Food Insecurity, Vulnerability and Human Rights Failure

BASUDEB GUHA-KHASNOBIS is a Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Rochester, USA. His research interests are international economics, development economics, emerging market finance, informal labour markets and food security. SHABD S. ACHARYA is Honorary Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur, India, Vice President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and President of the Agricultural Economics Research Association of India. He is published extensively in agricultural economics, agricultural marketing, and

• Preface PART I: VULNERABILITY TO HUNGER: CAUSES AND REMEDIES National Food Policies impacting on Food Security: The Experience of a Large Populated Country - India; S.S.Acharya Food Security in the South Pacific Island Countries with Special Reference to the Fiji Islands; K.L.Sharma Food Security in the SADC Region: An Assessment of National Trade Strategy in the Context of the 2001-03 Food Crisis; A.Charman & J.Hodge On the Edge: The Role of Food-Based Safety Nets in Helping Vulnerable Households Manage Food Insecurity; L.Brown & U.Gentilini The Public Distribution Systems of Foodgrains and Implications for Food Security: A Comparison of the Experiences of India and China; Z.-Y.Zhou & G.Wan PART II: GENDER AND HUNGER: THE LINKS Gender, HIV/AIDS and Rural Livelihoods: Micro-Level Investigations in Three African Countries; J.Curry, E.Wiegers, A.Garbero, S.Stokes & J.Hourihan Gender, Local Knowledge and Lessons Learnt in Documenting and Conserving Agrobiodiversity; Y.Lambrou & R.Laub Gender Differentiation in the Analysis of Alternative Farm Mechanization Choices on Small Farms in Kenya; J.Wanjiku, J.U.Manyengo, W.Oluoch-Kosura & J.T.Karugia Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns; N.Ramachandran PART III: HUNGER AS ENTITLEMENT FAILURE: THE RIGHT TO FOOD Entitlement Failure from a Food Quality Perspective: The Life and Death Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Humanitarian Crises; P.Webb & A.Thorne-Lyman The Right to Food as a Fundamental Human Right: FAO's Experience; I.Rae, J.Thomas & M.Vidar Realizing the Right to Food in South Asia; P.Bhargava & M.Balana Rights-Based Approach to Development: Lessons from the Right to Food Movement in India; B.Guha-Khasnobis & S.Vivek

'This book is a very important and timely analysis of interactions between food insecurity, vulnerability and the right to food. Given the continued failure to meet global hunger reduction targets set by the international community it is vitally important to have rigorous analysis of what does and doesn't work. This book, through its wide-ranging coverage of different country and regional experiences, and through its focus on the multi-faceted elements of the hunger problem, provides that analysis. It will be of great importance and utility to policy makers as well as to academics working in the area. I strongly recommend it.' Nick Chisholm, Senior Lecturer in International Development and Food Policy, University College Cork, Ireland 'This volume provides a valuable addition to WIDER's rich body of work on the issues of poverty and distributive justice. The essays in this volume should be essential reading for policymakers who remain committed to ending hunger within a more just society.' Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka 'Any single approach to understanding food security oversimplifies. This collection of analyses from various perspectives and contexts helps us to recognize the richness of the food security concept. We may be tempted to take one way of understanding the causes, character and remedies for food insecurity as the correct one, but this volume teaches us that openness to multiple approaches can enrich our appreciation of the meaning of food security.' George Kent, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii 'This notable book was not written for readers who are looking for quick and simple solutions of the problem of hunger, but for those who seek to understand the multi-faceted character of food insecurity and who wish to learn from practical experiences. The value of the book lies in the understanding of food insecurity as an outcome of a complex set of physical, economic, social, and political factors and in the special attention to critical determinants, such as vulnerability, gender inequality, and human rights violations, to special issues such as the role of HIV/AIDS or micro-nutrient deficiency, and to experiences with safety net policies as necessary components of comprehensive food security programmes.' Hartwig de Haen, Former Assistant Director-General, FAO and retired Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Gottingen 'There is much to commend in these papers. In particular researchers in food security will find the papers very useful for identifying priority issues, understanding the methodological complexities and achieving a workable balance between analytical rigour and the limitations of data. While these are tempting areas to comment on, we choose to focus this review on alarming signals which the book provides about the weak prospects for eliminating food insecurity in the near future.' V.M. Rao, Economic& Political Weekly '...this book takes a timely fresh look at food security and global hunger.' - Food Ethics (The Magazine of the Food Ethics Council)