Paths to local food security: a right to food, a commitment to trade.

• Author: Echols, Marsha A.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION II. THE RIGHT TO FOOD III. DEFINING FOOD IV. FOOD SECURITY V. FOOD SECURITY AND TRADE VI. NAFTA, CORN TRADE, AND FOOD SECURITY IN MEXICO VII. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION

International bodies and nation-states attending international meetings on the subject have agreed that there is a "right to food." The first Millennium Development Goal, in which members of the United Nations General Assembly agreed to halve the number of persons without adequate food by the year 2015, complements this right to food. (1) Many persons believe that the right to food--especially at the national level--is linked to national food self-sufficiency. Opponents of this view argue that self-sufficiency is economically irrational in many territories. (2) Others believe that for many countries, particularly nations in sub-Saharan Africa, a government's obligation to ensure food security can be achieved only through markets open to basic food imports, combined with some local production and probably with biotechnology. (3) While this belief in the need for markets that are open to food imports as well as local production is the prevailing view, the experience of Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (4) has created some concern for the viability of this system. The Mexican market has opened to U.S. feed corn imports, which would normally lower the price. However, prices for maize have escalated as maize becomes a feed stock of choice in the fight against climate change, driving up demand. This brief article considers a few of the legal and policy issues connected with trying to balance the right to food and the commitment to free trade.

2. THE RIGHT TO FOOD

   Most international experts agree that there is a right to food, and categorize it as one of the basic human rights. (5) The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food." (6) In 1963, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights added, "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.... The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent." (7) The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reiterated "the right of everyone to ... adequate food," and emphasized "the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger." (8) The 1996 Rome Declaration on World Food Security adds "the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger." (9)

   Several agreements concerning the welfare of children have addressed food security. (10) The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example, directs that "States Parties shall ... take appropriate measures ... to combat disease and malnutrition ... through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods." (11)

   The obligation of governments is mentioned in Article 27 of the 1984 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: "States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their means ... shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition." (12)

   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has a unique role related to the right to food and food security. According to the FAO Constitution, the FAO is comprised of members that are "determined to promote the common welfare by furthering separate and collective action on their part for the purpose of: raising levels of nutrition and standards of living ... and thus ... ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger." (13)

   FAO has developed nineteen related voluntary guidelines. (14) The guidelines include advice and recommendations concerning institutions, a legal framework, and access to resources and assets. (15) In describing the legal framework, FAO states that "[i]ndividuals should be able to claim this right and States are accountable for the elaboration and implementation of policies for the immediate and progressive liberalization of the right to food." (16)

3. DEFINING FOOD

   Most governments, as well as the Codex Alimentarius Commission, have defined food. (17) These definitions agree, in varying degrees of specificity, that a food is a substance that is consumed or ingested by humans. (18) With the constant changes in food technology, one current difficulty with this definition is distinguishing a food from a food used as a drug. (19)

   The Codex Alimentarius defines food as "any substance, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, which is intended for human consumption, and includes drink, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture, preparation, or treatment of 'food,' but does not include cosmetics or tobacco or substances used only as drugs." (20) The U.S. definition of food is simpler: "The term 'food' means (1) articles used for food or drink for man or other animals, (2) chewing gum, and (3) articles used for components of any such article." (21) In Europe, "food" (or "foodstuff") means any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be, ingested by humans. (22)

   The diets of many people, particularly those in urban areas, are evolving. Trade and world media are partially responsible for these changes. (23) Food "grown in one country can now be transported and consumed halfway across the world. People demand a wider variety of foods than in the past, they want foods that are not in season and they often eat out of the home." (24)

   At the same time, millions of people continue to survive on traditional, local foods, such as corn, rice, tubers and fish. In affluent communities of developed countries, the interest in natural, organic, and locally grown foods is increasing. (25) One manifestation of this increased interest is the Slow Food Movement. Slow Food says that our "defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food." (26)

4. FOOD SECURITY

   Food security is taking on greater significance in policy circles. The increase in global attention to the rich-poor divide and the idea that poverty, including inadequate food and diets, might contribute to terrorism are each partially driving the concern:

   The number of people without enough to eat on a regular basis remains stubbornly high, at over 800 million, and is not falling significantly. Over 60% of the world's undernourished people live in Asia, and a quarter in Africa. The...