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Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Several helpful initiatives exist to assist policymakers in ensuring nutrition accountability. For example, the WHO global database on the implementation of nutrition action set forth national policy actions and strategies to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. Similarly, the International Network for Food and Obesity/ Non Communicable Diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS), an international collaboration of universities and global non governmental organizations, seeks to monitor, benchmark and support actions to create healthy food environments and reduce diet-related non-communicable diseases. It uses the healthy food environment policy index to monitor government actions. While currently at the pilot-testing stage, such tools will assist civil society in holding Governments and the food industry to greater account for creating healthier food environments. The Nourishing Framework, created by World Cancer Research Fund International, is an interactive tool to promote healthy diets, allowing a selection and tailoring of policy options for different populations. Finally, WHO regional offices have developed regional nutrient profiling models, which can be used in policymaking to improve the overall nutritional quality of diets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Agroecology, considered by many as the foundation of sustainable agriculture, replaces chemicals with biology. It is the integrative study of the ecology of the entire food system, encompassing ecological, economic and social dimensions. It promotes agricultural practices that are adapted to local environments and stimulate beneficial biological interactions between different plants and species to build long-term fertility and soil health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Personal protective equipment may be unsuitable for local working conditions, for example extreme heat and humidity, steep terrain and thick vegetation. Other factors may include pressure to work as fast as possible, lack of training on the health risks of exposure or trainings conducted in non-native languages, coupled with high turnover of workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Conventions of the International Labour Organization on the protection of agricultural workers also provide some safeguards against dangerous pesticides. For example, article 12 of the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184) is dedicated to the sound management of chemicals, while article 13 imposes regulatory obligations with regard to preventive and protective measures for the use of chemicals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides individuals with a grievance mechanism at the international level to claim violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant and to submit complaints to the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Pesticides contaminate and degrade soil to varying degrees. In China, recent studies released by the Government show moderate to severe contamination from pesticides and other pollutants on 26 million hectares of farmland, to the extent that farming cannot continue on approximately 20 per cent of arable land.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Unfortunately, there are no reliable, global statistics on the number of people who suffer from pesticide exposure. Recently, the non-profit organization Pesticide Action Network estimated that the number of people affected annually by short- and long-term pesticide exposure ranged between 1 million and 41 million.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- While scientific research confirms the adverse effects of pesticides, proving a definitive link between exposure and human diseases or conditions, or harm to the ecosystem presents a considerable challenge. This challenge has been exacerbated by a systematic denial, fuelled by the pesticide and agroindustry, of the magnitude of the damage inflicted by these chemicals, and aggressive, unethical marketing tactics remain unchallenged.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- To respond to universal malnutrition challenges, a coordinated multisectoral policy response is needed at every level. This requires dialogue between all relevant sectors and actors, including nutritionists, development actors, civil society, donors, the private sector and government officials. Furthermore, it is important to establish accountability mechanisms to assess planning, budgeting and the results of nutrition-related interventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Increases in unhealthy eating habits are outpacing increases in healthy ones throughout most of the world. While improvements in diet quality have been greatest in high-income nations, people living in many of the wealthiest countries still have among the poorest-quality diets in the world, because they have some of the highest consumption rates of unhealthy food. An alarming pattern is also emerging in formerly low-income countries as they become richer.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Unbalanced nutrition occurs when the body is exposed to too much dietary energy and leads to overweight and obesity. It may result from eating too much or too many of the wrong things, as well as insufficient exercise, and can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and diet-related cancers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur wishes to acknowledge the important contributions made to this topic by the former Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the former Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health in their respective reports on the right to an adequate diet (A/HRC/19/59) and on unhealthy foods, non communicable diseases and the right to health (A/HRC/26/31).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security also encourage States to take steps to prevent overconsumption and unbalanced diets that may lead to malnutrition, obesity and degenerative diseases. Many States are taking steps in the right direction to regulate the food industry, including through labelling initiatives, advertising restrictions and economic measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Recent initiatives, such as a 2014 high-level commission on ending childhood obesity and recommendations towards a global convention to protect and promote healthy diets by the World Obesity Federation and Consumers International, as well as Global Nutrition Reports, indicate the need for stronger accountability mechanisms at the national level, considering that voluntary corporate initiatives are proving ineffective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Constitutional provisions and framework laws can be effective means of promoting the progressive realization of the right to food at the domestic level. The adoption of sectoral legislation will ensure that States adequately address various sectors that impact significantly on various dimensions of food security.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The Optional Protocol is intended to complement rather than replace national legal systems and should not be considered as the principal means of seeking justice. The Optional Protocol grants individuals, or groups of individuals under the jurisdiction of a State party, the right to submit communications about alleged violations of any economic, social or cultural right to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, the 2014 report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change addresses the impacts of climate change on people in the context of food security, health, access to water and personal security, noting that the poor and marginalized are most vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The transformative potential of the right to food 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The most potentially devastating impacts of industrial modes of agricultural production stem from their contribution to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Together, field-level practices represent approximately 15 per cent of total human-made greenhouse gas emissions, in the form of nitrous oxide (N2O) from the use of organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilizers, methane (CH4) from flooded rice fields and livestock, and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the loss of soil organic carbon in croplands and, due to intensified grazing, on pastures. In addition, the production of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, the tillage, irrigation and fertilization, and the transport, packaging and conservation of food require considerable amounts of energy, resulting in an additional 15 to 17 per cent of total man-made greenhouse gas emissions attributable to food systems. The resulting climate changes could seriously constrain the potential productivity of current agricultural methods. For some countries, the changing climate conditions of the past thirty years already appear to have offset a significant portion of the increases in average yields that arose from technology, carbon dioxide fertilization and other factors. Under a business-as-usual scenario, we can anticipate an average of 2 per cent productivity decline over each of the coming decades, with yield changes in developing countries ranging from -27 per cent to +9 per cent for the key staple crops.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The transformative potential of the right to food 2014, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The exclusive focus on increasing agricultural production has also had severe environmental impacts. The twentieth-century "Green Revolution" technological package combined the use of high-yielding plant varieties with increased irrigation, the mechanization of agricultural production and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers and pesticides. Thanks to State support in the form of subsidies and marketing, this was effective in increasing the production volumes of major cereals (particularly maize, wheat and rice) and of soybean. The Green Revolution was an attempt to meet the challenge as it was framed at the time: to ensure that increases in agricultural productivity would match population growth and the dietary transition facilitated by rising incomes. It led, however, to an extension of monocultures and thus to a significant loss of agrobiodiversity and to accelerated soil erosion. The overuse of chemical fertilizers polluted fresh water, increasing its phosphorus content and leading to a flow of phosphorus to the oceans that is estimated to have risen to approximately 10 million tons annually. Phosphate and nitrogen water pollution is the main cause of eutrophication, the human-induced augmentation of natural fertilization processes which spurs algae growth that absorbs the dissolved oxygen required to sustain fish stocks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- As noted by WHO, local food systems to improve urban consumers' access to fresh and nutritious foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, has a key role to play in making a shift towards healthier diets (A/66/83, para. 60). This begins by improving the links between local farmers and the urban consumers, although urban and peri-urban agriculture can also make a significant contribution. The urban and rural agendas both can gain by rebuilding local food systems that provide healthy and sustainable diets at affordable prices for consumers. Such diets also can be more easily achieved by shorter supply chains, because such chains are not controlled by large retailers or food processing companies and do not have to depend on national policies that respond to broader economic interests. In addition, shorter food chains can improve access to markets and incomes for small-scale local farmers, both in low-income and higher-income countries. They encourage the enhancement of agrobiodiversity because local food crops can expand, rather than being crowded out by homogenized commodities for the global markets. And they reduce the dependency of food systems on the considerable amounts of energy required for the packaging, processing and transport of food.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health refers to the need to rethink fiscal and agricultural policies to align them with public health concerns (paras. 41 (2) and (4)). The introduction of food taxes and subsidies to promote a healthy diet constitutes a cost-effective and low-cost population-wide intervention that can have a significant impact (A/66/83, para. 42). As acknowledged by the recent introduction of such taxes in Denmark, Finland, France and Hungary, the taxation of HFSS foods and beverages can be an effective tool. Price is an important determining factor in consumption levels, and demand elasticity is especially high for snacks and drinks consumed outside the home. Research shows that a 10 per cent tax on soft drinks, which have considerable negative health impacts, could lead to an 8 to 10 per cent reduction in purchases of these beverages. The standard concern raised when such taxes are discussed is that they could penalize the poorest segment of the population, who spend proportionally more of their incomes on food and often are pushed into adopting unhealthy diets. But that concern can be met by using the public revenue from the tax to make healthy foods more affordable, for it is relative prices that must change. The poor are penalized for being poor, both because HFSS foods and soft drinks are cheap and because healthy diets are expensive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The discussion surrounding the contributions made by GAIN provides an illustration. One reason companies partner with GAIN is to reach the "bottom of the pyramid," i.e., potential customers who are too poor to constitute a solvent market in the short term. GAIN-supported initiatives, however, should not bar the emergence of sustainable and equitable solutions in which people are served by local producers. Some GAIN projects do build the capacity of local partners and can continue in the long term without external support. But any such interventions should include a clear exit strategy to empower communities to feed themselves. In this regard, donors should make their support to GAIN conditional upon such a requirement of subsidiarity and upon the adoption of a clear exit strategy. In particular, as noted in the proposal for a draft code of conduct for sustainable diets, "when ecosystems are able to support sustainable diets, nutrition programmes, policies and interventions supporting the use of supplements, RUTF [ready-to-use therapeutic foods], fortificants, and infant formulas are inappropriate and can lead to malnutrition, and ... the marketing of these food substitutes and related products can contribute to major public health problems".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The health impacts of bad diets are well known. Diets rich in salt and alcohol, combined with a lack of exercise, often result in higher blood pressure, which in turn increases the risks of stroke, heart disease and kidney failure. About 51 per cent of strokes worldwide and 45 per cent of ischaemic heart diseases are attributable to high blood pressure, which affects particularly middle-income European and African countries. Diets high in saturated fats and physical inactivity can increase cholesterol levels, also a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and responsible for 2.6 million deaths each year. Changed diets and lack of physical exercise may cause resistance to insulin or otherwise increase blood glucose, which is responsible for 6 per cent of deaths globally, as this exposes the individuals affected to diabetes, heart disease or stroke. A predisposition to diabetes could be caused by infant formulas that are much higher in advanced glycation end than milk. Finally, unhealthy diets increase the risks of cancers of the breast, colon, prostate and other organs. Low intake of fruits and vegetables, for instance, increases the risks not only of cardiovascular diseases, but also that of gastrointestinal cancers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Leaders at the Conference also recognized the importance of integrating their political commitments with the post-2015 development agenda and of anchoring nutrition targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Goals have a universal character and cannot be achieved without special attention to nutrition. While Goal 2 explicitly refers to "nutrition" and Goal 3 to non-communicable diseases, nutrition is arguably interwoven within all 17 Goals, as well as 50 indicators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- In its general comment No. 12, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights views the right to adequate food to imply food "free from adverse substances" (para. 8), which "sets requirements for food safety and for a range of protective measures by both public and private means … at different stages throughout the food chain" (para. 10). Considering the adverse health impacts, "food safety" should be interpreted to include the nutritional value of food products.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The transformative potential of the right to food 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- As noted above, these developments have come at a high ecological cost. Due to the links between agriculture, diets and health, they also impose a considerable burden on health-care systems. They have led, finally, to the depopulation of rural areas. Yet, because these different components of the food systems shaped during the past half-century have strengthened one another, they have become lock-ins, seemingly blocking any real transformative possibilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The assertion promoted by the agrochemical industry that pesticides are necessary to achieve food security is not only inaccurate, but dangerously misleading. In principle, there is adequate food to feed the world; inequitable production and distribution systems present major blockages that prevent those in need from accessing it. Ironically, many of those who are food insecure are in fact subsistence farmers engaged in agricultural work, particularly in lower-income countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Traces may remain on fruits and vegetables that are extensively treated with pesticides before they reach the consumer. The highest levels of pesticides are often found in legumes, leafy greens and fruits such as apples, strawberries and grapes. While washing and cooking produce reduces residue levels, food preparation can sometimes increase these levels. Also, many pesticides used today are systemic — taken up through the roots and distributed throughout the plant — and therefore washing will have no effect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Taxes on poor nutritional foods can also deter consumers. Norway has taxed sugar, chocolate and sugary drinks since 1981, and many countries have followed suit. Denmark taxes food containing saturated fat, Hungary imposes a "public health tax" on the salt, sugar and caffeine content of various categories of ready-to-eat foods, and in the United States, 33 states have issued some form of food tax. In the Navajo Nation for instance, a tax is levied on food items with minimal to no nutritional value.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Such initiatives are particularly concerning because the private sector can advocate food supplements so effectively. For example, commercialization of such products as ready-to-use-therapeutic foods, branded with the logos of transnational companies, may also increase consumers' brand loyalty to a company's unhealthy soft drinks and snack foods. Furthermore, many businesses involved in fortified products are the same multinationals violating the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph