Essay On Right To Food Human Right

The right to food is a human right. It is universal, acknowledged at the national, regional and international level, and applies to every person and group of persons. Currently, however, some 852 million persons throughout the world are seriously – and permanently undernourished, 815 million of whom are in developing countries, 28 million in countries in transition and 9 million in developed (―industrialized‖) countries. Furthermore, every five seconds, a child under ten years of age dies of hunger or malnutrition1 – more than 5 million per year.

Thus, the causes of undernourishment and of death from hunger and malnutrition of children are immensely complex, and they cannot be simply attributed to war or natural catastrophes. They are primarily due

Article 25 (1) of UDHR asserts that, ‗everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and o f his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services ...‘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‘. The civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration are considered interdependent, interrelated, indivisible and equally important. To be able to enjoy the right to food fully, people need access to healthcare and education, respect for their cultural values, the right to access and posses property and the right to organize themselves economically and politically. Without adequat e food, people cannot lead healthy active lives. They are not employable, cannot care for their children, and their children cannot learn to read and