Right to Food Fact Sheet

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Right to Food FACT SHEET What is the Right to Food? The right to food is a human right recognised • Respect: of existing access to in South Africa is still owned by the white The right to work and to social security: • The lack of adequate food and under national and international law, adequate food. Government can minority, and land redistribution is required. employment and social security are often nutrition is arguably the most critical which protects the right of human beings not to take any measures that result in There is also a lack of support for small- crucial means of obtaining food. On the issue facing children in South Africa to access food and feed themselves, preventing such access; scale farmers to promote food security other hand, minimum wages and social today. The lack of access to food for either by producing their own food or by and production. Urban farming is not security benefits are often established children will affect rights such as the • Protect: requires measures by buying it. The right to food is linked to one’s adequately encouraged or supported, taking into account the cost of basic food right to health, education and health. government to ensure that companies right to life and dignity. The right to food despite the need for food gardens in cities. in the market. or individuals do not deprive other requires that food be available, accessible The level of access to social grants is lower • Although South Africa is a producer of individuals of their access to adequate and adequate for everyone without in rural areas, where impoverishment is rife, The right to information: information is crucial food, access to this food for all people food; discrimination at all times. compared with urban areas. for the right to food. It enables individuals to in South Africa is difficult. • Fulfil: means that government must know about food and nutrition, markets and If a home or person does not enjoy this level pro-actively engage in activities There is a need for government to focus the allocation of resources. It strengthens • There is enough food in the world to of access, they are food insecure. Equally intended to strengthen people’s on effective land distribution, assist local people’s participation and free consumer feed every human being, but due to important is that the food must be shared access to resources that can be used small-scale farmers with skills and money choice. Protecting and promoting the right a number of factors, not everyone within the family in such a way that every in food production. If an individual or for development, encourage and support to seek, receive and impart information can access food. member of the household has access to group is unable, for reasons beyond urban farms and ensure that people in thus facilitates the enjoyment of the right adequate food. This division of food must their control, to enjoy the right to rural areas are aware of their right to social to food. • Much of the best agricultural land in also be done without discriminating unfairly adequate food, government must security and are able to access social the world is used to grow commodities The Role of the SAHRC on members of the household. provide access to that right, directly. grants. The government must also role out such as cotton, sisal, tea, tobacco, programmes to prevent climate change sugar cane, and cocoa, items The South African Human Rights In South Africa, everyone should be This means that government must provide and assist communities to adapt to the which are non-food products or are Commission (SAHRC) is an independent able, without shame and unreasonable an enabling environment in which people effects of climate change. marginally nutritious, but for which body set up by the Constitution to monitor, obstacles, to participate in everyday can produce or procure adequate food there is a big demand protect, promote and fulfil the attainment activities. This means that, amongst other for themselves and their families. In order to of human rights in our country. South Africa things, they should be able to enjoy purchase food, a person must have access • Climate change is increasingly has one of the highest rates of poverty and access to their basic needs like food, in a to an income and government must ensure viewed as a current and future cause inequality. It is therefore of concern to the dignified manner. To produce their own access to social security for those people of hunger and poverty. By 2050, SAHRC when basic rights like the right to food, people need seeds, water, skills for and families that do not. Facts on Food climate change and erratic weather access food, are vulnerable. The SAHRC production and other resources. A person Links between the right to patterns could have pushed another can assist to access the right to food by might also require access to capital. food and other human rights1 • South Africa has one of the highest 24 million children into hunger. Almost using its powers to engage with agencies rates of poverty and inequality in the half of these children would be in sub- like SASSA, local, provincial and national Limitations to the The right to health: nutrition is a component world. Currently there are about 11 Saharan Africa.5 government departments, subsistence Government’s Obligations of both the right to health and the right million people in South Africa who are farmers about problems that people Right to Access to food. I women who are pregnant food insecure (do not know where • A few private companies around are facing in communities and assisting Section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution of The right to food does not mean that or breastfeeding are denied access to their next meal is coming from). the world hold the licence to use vulnerable people (such as children and the Republic of South Africa states that, individuals and groups have a right to nutritious food, she and her baby may be seeds to produce food and these people with disabilities) to access their • “everyone has the right to have access to be provided food. It means that one affected by malnourishment even if she There are 12 million poor food companies decide on the price of rights. sufficient food and water.” This obligation has the right to feed oneself in dignity, receives pre- and post-natal care. insecure people, 70% of which live those seeds that are then supplied to 2 is extended in section 27(2), according through economic and other activities. in rural areas. More than 60 percent local farmers. The degree of control Whenever an individual or group is unable to which “the state must take reasonable In other words, individuals and groups are The right to life: when people are not of chronically hungry people are by a small majority over seeds, their to enjoy the right to sufficient food by the 3 legislative and other measures, within responsible for undertaking activities that able to feed themselves, they face the women. quality, supply and prices impacts means at their own disposal, the state has its available resources, to achieve the enable them to have access to food. risk of death by starvation, malnutrition or on the ability of people to grow their an obligation to fulfil the right directly and • progressive realisation of each of these Nonetheless, the state has an important resulting illnesses. Malnutrition remains the world’s most own food and produce cheaper food the SAHRC will assist people, particularly rights.” According to the Section 35(2)(e) of role to play in supporting these efforts. serious health problem and the single products vulnerable groups to engage with the Constitution prisoners and detains also The right to water: the right to food cannot biggest contributor to child mortality, government to access this right. The SAHRC have a right to sufficient food, and section The obligation on each individual is be realized if people lack sustainable more than HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria • Just under 80% of all South African must also ensure that it increases awareness 4 28(1)(c) states that every child has the right to feed themselves and their families. access to safe and clean drinking water for combined. food is genetically modified (GM) of the right to access food and to thereby to “basic nutrition, shelter, basic health This can be done either by workin heir personal and domestic use. stimulate reforms in all sectors, including • care services and social services.” personal right to food unless they are About 1.5 million children under the • GM is food altered by the inserting those involved in the production of food. infringing on the legal rights of that The right to education: hunger and age of 6 years whose development is or removing of small fragments of The SAHRC initiatives include addressing Every right in our Constitution is equal. Rights are person. Parents particularly, are obliged malnutrition impair the learning abilities of stunted by chronic malnutrition. genetic material, genes or organisms individual complaints, assistance to dependent on each other. For example without food, children and may force them to drop out to create desirable characteristics. vulnerable groups like women and persons it is difficult to learn at school and get an education. to provide food for their children. When of school and work instead, limiting and • About 25% of all the hungry people Such genetically modified organisms The rights apply to all in our country, children, they can’t, the state is obliged to step in with disabilities; food cooperatives, prisoners, non nationals and the aged and provide food for them. undermining their enjoyment of their right in the world are from sub-Saharan are also referred to as GMOs. The government stakeholders and private Other limitations in accessing the to education. Africa. long-term impacts of the consumption sector role players to encourage reform of GM foods are unknown and at different levels in the production and South Africa has also signed many right to food reside with government 1 http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publica- 2 http://www.srfood.org/index.php/en/component/ content/article/1524-mission-to-south-africa-preliminary- international agreements, which means policy and the lack of implementation tions/FactSheet34en.pdf. Rights are all linked, the rights potentially hazardous. supply of basic foods. listed above are only some of the basic rights to which conclusions all people are entitled, which are limited or denied when 3 World Food Programme, 2009. that it has to ensure the following: of policies. Most of the agricultural land 5 IFPRI, 2009 people face food insecurity. 4 USAID, 2009

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