Respecting and protecting the right to food: When states must get out of the kitchen

Abstract

One of the benefits of the right to food approach in combating food insecurity is the emphasis it places on the state providing an environment for individuals, and in certain cases communities, to meet their own food needs. This emphasis on creating the space for individuals to meet their food needs is often misunderstood by critics of the right to food. The right to food is often imagined as solely a positive right—with obligations on the state to provide food to the hungry. The right to food encompasses this right—and places corresponding obligations on the state to fulfill the right to food—but like other economic and social rights it contains other state obligations as well. These other obligations in essence derive from negative rights, depicting where and when the state or other third parties must not hinder the ability of individuals to meet their own food needs. This chapter explores these negative rights from a theoretical standpoint as well as through a case study. It argues that addressing the negative rights to food—and the state obligations to respect and protect the right to food—is essential for building sustainable food systems grounded in the promotion of human dignity.