Food sovereignty in the comparative law

Food sovereignty is a specific concept that is, at the same time, an overarching right, an alternative model of development and a political framework, which objective is realization of the rights of local food producers and rural people to determine their own food and agriculture systems. It is abou...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dokmanović Mirjana S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade 2020-01-01
Series:Strani pravni život
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0039-2138/2020/0039-21382002043D.pdf
Description
Summary:Food sovereignty is a specific concept that is, at the same time, an overarching right, an alternative model of development and a political framework, which objective is realization of the rights of local food producers and rural people to determine their own food and agriculture systems. It is about a specific "right to right to food". The origin of the concept is in the global social movement lobbying for food sovereignty. As a result, at the end of 2018 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. It calls upon the states to urgently undertake measures for promoting sustainable food systems and ensuring the right to healthy and adequate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods that respect their cultures. Up-to-date, about twenty states have already integrated food sovereignty in their constitutions and legislation. There are also regional initiatives, such as those of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament and of the Pan-African Parliament, to develop a model law that would assist states to include food sovereignty in their legislation. The subject of this paper is exploring the Latin American states' legal practice with this respect, as these states are pioneers in this field. The qualitative analysis has shown that they differ with respect to legal solutions regarding food sovereignty, due to their efforts to build upon the specificities of the rural population and the needs of local communities. The objective of the paper is to indicate the increasing practice of states in including food sovereignty in designing legislation aiming at protecting the right to adequate food, health, healthy environment, and other basic human rights.
ISSN:0039-2138
2620-1127