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Giving realisation to the right to food

Shirin Motala

Economic Development and Performance Unit of the Human Sciences Research

Council , E-mail:
Published online: 13 Aug 2012.

To cite this article: Shirin Motala (2010) Giving realisation to the right to food, Agenda: Empowering women for
gender equity, 24:86, 3-7
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2010.10540515

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Giving realisation to the right to food

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Shirin Motala

abstract
The right to food is a fundamental human right enshrined in international law. Evidence suggests that there has been little
progress towards achieving this right. This introduction to this special issue explores the meaning of this right and, based on
available evidence, suggests that to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty, a necessary precondition
is that gender equality is addressed. Our responses need to address both long-term structural issues, such as changing the
power relationships in society, as well as short-term measures necessary to mitigate the harsh impacts of hunger and poverty,
particularly for children. Some examples of social protection measures that are proving effective in this regard are given.

keywords
right to food, social protection, gender equality and MDGs

Introduction

being 22.9 and 21.7 respectively against a global

At the peak of the global economic recession and

GHI score of 15.1.

food price crisis in 2009, the number of people

Of concern is the fact that child underweight

hungry and malnourished in the world surpassed

contributed 7.4 points (nearly half) of the global GHI

the 1 billion mark (IFPRI, Concern Worldwide &

score of 15.1). Significantly, sub-Saharan Africa is

Welt-Hungerhilfe, 2010). Unsurprisingly, between

home to more the 90% of the worlds stunted

2007 and 2008 there were over 40 food riots and

children. The roots of childhood undernutrition are

related unrest in cities across the globe (Holt-

poverty, food insecurity and gender inequality.

Gimenez & Patel, 2010).

This reflects the reality that the right to food is

According to the UN Food and Agriculture

NOT being realised, especially for young children.

Organization (FAO), there were 264 million hungry

Recent evidence suggests that the window of

people in sub-Saharan Africa (FAO, 2010). The

opportunity for improving life and well-being

2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI) (IFPRI, Concern

outcomes for children is much narrower, covering

Worldwide & Welt-Hungerhilfe, 2010) noted that

the period from conception to the childs second

world hunger remained at a serious level in South

birthday (1000 days). Children whose well-being is

Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, their GHI scores

not addressed during this period face irreversible

Giving realisation to the right to food

introduction
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consequences a lifetime of poor physical and

when every man, women and child, alone or in

cognitive development.

community with others, has physical and economic

access at all times to adequate food or the means

Understanding concepts and

definitions

for its procurement (FAO, 2009).

Concepts of food security, food insecurity, hunger

mean that government has to give everyone

targets, malnutrition and undernutrition feature

food, although it obliges governments to respect,

in the discourse on food and hunger. Some

protect and fulfil the right to food.

definitions are offered below.

Simply stated, the right to food does not

Respecting the right to food requires that

Hunger is defined by FAO as consumption of

governments not take action which in any

less than 1800 kilocalories daily, the minimum norm

way reduces peoples enjoyment of this right.

that most adults require to live and be healthy.

In a natural disaster situation it would be

governments responsibility to provide food.

Undernutrition/undernourishment describes
the status of a person whose food intake is

Protecting the right to food can be realised

inadequate both in terms of quantity and quality,

through government action to ensure that

leading to deficiencies in energy, protein and

food consumed is uncontaminated.

essential vitamins.
Malnutrition relates to both undernutrition
and overnutrition (over-consumption).
Food security is defined by the World Food
Programme (1996) as a situation at individual, national,

Fulfilling the right to food places an obligation

on government to enable individuals to access
food through direct production (farming) or
through earning sufficient income to purchase
required food.

regional and international level when all people, at

all times have physical, social and economic access

The right to food can be progressively realised

to safe, sufficient and nutritious food. Food security

by governments, a theme explored further on in

exists at many levels, including national food security

this article.

and household food security.

policies relating to food production and trade

Progress towards realising

Millennium Development Goals

policies, particularly in relation to food.

In 1990 world leaders committed themselves to

National food security is determined by

Household food security is determined by

reducing poverty and hunger, as reflected in the

several factors, including household composition

adoption of the eight Millennium Development

(age, size, gender of household members), wealth

Goals. The 2010 GHI makes it patently clear that

and livelihood strategies pursued (wages, grants

we are nowhere near achieving MDG 1 target of

and assets), geographical location (urban or rural)

halving the number of people in the world who are

and institutions such as markets and social networks

hungry by 2015.

(Jacobs, 2009). It is also impacted on by many

In September 2010 at a World Summit to

external factors, including energy costs, which in

assess progress towards achieving the eight MDGs,

turn can impact on agriculture production costs.

the picture that emerged particularly in respect of

MDG 1 for sub-Saharan Africa was bleak. Further

The right to food

consensus was that without addressing this goal it

The right of freedom from hunger is a fundamental

was going to be impossible to achieve any of the

human right in international law (Kunnermann

others. What has became clearer is the need to

& Epal-Ratjen, 2004), and the right is realised

take into account the interconnectedness between

AGENDA 86 2010

food, but rather the global system of trade in food

that achievement of gender equality targets is

products. According to Patnaik, access to food is a

highly dependent on progress in each of the other

deeply political issue, as reflected in choices made

MDGs, namely reducing poverty, mitigating hunger

by governments to support trade liberalisation,

and ensuring environmental sustainability, and that

withdrawal of price support and cutbacks in

similarly, gender equality is not only a goal in its

subsidies, all of which confirm abdication of their

own right, but also an important means for realizing

responsibility to protect livelihoods.

all the MDGs.

Our responses to the global economic and food

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crisis have to be multifaceted and multi-layered.

Why is achieving gender equality

and empowerment important for
food and nutrition security?

Long-term responses include the need to transform

There is compelling evidence from World Bank and

and promote greater respect for and commitment

UNIFEM studies that empowering women is key to

to human rights, particularly gender rights. We are,

poverty reduction, and to achieving MDG targets:

however, reminded that short-term responses to

Two-thirds of all women in the African

mitigate harsh impacts of poverty and hunger on

continent are employed in the agricultural

the most vulnerable are equally necessary. Here

sector and produce 90% of the food. Of

is where adopting social protection measures to

concern, however, they receive only 5% of

mitigate the harsh effects become important.

unequal power relationships globally, transform the

worlds food production and distribution systems,

agricultural extension training and access only

10% of rural credit (UNIFEM-UNDP, 2010).

Social protection mechanisms

World Bank research (2004) suggests that a 1-year

The global economic crisis highlighted the

increase in schooling of adult females contributes

importance of social protection measures to help

to an increase in gross domestic product.

people cope in crisis situations; they also can

In Mozambique, increasing the number of adult

if properly designed and implemented lay

females per household that have completed

foundations for long-term food security.

primary schooling leads to a 23.2% decrease

A wide range of social protection measures are

in the proportion of the population living in

adopted by governments to mitigate impacts of

poverty (Datt et al., 1999).

hunger and poverty. Those focused on addressing

Educating mothers makes sense if we want to

the needs of chronically hungry children can include

improve outcomes for children; mothers with

birth registration, growth monitoring, vitamin and

a few years of education are likely to promote

mineral supplementation, and implementation of

their childrens attendance at school (ibid.).

school feeding programmes. Programmes focused

Providing adequate nutrition and care for

on households living in deep poverty include disease

pregnant women before and during childbirth

management and prevention, cash transfers, and

could prevent 3 to 4 million infant deaths in the

social services support to vulnerable households.

first 4 weeks of life.

General

community-

and

household-based

programmes include public employment schemes,

Tackling causes of hunger and

poverty

hygiene education and promotion, micro-credit

schemes and income generation.

Holt-Gimenez and Patel (2010) and Patnaik (2004)

among others are agreed as to causes of global

The case of Bello Horizonte

hunger; they argue that the root cause is not lack of

In 1973 the right to food was given concrete effect

Giving realisation to the right to food

introduction

MDGs. UNIFEM-UNDP (2010) highlighted the fact

introduction
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by the municipal government of Bello Horizonte

Horizonte with its various programmes reaching

(Rocha, 2003), the fourth largest city in Brazil

over 800 000 citizens daily. Most revealing is that

with a population of 2.2 million which during the

the city managed to achieve all this by spending

early 1990s had an estimated 38% of families

only 2% of the city budget.

living under the poverty line. The newly elected

the right to adequate quantity and quality

Social protection measures in

South Africa

of food throughout their lives and that its a

South Africa has implemented a number of social

duty of government to guarantee this right.

protection measures, two of which merit mention.

This declaration was interpreted by Lappe and

The first is SAs cash transfer programme, which

Lappe (2002) as essentially government officials

currently reaches over 13 million South African

acknowledging to its citizens that if you are too

children, the disabled and the elderly. It is widely

poor to buy food in the market you are no less a

recognised that without this safety net, South Africas

citizen, we are accountable to you.

inequality gap would be wider. Recently South Africa

city government declared that all citizens have

The city embarked on a programme of action

has introduced the Community Work Programme

around three focus areas: creating an enabling

(CWP), an employment safety net initiative which

policy environment to assist people who are

provides unemployed people with regular work on

food insecure to supplement their food needs;

a predictable basis, where participants receive work

expanding food distribution opportunities; and

for at least 2 days per week, receiving a small stipend

attempting to increase food production.

in the region of R50 per day for a total of 8 days per

Some of the unique measures adopted

month. A key requirement is that the work must be

included the following:

useful, promote the public good and improve quality

Establishing Peoples Restaurants where a

of life in targeted communities. Across many of the

nutritious meal could be obtained cheaply,

CWP sites food gardens (both communal and home)

which is recorded as providing food to 12 000

are one of the many key activities. Food gardens have

people daily.

been established in clinics, schools and in the yards of

Enabling farmers to supply produce directly to

vulnerable households.

schools, creating a new market for farmers as

university whereby regular surveys of prices

About this Special Edition on

Gender, Food and Nutrition
Security in the context of the
Global Economic Crisis

of 45 basic goods were conducted and the

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

information widely disseminated.

has over several years had a focus on land,

A Food Citizenship radio show run daily which

agriculture, poverty reduction and food security

provides accessible information on nutrition,

at a macro level to monitor food security and to

food preparation, current prices, food handling

identify and evaluate policy options. In 2008 the

safety, and even a recipe or two.

HSRC led a special focus on factors impacting on

Establishing food markets where an identified

food security at a household level.

well as ensuring that children received fresh

fruit and vegetables.

Developing a

partnership with the local

list of 20 food items are sold at a reduced fixed

price.

The seeds of this special edition were sown in

2010 when the HSRC undertook a study for Oxfam
(Hart & Jacobs, 2010) aimed at understanding how

The results have been widely acclaimed, with Belo

AGENDA 86 2010

the rise in food prices and recent global economic

of low-income households. Not unsurprisingly,

the study found a 2-3 percentage point increase
in household experiences of hunger and, more
importantly, that female-headed households bore
the brunt of the suffering.
The focus on food security falls under a
larger research programme focus on sustainable
development within the Economic Performance

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and Development unit of the HSRC (http://www.

hsrc.ac.za/EPD.phtml).

References
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poverty in Mozambique: Final Report. Washington DC:
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Food and Agriculture Organization & World Food Programme
(2010) The State of Food Insecurity in the World. Rome: FAO.
Girma A (2010) Achieving the UN MDGs in Africa Challenges
and the Way Forward. Johannesburg: Global Poverty
Dialogue.
Hart T (2009) Exploring definitions of food insecurity and
vulnerability: Time to refocus assessments, in Agrekon,
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Hart T & Jacobs PT (2010) Household food insecurity, rapid
food price inflation and the economic downturn. South
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Holt-Gimenez E & Patel R (2010) Food Rebellions: Crisis and

the Hunger for Justice. Oxford: Fahamu Press.
IFPRI, Concern Worldwide & Welt-Hungerhilfe (2010) Global
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Acknowledgements
The Guest Editor and Economic Performance and Development, HSRC, would like to thank the
Editorial Board of AGENDA for partnering with us in the publication of this special issue.

SHIRIN MOTALA is a Senior Research Manager in the Economic Development and Performance Unit of
the Human Sciences Research Council. She holds an MA in Development from the University of KwaZuluNatal. Shirin has been leading the EPD Scaling Up Early Childhood Development Sub-Programme aimed at
enhancing outcomes for young children while at the same time expanding opportunities for employment in
this sector, particularly targeted at poor and vulnerable women. Prior to joining the HSRC in October 2008 she
was KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Coordinator for the Civil Society Advocacy Programme, a partnership project
between the South African Human Rights Commission, the Commission on Gender Equality and The Office of
the Public Protector. She has worked as a development practitioner in the field of land and rural development,
human rights, gender and child rights, social welfare and poverty eradication. Her areas of research interest
include child development with a special emphasis on child rights, vulnerability and well-being, poverty and
socio-economic rights. Email: smotala@hsrc.ac.za

Giving realisation to the right to food

introduction

crisis might have affected food security status