The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006

For 30 years, U.S. food and nutrition scientists and policymakers concerned with food and nutrition have explored the possibility of making the human right to food (HRF) the moral and legal cornerstone of U.S. domestic and international initiatives in this area. The U.S. government has consistently...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Messer, Ellen, Cohen, Marc J.
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2007
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160228
_version_ 1855535005446438912
author Messer, Ellen
Cohen, Marc J.
author_browse Cohen, Marc J.
Messer, Ellen
author_facet Messer, Ellen
Cohen, Marc J.
author_sort Messer, Ellen
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description For 30 years, U.S. food and nutrition scientists and policymakers concerned with food and nutrition have explored the possibility of making the human right to food (HRF) the moral and legal cornerstone of U.S. domestic and international initiatives in this area. The U.S. government has consistently opposed formal right-to-food legislation, labeling it as overly burdensome and inconsistent with constitutional law. In contrast, anti-hunger advocates have favored a rights-based framework as a way to hold government accountable for improving the nutritional situation of its poorest citizens and for saving lives and preventing malnutrition in developing countries. The U.S. government has continually expanded food and nutrition assistance at home and abroad, but not within a human rights framework. What might a human rights perspective add, and what are the continuing rationales of the opposition? Using as touchstones U.S. government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) testimonies from the 1976 Right to Food Resolution congressional debate and the 1996 World Food Summit, which featured U.S. opposition to HRF language, the U.S. government and NGO HRF positions are traced from 1976 to 2006. Qualitative analyses of historical policy position papers, testimonies, research reports, and the popular nutrition literature are used to evaluate how human rights and the HRF—as framing and rhetoric—have influenced nutrition policy, public and official understanding, and outreach. In this documentation process, we also integrate information from the wider “human rights” positions of the food-and-nutrition advocacy community, including Food First, Bread for the World, the Food Research and Action Center, the community food security movement, and charitable food assistance agencies, to demonstrate where these different advocacy agents, organizations, and agendas fit in this process of advancing a HRF sensibility.
format Artículo preliminar
id CGSpace160228
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2007
publishDateRange 2007
publishDateSort 2007
publisher International Food Policy Research Institute
publisherStr International Food Policy Research Institute
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1602282025-11-06T07:13:55Z The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006 Messer, Ellen Cohen, Marc J. food policies human rights right to food malnutrition social welfare agricultural extension nutrition For 30 years, U.S. food and nutrition scientists and policymakers concerned with food and nutrition have explored the possibility of making the human right to food (HRF) the moral and legal cornerstone of U.S. domestic and international initiatives in this area. The U.S. government has consistently opposed formal right-to-food legislation, labeling it as overly burdensome and inconsistent with constitutional law. In contrast, anti-hunger advocates have favored a rights-based framework as a way to hold government accountable for improving the nutritional situation of its poorest citizens and for saving lives and preventing malnutrition in developing countries. The U.S. government has continually expanded food and nutrition assistance at home and abroad, but not within a human rights framework. What might a human rights perspective add, and what are the continuing rationales of the opposition? Using as touchstones U.S. government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) testimonies from the 1976 Right to Food Resolution congressional debate and the 1996 World Food Summit, which featured U.S. opposition to HRF language, the U.S. government and NGO HRF positions are traced from 1976 to 2006. Qualitative analyses of historical policy position papers, testimonies, research reports, and the popular nutrition literature are used to evaluate how human rights and the HRF—as framing and rhetoric—have influenced nutrition policy, public and official understanding, and outreach. In this documentation process, we also integrate information from the wider “human rights” positions of the food-and-nutrition advocacy community, including Food First, Bread for the World, the Food Research and Action Center, the community food security movement, and charitable food assistance agencies, to demonstrate where these different advocacy agents, organizations, and agendas fit in this process of advancing a HRF sensibility. 2007 2024-11-21T09:50:18Z 2024-11-21T09:50:18Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160228 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Messer, Ellen; Cohen, Marc J. The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006. IFPRI Discussion Paper 731. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160228
spellingShingle food policies
human rights
right to food
malnutrition
social welfare
agricultural extension
nutrition
Messer, Ellen
Cohen, Marc J.
The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title_full The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title_fullStr The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title_full_unstemmed The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title_short The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006
title_sort human right to food as a u s nutrition concern 1976 2006
topic food policies
human rights
right to food
malnutrition
social welfare
agricultural extension
nutrition
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160228
work_keys_str_mv AT messerellen thehumanrighttofoodasausnutritionconcern19762006
AT cohenmarcj thehumanrighttofoodasausnutritionconcern19762006
AT messerellen humanrighttofoodasausnutritionconcern19762006
AT cohenmarcj humanrighttofoodasausnutritionconcern19762006