Children's Right to Food

Do Canadian children have a right to food?
Are right to food commitments binding on the government?
Resources

Do Canadian children have a right to food?
Yes. The existence of hunger and less severe dietary compromises among Canada’s children represents a violation of several international charters and declarations including:

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Article 25
“(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, …”

United Nations Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1976)
Article 11  
“1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger,…”

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
Article 24
“States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures:
(c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, …”

Canada's Action Plan for Food Security (1998)
“Individuals and households must have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food both in quantity and quality to meet their daily dietary requirements for a healthy and productive life.”

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Are right to food commitments binding on the government?
The rights identified in these declarations are binding in the sense that Canada’s federal government is a signatory, but they don’t impose legal requirements on the government. While the right to food is not explicitly written into existing Canadian laws, elements of the right can be found in federal and provincial laws and policies regarding agriculture, food safety, nutrition and health and the welfare state.

In spite of Canada’s efforts to promote human rights globally and its ratification of a number of conventions related to food and nutrition, its economic and social policies do not yet ensure the right to adequate food for children or other vulnerable populations.

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Resources
Canadian Association of Food Banks (2002). Position Statement on the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and Canada's Progress on its Domestic Commitment to Improve Access to Food. Retrieved July 22, 2004, from www.cafb-acba.ca/pdfs/press_releases/WFSummitPosition.pdf.

Riches, G., Buckingham, D., MacRae, R. & Ostry, A. (2004). Right to Food Case Study: Canada. Study conducted for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in support of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Elaboration of a Set of Voluntary Guidelines for the Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. Rome.

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