The Right to Food and Private Voluntary Food Standards

Abstract

The right to food is a human right stipulated in different human rights treaties. It demands availability, accessibility, sustainability and adequacy of food supplies to be realised. Private voluntary food standards govern international food chains. They define procedures and conditions under which food is produced. These standards have multiple impacts on all actors in the food chain. They may support the fulfilment of the right to food, in particular concerning food safety and other human rights, but they also might negatively affect the income of small–scale farmers. This article argues that home state governments and host state governments governed of the private standards are obliged to mitigate the negative effects on human rights. There are multiple avenues for mitigation because states have a margin of appreciation regarding the realization of the right to food and the effectiveness of different options depends on the context of the particular standard in question.