global food system that helps to realise the right to food for all. Organisations such as the UN and Food and Agriculture Organisation, alongside academic research elaborating the content of the right to food, give guidance to states about their legal human rights obligations. Such work guides states and the global community as to how to meet these obligations and limit the impact of future food system shocks and build resilience into the global food system. Determining the content of the obligations derived from the right to food and encouraging states to cooperate to implement them should reduce hunger and ensure more people across the globe have access to sufficient healthy and safe food.
