Food has been the basic need for human beings right from the beginning of civilization. From the Stone Age to today's cyber age, food occupied a prime position in human needs without which survival would have been impossible. According to the hierarchy of needs theory, food, being a part of the basic needs (food, clothing and shelter) formed the foundation from where fulfilment of all other needs start. Among the three basic needs, food is to be attended first. Unprecedented scientific and technological developments have made man's life very simple, comfortable and convenient. On the one hand, the growth of the food processing industry by leaps and bounds providing varieties of food namely fast foods, junk foods etc., which resulted in health disorders among the affluent; and on the other hand getting adequate food has remained an illusion for millions worldwide. Many people suffer from diseases due to hunger, malnutrition etc., ultimately leading to deaths. The most vulnerable groups are children and women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers, and elders, who are feeble and unable to earn their food on their own.

The problem of food insecurity is prevalent in almost all countries of the world. Its predominant and aggravated forms can be seen in many parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is very absurd in a world, which, as per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has capacity to feed double the number of present global population. The consequences of mal/under nutrition are underweight, mental retardation etc., which follow the individual, for the rest of their lives. The most disheartening fact is that a large number of children are dying of hunger, malnutrition and resultant diseases before seeing their fifth year. Thus, the innocent infants, have the right to live in this world, are becoming victims to mismanagement going on.

Solving global hunger by 2015 is the first among eight Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. As per the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's latest findings, there are more than 854 million people in the world suffering from hunger and it is further shocking to note that the number is increasing at a rate of 4 million per year. A recent UNICEF report indicates that India ranks first among the world nations with regard to high malnutrition rate. Further, India has the distinction of having the highest child mortality rate. At this point of time, in light of these glaring facts, it will be appropriate for us to introspect for a moment the so called economic development and scientific advancements India has attained in the recent times.

All human beings have a right to live with dignity with atleast two decent meals a day. Right to Food and right to be free from hunger are the human rights which are protected under various international human rights and humanitarian laws. Right to Food is explicitly mentioned in the Article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; and the Article 11 of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966. It is also recognised in the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Right to Food of indigenous people is implicit in the ILO Convention No-169 which is approved by 17 countries. Around 151 nations have ratified the ICESCR-1966 having a primary obligation to implement the Right to Food for their people. Approximately 20 countries in the world have incorporated the Right to Food in their national laws. The General Comment 12(1999) of the UN Economic and Social Council has authoritatively defined the right to food.

According to it, "the right to adequate food is realized when every man, women and child alone or in community with others has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement." As observed by the Supreme Court of India, in a Public Interest Litigation, (PUCL vs. Union of India) the legal basis for Right to Food is implicit in the Article 21 (Right to Life) and Article 47 (DPSP) of the Indian Constitution.

Right to Food is a very complex one. It is interrelated and interdependent with other rights like Right to Life, Right to Employment, Right to Health etc. Protection of the Right to Food requires the protection of these interrelated rights. Very often, Right to Food is violated indirectly. Infact, the problem relating to Right to Food is not the availability of food, but the accessibility to food. The main problem is that people lack the purchasing power to get the available food. Hence, it is a problem of scarcity amongst plenty. Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen has strongly emphasized the need to strengthen people's entitlements in order to ensure food security to them in his famous work "Poverty and Famines". He advocated human development alone to be the real economic development. Barring a few nations, majority of the countries are able to provide enough food to their people either by way of domestic production or through imports. But, the distribution of this food is a real problem due to multiple factors. Therefore, the State has to ensure such an ideal environment in which the people will be in a position to purchase food. A revolutionary change cannot be brought overnight. It requires an evolutionary and comprehensive approach with sustainable strategies.

The 'State' is having primary obligations of dual nature (positive and negative) regarding the Right to Food. Sometimes, its 'interference' is mandatory to protect the people from the negatively affecting actions of powerful third parties and sometimes, its 'non-interference' is mandatory with the peaceful enjoyment of Right to Food through certain acts like forcible dispossession from agricultural land where the land is their primary source of getting food. The State is also having the obligation to provide 'emergency food aid' during situations like floods and droughts. Any negligence on the part of the State in attending the above obligations amounts to violation of Right to Food. If the resources do not permit, the state can seek international aid to overcome the crisis.

Though the primary responsibility for ensuring Right to Food lies with the native States, resource rich countries being parties to the ICESCR also have the obligation to help the resource lacking countries by way of the "Development Cooperation", from the Official Development Assistance funds, as stipulated in the Article 2(1) of the ICESCR (1966).

In view of globalization and the strong interdependency of nations, International Multilateral Institutions like the IMF, World Bank, WTO and the Multinational Companies also have their respective roles to play. The recent developments in Agri-biotech IPR Regime providing I.P. protection to 'seeds and livestock breed' are posing a greater threat to the Right to Food as the poor farmers are required to pay higher prices for the use of these patented basic needs.

This Book contains eight articles that discuss the general aspects of Right to Food and also examines the Right among various vulnerable groups in different regions of the world which are prone to hunger and malnutrition.

The first article, "Securing Enough to Eat" by Sophia Murphy defines the term 'food security' and the shifting nature of the definition from time to time. It discusses the components of food security i.e., Supply, Distribution and Access. This article also deals with various strategies to achieve food security and the recent WTO era of liberalisation which allows international free trade in agriculture having its harming effects on farming community in poor countries. This is because of cheap dumped imports without any arrangements for 'social nets' which deprive the poor peasant's means of livelihood amounting to violation of right to food. The author further analyses elaborately the pros and cons of various strategies to achieve food security and opines to strike a balance between the interests of farmers and global free trade thus protecting the right to food.

"Agrarian Reform in the Context of Food Sovereignty, the Right to Food and Cultural Diversity:" Land, Territory and Dignity" by 'International Planning Committee(IPC) for Food Sovereignty' focuses more on the indigenous people, tribes, rural people, fisher folk, peasant's right to land, and desires the rights to be honoured by giving due recognition to their rights. Their attachment with the land is having ancestral, sacred and cultural nexus, and further emphasizes to take up new genuine re-distributive land reforms and to adopt Food Sovereignty model to achieve food security.

In the article, "A Different Juridical Approach Towards The Human Right to Adequate Food" by B.F.W.Wernaart opines the existing UN Human Rights system to be a complex one on account of the overlapping mandates, and feels that expert and specialized agencies are to be involved to deal with the problem. The author also suggests to go for a pragmatic approach by way of detailed and comprehensive legislations.

The UN Secretary General in his note on the "Right to Food" expresses his grave concern over the food crisis in African countries, especially in Niger. He urges the member sates to respond quickly to the prevailing food crises in all the affected states. He further identifies the violation of right to food cases to be high among the indigenous people, and feels that there is a need to protect their rights with immediate effect. He emphasizes the responsibility of the international organizations to comply with human rights obligations related to right to food in the light of economic adjustment, trade liberalisation measures and construction of projects financed by them.

Pradeep Bhargava and Manju Balana in their article, "Realizing the Right to Food in South Asia" illustrated the chronic poverty with a study of the Sahariya community of Rajasthan. The authors strongly felt the need for 'Right to Work', for the effective realization of the Right to Food and desire the active participation of Civil Society Organisations in advocating this. The authors expressed their concern for the failure of South Asian countries in the distribution of food, despite considerable increase in food productions.

Prof. Danie Brand in his article, "Right to Food in South Africa" explains the complex nature of right, and its frequent violations in an indirect way, in South Africa. Different types of obligations on the part of the state to safeguard the Right to Food and preventing violations of the same are neatly discussed with the help of case laws belonging to the Apartheid era. He also advises to have a comprehensive national strategy to address the problem properly.

During the post-WTO era, how certain nations are experiencing adverse impacts as a result of their integration with the world economy has been elucidated well in the article, "The Right to Food in China: What and Who is at Stake?" by Human Rights in China. It discusses the counter effects of economic liberalisation and warns the poor agrarian countries to be cautious by having their own protective measures for their farmers. This article deals with the historical position and expresses concern for not having a national legal framework for the protection of Right to Food. The article suggests some recommendations for the effective protection of Right to Food.

The article, "Enforcing the Right to Food in India, Bottlenecks in Delivering the Expected Outcome" by George Cheriyan explains the context in which Right to Food came to the fore and is recognized in India, and examines the impediments that come in the way of implementing the Right to Food. It focuses on 'corruption,' which is the main cause for the failure of various programs leading to violations of the Right to Food.