The 2nd Special Rapporteur on the #RighttoFood, Olivier de Schutter, delivered his final report to the Human Rights Council of the UN General Assembly on 24 Jan 2014. It was titled "The transformative potential of the right to food"
De Schutter's 6-year mandate (2008-2014) coincided with the Global Food Crisis of 2007 - that preceded the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. He visited 13 countries, prepared 10 reports on thematic issues and 2 special reports on the Global Food Crisis - srfood.org
He said:"The #righttofood is the right of every individual, alone or in community w others, to have physical & economic access at all times to sufficient, adequate & culturally acceptable food that is produced & consumed sustainably, preserving access 2 food 4 future generations"
The ways to access food are through employment / self-employment, social transfers, or self-production of food - hence the strong link b/n the #righttofood, the right to work & the right to social security in the Intl Covevant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights
On the performance of contemporary #foodsystems: "Measured against the requirement that they should contribute to the realization of the #righttofood, the #foodsystems we have inherited from the 20th century have failed".
Boosting agricultural production has not reduced hunger or malnutrition. Defined by caloric intake, over 840 mn ppl are hungry (a number set to increase dramatically with #COVID19 impacts) and 2bn suffer #micronutrient deficiencies - and then we have the #obesity #pandemic
The #productivist #paradigm has also devastated #ecosystems around the world - the #GreenRevolution led 'to an extension of monocultures...a significant loss of agrobiodiversity & accelerated soil erosion' as well as phosphorous pollution of fresh water & mass #fishkills
Then there is the contribution of the #industrial #foodsystem to #climatechange - field-level practices contribute 15% of total #GHGemissions while other #foodsystem processes add a further 15-17%. Current levels of #meat production are "completely unsustainable'...
...contributing as much as 51% of #GHGemissions from #methane & #landclearing. All the while #structuraladjustment & #exportdriven #commodity production forced smallholders from the land & made them vulnerable to price volatility - resulting in growing #poverty & #foodinsecurity
The way forward is not simply increasing production, but to do so sustainably, i.e. through #agroecology - 'a range of agronomic techniques [such as] intercropping, the recycling of manure & food scraps into fertilizers and agroforestry, that maximise resource efficiency'
Agroecology also contributes to health & #foodsecurity by diversifying diets & raising household incomes by reducing dependence on expensive external inputs
On the demand side, governments must 'rethink taxes and subsidies to discourage the most polluting modes of production and [reduce] the demand for animal products'; 'constrain the demand for liquid #biofuels' which have led to food price volatility; & reduce #foodwaste
In sum 'a new paradigm focused on well-being, resilience and sustainability must be designed to replace the productivist paradigm & support the full realisation of the right to adequate food. The equation is complex, but it is one that can be solved'.
1. Support small-scale producers & promote agroecology; develop local markets & local food processing with supportive trade policies; reduce the competition b/n the 'luxury tastes of some & the basic needs of others'
2. Different forms of farming / production can co-exist but 'this requires major political efforts to restructure support around agro-ecological, labour-intensive, poverty-reducing forms of agriculture'
3. Democratise food security policies and decentralise food systems - 'the key to transition is to rebuild local food systems [thus] creating links b/n the cities and their rural hinterland'.
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