FOOD IS A HUMAN RIGHT

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights advocates have focused most of their energy on civil and political rights. Now, in the second half-century of post-World War II human rights advocacy, economic, social and cultural rights are gaining increasing attention. Economic, social and cultural rights include the right to an adequate standard of living. Article 25, paragraph 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. This was elaborated in article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Paragraph 1 says: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The human right to adequate food is explicitly recognized as part of the broader human right to an adequate standard of living. While the focus here is on food, we have much to learn from the work that has emerged on health, education, housing, and other issues relating to an adequat