The Right to Food
Access to food: a fundamental need and right
Since its inception, the United Nations has identified access to adequate food as both an individual right and a collective responsibility. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food?". Nearly 20 years later, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) developed these concepts more fully, stressing "the right of everyone to ? adequate food" and specifying "the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger".
So, what is the distinction between the right to be free from hunger and the right to adequate food? The right to freedom from hunger is fundamental. This means that the state has an obligation to ensure, at the very least, that people do not starve. As such, this right is intrinsically linked to the right to life. In addition, however, states should also do everything possible to promote full enjoyment of the right to adequate food for everyone within their territory -- in other words, people should have physical and economic access at all times to food that is sufficient in quantity and quality for a healthy and active life. For food to be considered adequate, it must also be culturally acceptable and it must be produced in a manner that is environmentally and socially sustainable. Finally, its provision should not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights -- for example, acquiring enough food for an adequate diet should not be so costly as to threaten the satisfaction of other socio-economic rights, or be fulfilled to the detriment of civil and political rights.