A Human Rights Approach to the Health Implications of Food and Nutrition Insecurity

Abstract

Food and nutrition insecurity continues to pose a serious global challenge, reflecting government shortcomings in meeting international obligations to ensure the availability, accessibility, and quality of food and to ensure the highest attainable standard of health of their peoples. With global drivers like climate change, urbanization, greater armed conflict, and the globalization of unhealthy diet, particularly in under-resourced countries, food insecurity is rapidly becoming an even greater challenge for those living in poverty. International human rights law can serve a critical role in guiding governments that are struggling to protect the health of their populations, particularly among the most susceptible groups, in responding to food and nutrition insecurity. This article explores and advocates for a human rights approach to food and nutrition security, specifically identifying legal mechanisms to "domesticate" relevant international human rights standards through national policy. Recognizing nutrition security as a determinant of public health, this article recognizes the important links between the four main elements of food security (i.e., availability, stability, utilization, and access) and the normative attributes of the right to health and the right to food (i.e., availability, accessibility, affordability, and quality). In drawing from the evolution of international human rights instruments, official documents issued by international human rights treaty bodies, as well as past scholarship at the intersection of the right to health and right to food, this article interprets and articulates the intersectional rights-based obligations of national governments in the face of food and nutrition insecurity.

Monitoreo del derecho humano a la alimentación adecuada: revisión sistemática

“…Esto podría deberse al hecho de que al ser un derecho socio-económico y no civil-político, se tiene la creencia que no puede ser transformado en derechos legales, debido a que no puede practicarse o justiciarse (23), por lo que se opta por evaluar su cumplimiento y ejercicio desde otros enfoques. Sin embargo, debido a que este derecho se ve trasgredido principalmente en poblaciones vulnerables, se establece como crítico el abordaje desde un enfoque de DH para poder abordar de manera integral sus necesidades (24),…”

Getting to the root of the problem: the international and domestic politics of junk food industry regulation in Latin America

“…Others have alluded to similar global trends. While the United Nations through its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recently worked closely with governments to introduce domestic policies committed to ensuring food security and nutrition as a human right ( Ayala and Meier, 2017 ), it seems that these international organizations have not been committed to emphasizing national legislation on aggressively regulating junk food industries through this normative perspective. The FAO’s recommendations to nation states are focused on NCD prevention, e.g.…”

“…The FAO’s recommendations to nation states are focused on NCD prevention, e.g. ensuring healthy eating habits ( Ayala and Meier, 2017 ), and not industry regulation—although the World Health Assembly, according to Ayala and Meier (2017) , has reminded nations to incorporate international obligations to immediately introduce legislation on food marketing towards children ( Ayala and Meier, 2017 ).…”

Multidimensional Food Security Index: A Comprehensive Approach

“…Thus, violent conflict often substantially impairs the availability, access and stability dimensions of the right to food [62]. Social conflict can lead to disruptions in food production, physical access to food, and food safety efforts [63]. Moreover, armed conflicts exacerbate women and children vulnerability and their FNS because they are mostly targeted by such conflicts [63].…”