Mexico approves historic legislation on the right to adequate and sustainable food
After more than two decades of work, Mexico leads the way in protecting and promoting the fundamental right to adequate food with the approval of landmark legislation. The new law, consisting of 111 articles, regulates the human right to nutritious, sufficient, and quality food, as recognized in Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution.
The legislation prioritizes the right to health, environment, water, and the best interests of children in all policies related to adequate food by the Mexican State. It establishes planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring mechanisms among federal, state, municipal, and territorial authorities to guarantee the full exercise of this right.
Furthermore, the law aims to promote the production, fair and equitable distribution, and consumption of nutritious, sufficient, quality, safe, and culturally appropriate foods. The primary objective is to protect and realize the right to adequate food, avoid food waste, and strengthen the country's self-sufficiency, sovereignty, and food security.
Fulfilling the right to food goes beyond mere caloric intake. It encompasses the right to all necessary nutritional elements for a healthy and active life, as well as access to them. Aligning with the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031, this legislation supports the 2030 Agenda by transforming agri-food systems toward efficiency, inclusion, resilience, and sustainability, promoting better production, nutrition, and environment for a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
FAO's Support
In 2021, the President of the Mexican Senate, Ana Lilia Rivera, introduced the Law as a fundamental part of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger's agenda, a regional parliamentary network representing over 20 parliaments in Latin America and the Caribbean. The drafting of this legislation received technical assistance from the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office, with crucial support from FAO, Spanish Cooperation, and the Agencia Mexicana de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, AMEXCID, according to its acronym in Spanish. To know more click here.
Source: The Right to Food webpage