Yet, India has also seen some of the most remarkable judicial activism anywhere in the world on the right to food. The landmark PUCL v. Union of India and others (2001) case, better known as the right to food case, has seen at least 60 orders over the last eight years, and has emerged as the longest continuing mandamus—a legal writ where the court orders a person or entity to do something—in the world on the right to food. Somehow, until recently, this judicial activism hasn’t translated into legislation. Now is the opportunity for India to deliver—and learn from similar legislation abroad.
Over the last few years, there has been a slew of legislation across the world which recognize the right to food as a fundamental right and provide state guarantees.
South Africa was among the first countries in the world to explicitly guarantee the right to food in its constitution through its Bill of rights. The Brazilian constitution in 1998 introduced a minimum wage to meet basic needs, including food; the constitution was further modified in 2003 to introduce the concept of social rights for every citizen, including the right to food. This process culminated in Brazil’s Nutritional Security Framework Law (Losan) in 2006, which created a set of institutions for monitoring the right to food, and is likely to be the most lasting legacy of President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva. Article 16 of the Bolivian constitution explicitly states, “Every person has the right to water and food. The State has the obligation to guarantee food security for all through healthy, adequate and sufficient food.” Even Belarus and Moldova have clear constitutional guarantees on the right to food.
Argentina (2003) and Guatemala (2005) were the first South American countries to introduce framework laws on food security, closely followed by Ecuador (2006) and Venezuela (2008).
South Africa, Honduras, Peru, Nicaragua and Uganda have already drafted right to food legislation that is being actively considered by their respective cabinets and parliaments.
So what are the key lessons India can learn from this rich range of international experience on right to food legislation and the practice they have been put to?
The first key lesson is that of political commitment of the leadership to the idea of right to food. A case in point would be a comparison between South Africa and Brazil. While South Africa guaranteed the right to food in its constitution in 1996 through a Bill of rights, the absence of political will to turn this into reality means that millions of South Africans continue their daily encounter with hunger. In stark contrast, the determination of the Brazilian president to eliminate hunger was evident in his inaugural speech when he announced the “Fome Zero”, or “Zero Hunger”, programme. “We will make it possible for people in our country to eat three square meals a day, every day, with no need for hand-outs from anyone.” It is this unambiguous commitment that continues to be at the heart of Brazil’s battle against hunger.