Right to food

Right to Food Team takes center stage during World Food Day, World Food Forum, and CFS 52

31/10/2024

The Right to Food Team played a crucial role in highlighting the universal right to adequate food throughout a series of high-profile events in October 2024, including World Food Day, the World Food Forum week, and the 52nd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 52). These gatherings underscored the importance of accessible, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all. 

World Food Day: A call for universal access to food

World Food Day, celebrated on October 16 under the theme "Right to foods for a better life and a better future," emphasized the need for universal access to diverse and safe diets. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu reaffirmed the importance of the right to food, stating, “The right to food is a basic human right. There cannot be food security without peace.” Messages from global leaders, including Pope Francis and U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Prescott, underscored the urgency of fulfilling this fundamental right. 

World Food Forum: Youth and innovation driving change 

Held from October 14 to 18, the World Food Forum 2024 focused on the theme "Good food for all, for today and tomorrow." The Forum brought together over 8,000 participants and reached 1.7 billion digitally, with discussions centered on youth, innovation, family farming and investment. During the Global Family Farming Forum, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, emphasized the dynamic and universal nature of the right to food, noting, “The right to food has always been one of the most detailed and dynamic rights.” 

CFS 52: Renewed commitment to the right to food 

The 52nd session of CFS, held from October 21 to 25, marked the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines. During the Global Thematic Event on the use and application of the guidelines, delegates underscored their continued relevance and importance in guiding countries toward the progressive realization of the right to adequate food. The session highlighted the need for human rights-based approaches to ensure sufficient, safe, and culturally appropriate food for all, including people in situations of vulnerability. 

Delegates emphasized the importance of fully implementing the Right to Food Guidelines to drive positive change in food security and nutrition. They called for strengthened right to food-oriented actions and accountability, grounded in human rights principles. The guidelines remain essential for helping countries develop policies that ensure physical and economic access to adequate food. 

UN Special Rapporteur Michael Fakhri warned of the rising weaponization of food, stating, “Hunger and famine are always political problems; this is not a matter of producing more food. It is about fully realizing the right to food.” Spain’s financial commitment to the FAO Right to Food Team and calls for stronger accountability demonstrated widespread international support. FAO’s Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division Director, Benjamin Davis, underscored the right to food’s relevance in addressing conflict, market concentration, and human rights monitoring. 

Together, these events highlighted the Right to Food team’s essential role in shaping policies and inspiring global action toward a future where everyone, everywhere, can enjoy their fundamental right to adequate food. 

Together, these events highlighted the Right to Food team’s essential role in shaping policies and inspiring global action toward a future where everyone, everywhere, can enjoy their fundamental right to adequate food.