Right to Food A Global Perspective

1. Right to FoodA Global Perspective by Susan Randolph and ShareenHertel The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

2. Global Hunger • Between 1970 and 1995, globally the number of hungry people fell by100 million and the percentage hungry fell by nearly half • But since then the number of hungry people has risen by 135 million people, most sharply since 2006 • Virtually no progress has been made in reducing the percentage of hungry people globally. • FAO estimates the number of hungry people in 2010 to be 925 million—that’s roughly 1 in every 7 people. The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

3. FAO Hunger Trends Undernourished Per capita Food Production & Income The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

4. Yet since 1980 • Per capita food production increased by a third • Per capita income quadrupled • Why? The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

5. Global Drivers of Hunger Dramatic increase in food prices 2007-08 -shocks -defensive measures The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

6. Global Drivers: Long-term Supply & Demand Dynamics • Supply Side • Decline in agricultural investment • Conversion farmland to non-agricultural uses • Substitution high return crops for food crops • Land degradation, soil erosion, nutrient depletion & water scarcity The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

7. Global Drivers: Long-term Supply & Demand Dynamics • Demand Side • Population growth • Dietary diversification with per capita income growth—China. • Bio-fuels production The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

8. Global Drivers: Policies Promoted by Global Institutions & Developed Country Policies • Trade liberalization • Stabilization & Structural Adjustment • Agricultural Subsidies in OECD countries The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

9. States Obligations • States bear the principle obligation to ensure the rights of those under their jurisdiction. • States also have obligations to engage in “international cooperation” to assist other countries • (UN charter, Art. 2; ICESCR, Art. 1, CESCR General comment 3, para 13 7 14.) • In practice, approach remains fundamentally state-centric. The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

10. Problems with State-centric Approach • Ignores • how actions of global actors—eg. MNCs, IFIs– affect rights of people worldwide • The adverse consequences of state’s economic or other policy actions, on people who happen to live in other states. • Fails to acknowledge • the individual complicity of comparably well-off people, worldwide, who benefit from maintaining an unjust global economic order. The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

11. Global Efforts Toward the Realization of the Right to Food • Despite some policy successes, there remain too many global policy failures. • Decline in share of bilateral aid directly targeted to reducing hunger in the short-term from 6.2% in 1998 to 4.1% in 2007. • Evidence some stabilization and structural adjustment programs continue to contribute to hunger (UNDP 2001, ESOCOR Jan 2008). The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012

12. Global Efforts Toward the Realization of the Right to Food • Doha Round’s failure to reduce farm subsidies in high-income countries • Proliferation bilateral trade agreements privatizing water that jeopardize food security • Efforts to reign in TNCs (Global Compact, Ruggie Guidelines) remain voluntary • Securing the right to food will require taking the Declaration on the Right to Development seriously. The Right to Food in South Africa UCT, May 30-31, 2012