FOOD FOR THOUGHT ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

The fact that global food supply is currently sufficient to feed the entire world population, and that the right to adequate food is in principle well rooted in international law, shows that the reasons for hunger and malnutrition of 800 million people are to be found in policy and legal shortcomings. This paper seeks to trace the state of the art of the international law process on the right to food, with a view to identifying the major obstacles to its implementation. Attention will be addressed to its normative contents, following a duty-based approach, rather than focusing on the assessment of its ancillary, or autonomous nature. It is argued that, while compliance with relevant international instruments remains the primary and ultimate responsibility of States, international law is now pressed to consider the most appropriate regulatory formulas bearing on corporate responsibility. It is also suggested the existing problems of enforcement of the right to food can be properly addressed through the recognition of its justiciable nature as an integral part of economic, social and cultural rights. Finally, the interconnections with the right to water and with the principle of sustainable development are highlighted in relation to the need for a stronger intergenerational approach to the right to food in its dimension as a “green” human right.