Food Insecurity and Finding a Way Forward: The Right to Food

Abstract

The right to food protects the right of all human beings to live free from hunger and food insecurity, with dignity. Despite Canada’s developed image on the world stage, there are Canadians that still lack the ability to consume adequate quantities and qualities of food. The causal link between food insecurity and poverty has been wellestablished, but much focus still lies on downstream approaches aimed at addressing the hunger instead of the root problem. This entry provides a historical background for the current state of food security in Canada, highlights the steps currently being taken to control the issue, and presents issues of equity to showcase the disproportionate impact of food insecurity in this country. The right to food as a framework to improving both availability of and access to food is proposed as a guiding principle to tackling food insecurity in Canada, in addition to suggestions that allow accountability and equitable and just systems to flourish.