The Right to Food

Scope and objectives

On Thursday 8 October, from 16:00 to 17:30 CEST, the NAT Section of the EESC is hosting a debate on the right to food during its monthly Section meeting. 

The discussion will focus on:

• presenting a common understanding of the concept of the right to food;
• opportunities and barriers for more sustainable food systems in the EU;
• how EU policymakers can integrate this principle in future policies;
• how to further support sustainable food systems and access to healthy food for all EU citizens.

This debate will include a presentation of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) on the right to food, contributions from EESC Members as well as representatives of the European Commission, FAO, social partners, and food and environmental organisations. 

Context

The right to food is a fundamental human right that ensures everyone has physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. This right is enshrined in international law and ratified by all EU Member States, obliging them to ensure that people can eat healthy and with dignity at all times. 

However, despite the recognition of the right to food, millions around the world still face food insecurity, and in the EU, one in five people at risk of poverty cannot afford a healthy diet. Climate change, economic instability, geopolitical tensions, and armed conflicts all undermine the realisation of this right. Importantly, the right to food goes far beyond combatting hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. Fully guaranteeing this right requires ambitious political choices capable of driving a deeper, systemic change of the way our food is produced and consumed. It calls for transforming our food systems by promoting food sovereignty, strengthening democratic control over food production and distribution, ensuring fair prices, and establishing market regulations.

The recent resolution adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on the right to food, calling on all European countries to adopt legislation and put in place the conditions necessary for the realization of this fundamental right, as well as the European Citizens' Initiative titled "Food is a Human Right for All! Guaranteeing healthy, just and sustainable food systems", recently registered by the European Commission, show that the topic is timelier than ever.