20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines - Call for inputs on the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (RTFG).
The right to food is a legally binding right, guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is realized when everyone has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement, as established in General Comment 12, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
The Right to Food Guidelines provide practical guidance for States on how to realize the right to adequate food through the development of strategies, programmes, policies and legislation. They were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and adopted by FAO Council in November 2004, after two years of intergovernmental negotiations and multi-stakeholder participation.
Governments have legal obligations to ensure the right to food, while everyone is entitled to enjoy it as a universal right, without discrimination. Moreover, all of us, individuals or collectives, including government officials, lawmakers, local communities, non-governmental organizations, academics, consumer organizations, youth groups, Indigenous Peoples, small holders, women’s organizations, civil society organizations as well as the private sector are crucial actors in the realization of the right to adequate food.
The RTFG anticipated the urgency of today’s most pressing global challenges to achieving sustainable development, including conflicts, inequalities, diseases, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. In our complex world with ever-growing and changing challenges, the Guidelines prove as relevant as ever. They remind us of the importance of international cooperation and collaboration towards the collective public good of ending hunger, malnutrition in all its forms, poverty and inequality. Their full implementation contributes to our efforts towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), themselves grounded in human rights.
The last 5 years have been particularly challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic, increased hunger and malnutrition in all its forms, rising inequalities, and a cost-of-living crisis. Innovative responses have been implemented by governments and other actors globally. 20 years on, it is time to take stock of progress and consider key takeaways.
Have your say where it matters!
Looking towards the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines, the results of this call will help inform on efforts made to realize the right to adequate food at local, national, regional or global level, and provide an important stock taking opportunity for countries and their people.
The FAO Right to Food Team and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) invite stakeholders to:
1. |
Share your experiences and good practices on the realization of the right to food for everyone, always. |
2. |
Identify any gaps, constraints and challenges encountered in realizing the right to food or in implementing the Right to Food Guidelines. |
3. |
Share any lessons learned and suggest recommendations for improvement in realizing the right to adequate food. |
4. |
Next steps: are there any concrete plans to (further) use and apply the Guidelines? |
How to take part in this Call for Submissions
Please share your experience(s) using the following template: Link to Template
Submissions can be made in any of the 6 UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). Please keep the length of submissions limited to 1,000 words. You can upload the completed form here or, alternatively, send it to [email protected].
The Call for Submissions is open until 8 January 2024.
We thank you very much for your valuable contributions and look forward to learning from your experiences.
Co-Facilitators:
- Marie-Lara Hubert-Chartier, Right to Food Specialist
- Claire Mason, Right to Food Adviser
- Sarah Brand, Associate Professional Officer
- Chiara Cirulli, Economist (Food Security and Nutrition Policy), the CFS Secretariat
References
- Right to Food Guidelines
- Fifteen years implementing the RTFG
- RTF Handbooks
- RTF Methodological Toolbox
Please read the article on more FAO publications on this topic here.
- Read 112 contributions
Greetings
Please find attached the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) submissions
on the Call for inputs on the realisation of of the Human Right to
Adequate Food. The submission is made with the approval of the Executive
Director of the CCZ to whom this email is copied to.
Kind regards,
Selby Tapiwa Mutukudzi
Dear Co-facilitators,
Please find Umami Meat's submission about the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food. Do let us know if you have any questions or follow-up.
Thank you!
Best,
Melody Madhavan
メロディー・マダバン
Commercial & Marketing
Señores
Organizacion de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO)
Estimados Señores:
Reciba un cordial saludo de la Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos de Guatemala.
Por este medio me permito hacer referencia a la solicitud para presentar contribuciones sobre la realización del derecho humano a una alimentación adecuada. De cara al vigésimo aniversario de las Directrices sobre el derecho a la alimentación.
Al respecto, me permito trasladar la contribución del Procurador de los Derechos Humanos de Guatemala, con base a las directrices brindadas para el efecto.
Sin otro particular, me suscribo, atentamente,
Dedy Lalinka Gonzalez Herrera
Sr. Moderator:
En cumplimiento a la nota VRE-DGRM-USEC-Cs-59/2023 de Cancillería, le remito en versión digital, la Contribución del Ministerio de Desarrollo Rural y Tierras a las Directrices sobre el Derecho a una Alimentación Adecuada, en el formato establecido en su página web.
Saludos
Dirección General de Planificación
Mr. Davy Pouaty Nzembialéla
Monsieur ou Madame, je vous fais parvenir, ci-joint, la modeste contribution de l'ADACO relative à l'objet ci-dessus cité. Cordialement.
To whom who may concern,
You can find attached the contribution of the research group coordinated by Prof. Andrea Segrè, from University of Bologna, on the realization of the Right to Food.
Attached is also the document where the guidelines of the Food Policy of Bologna are explained, where the right to food has been set as a milestone.
For any clarification or need for more information we remain available.
Best regards,
Filippo Pini for the University of Bologna team
Research fellow
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Submission for the 20th Anniversary of the Guidelines on the Right to Food
Dear concern.
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food
Guidelines, I am writing to provide my input and share valuable
information regarding the realization of the Human Right to Sufficient
Food. As an ardent advocate for food security and sustainable
agriculture, I believe that every person should have access to secure,
nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.
I have attentively perused and considered the United Nations'
guidelines regarding the right to sustenance, and I would like to
contribute my beekeeping industry-specific experiences and best
practices. Although I lack personal experience in this field, I have
compiled pertinent information and best practices that can assist in
the realization of the right to sustenance via beekeeping.
Through pollination and honey production, the beekeeping industry
plays a crucial role in food production, making it an essential aspect
of assuring food security and promoting biodiversity. We can
collectively improve the comprehension and application of the right to
sustenance if we share our experiences and best practices.
In my proposal, I have outlined key elements such as sustainable
beekeeping practices, capacity building, and knowledge sharing, access
to resources and markets, conservation of bee habitats, research and
innovation, policy support and advocacy, and the significance of
collaboration and partnerships within the beekeeping industry.
We can contribute to the realization of the Human Right to Adequate
Food, I believe, by incorporating these experiences and best practices
into our collective efforts. The beekeeping industry has enormous
potential to not only provide sustenance but also support beekeepers'
livelihoods and promote environmental preservation.
I expect that my submission will be considered and will contribute to
the larger discussions and initiatives surrounding the Right to Food
Guidelines' 20th anniversary. I welcome any additional conversations
or opportunities for collaboration that may result from this
submission.
Please find enclosed my detailed submission, which provides an
exhaustive overview of the beekeeping industry's experiences and best
practices in relation to the realization of the right to sustenance.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if any additional information or
documents are required.
Thank you for your consideration of this issue. I offer my fondest
regards for the success of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the
Right to Food Guidelines.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Jaber Amin.
Pat Heslop-Harrison ([email protected]) on behalf of several members of the Institute for Environmental Futures, University of Leicester, UK including Beth Delaney, Hessain Ekkeh, Mateus Macul, Nicholes Nicholes, John E. Pearl and Emilio Payo
RESPONSE TO UN FAO Right to Food Guidelines Consultation
We are happy to have the opportunity to celebrate and comment on the 20th anniversary of implementing the FAO/UK Right to Food Guidelines in 2024, in advance of the 2030 reviews of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. We are academic research scientists and PhD students from multiple disciplines working with the University of Leicester Institute for Environmental Futures, We have extensive interdisciplinary research projects, many involving PhD students, with a global reach, as well as University teaching roles.
(i) Experiences and good practices
The FAO Consultation was excellent as it allowed involvement of stakeholders globally in development and monitoring of the RtFG, encouraging discussions, and generating data or case studies about best-practice. With respect to 'lessons learned', our contributions would be in monitoring and investigations of approaches.
(ii) Gaps, constraints and challenges
We feel there are three gaps and challenges that should be addressed, regarding Sustainability, Robustness, and Education:
A. Sustainability
The Right to Food documentation has little in relationship to sustainability, which must be considered at levels of the individual, region, nation, continent, and globe. Current farming practices are generally able to produce enough food (with obvious challenges of availability, distribution and to an extent type of food) to meet the demand of the population. However, current practices are, firstly, using more resources from the planet than are being replaced; and, secondly, human activity is changing, and in many cases destroying, the environment producing food. Hence, 'business as usual' is not certain to continue production of sufficient food without substantial changes. Production of food should not impede the viability of areas in the future, whether with respect to water, soils, or crop protection and nutrition (eg Hunke et al., 2015; Lal & Stewart, 1990), while the increasing temperature variability and extreme weather events predicted will need improved genetics and potentially changes in areas and agronomic practices. Detailed monitoring and research at national levels, in all countries, will be required to recognize and avoid unsustainable practices and adapt food production systems to changing climates and environments.
B. Robustness and resilience
The International Covenant on Rights obliges each party to take steps "to the maximum of its available resources" to achieve, among others, the Right to Food. Food supply has to ensure resilience as one of its cornerstones, and a system exploited to its maximum cannot provide that resilience. The scope of the resilience is twofold, and is linked to sustainability. Firstly, resources needed for food production must continue to be available. Secondly, the resilience of supply chains and the associated infrastructure including storage and long-distance transport to balance crop failures and crops from different regions, must be improved. Among other factors, 13% of food production worldwide is lost due to insufficient refrigeration (63% in developing countries; Wu et al., 2022); as well as cold storage, improvements in harvesting and transport through to sales predictions can reduce waste. Improvements need to consider too impacts on energy use, greenhouse gas emission and social structures. Changes in production patterns, availability of food items, and social structures (urbanization and aging of populations) all require adjustments to farms and distribution processes. Supply chain disruptions and the need for enhanced traceability and quality assurance are also significant concerns.
These constraints and challenges show the tight links between food, health and environmental security, three of the main categories of human security threats (UNDP, United Nations Development Programme, 1994).
C. Education
Education about food and nutrition at the under-16 level has at least partially failed globally. Many populations, whether from less or more developed countries, show health and well-being issues resulting from a poor diet, while there are other challenges related to food safety, storage and waste. All impact on delivery of the Right to Food at the individual level. Nationally in the UK, we ask how 12 years of mandatory state education allows an 'obesity crisis', with a population ill-equipped to understand food and eating habits? Globally, how is the sufficient food that farms produce - at substantial environmental cost - not available deliver the aims of a 'Right to Food'?
Beyond the under-16 level education, University-level, tertiary, education has a major part to play in equipping people with the skills required to both develop and put into practice policies that enable the Right to Food to be achieved. Furthermore, through the research programmes associated with the training activities in most Universities, both globally novel, and regional applications, of the new approaches to achieve the RtFG. We therefore welcome the increasing quality of Universities globally, and increasing enrolment of students. We hope the teaching and research will underpin the development and implementation of the Right to Food.
(iii) Lessons learned and suggestions
Our research and teaching have academic value but are not specific examples of implementation of the Right to Food guidelines.
(iv) Next steps: use of Right to Food Guidelines
At a local University level, many of us will plan to incorporate teaching (undergraduate, MSc and within PhD programmes) about the Right to Food Guidelines, complementing the deep consideration of the UN SDGs already in many courses.
o Human Development Report 1994: New Dimensions of Human Security. New York.UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 1994.
o Hunke, P., Mueller, E. N., Schröder, B., and Zeilhofer, P. (2015) The Brazilian Cerrado: assessment of water and soil degradation in catchments under intensive agricultural use. Ecohydrol., 8: 1154– 1180. doi: 10.1002/eco.1573
o James, S.J. and James, C.J.F.R.I., 2010. The food cold-chain and climate change. Food Research International, 43(7), pp.1944-1956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2010.02.001
o Lal, R., & Stewart, B. A. (1990). Soil degradation: A global threat. Advances in soil science, 2.
o Reardon, T., Zilberman, D. (2018). Climate Smart Food Supply Chains in Developing Countries in an Era of Rapid Dual Change in Agrifood Systems and the Climate. In: Lipper, L., McCarthy, N., Zilberman, D., Asfaw, S., Branca, G. (eds) Climate Smart Agriculture . Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 52. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61194-5_15
o Wu, J., Li, Q., Liu, G., Xie, R., Zou, Y., Scipioni, A. and Manzardo, A., 2022. Evaluating the impact of refrigerated transport trucks in China on climate change from the life cycle perspective. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 97, p.106866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106866
Dear colleagues,
We are hereby sharing with you a joint FAO - Pan African Parliament submission to the Global Forum on Food Security - 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines.
We thank you very much for your consideration and are looking forward to the opportunity to participate in the Forum.
Do not hesitate if you have questions.
Best regards,
Kysseline Chérestal, Esq.
Legal Officer
Development Law Branch, Legal Office
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Senegal
On behalf of Claire Ogley, Head of Campaigns, Policy & Research at The Vegan Society:
"The Human Right to a secure supply of affordable, suitable food, which meets our cultural, religious and philosophical beliefs, has repeatedly been articulated. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and many other treaties and laws clearly set out the right to suitable food. This includes vegans, people holding and practicing the philosophical belief of veganism.
"We have set out in great detail how these Human Rights specifically apply to vegans, through our International Rights Network of legal experts, here: https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/international-rights-network/…
"Moreover, many experts have repeatedly presented evidence that plant-based biosphere and food system management – as well as allowing for the restoration and recovery of habitats for free-living animals – is a vital element in ensuring food security for everyone. As just one high level example, "Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.” Willett W et al. 2019 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)3178… (Summaries in numerous languages also here: https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/eat-lancet-commission-summar…) sets out why and how a global transformation of the food system is urgently needed.
"As The Vegan Society set out in our COP27 briefing (https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/our-work-policy-makers/cop27-…) the Global North including the G7 countries have the greatest responsibility for the current global biodiversity, climate and hunger crises. We set out what this might look like for a typical G7 country, the UK, in our Grow Green series of reports and research: https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/grow-green
"Therefore, the Global North has a global debt that can only be made good by the Global North leading a plant-based food systems transformation. Only then can the Human Right to Food be realised for all, including all cultural and belief-based needs, at all times."
This activity is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.