All human beings have a right to food and to be free from hunger.  Unfortunately in the United States this is not the case.  Just this year, the United States again voted against the UN Resolution on the Right to Food.  The United States is the only country to vote against the resolution. 

In order for children to develop to their full potential it is critical that on this Human Rights Day we make a commitment to break the cycle of poverty that cripples and stunts a child's right to grow because of inadequate nutrition.   Fundamentally, the right to food and to be free from hunger is rooted in poverty.  This year's Human Right's Day specifically addresses the ramifications of poverty, such as hunger.  Poverty is a product of human rights violations; yet poverty is rarely considered a human rights violation. 

Breaking the cycle of poverty is a human obligation and is critical to the vitality of young children throughout the world. 

Economics Nobel Prize 1998 winner, Amartya Sen has stated: "A person may have little means of commanding food if he or she has no job, no other sources of income, no social security. The hunger that will result can coexist with a plentiful supply of food in the economy and the markets."

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler stated: "The right to food is inseparable from all other human rights.  Thus the right to food is also highly dependent on the right to life, the right to employment, the right to health, etc. and that what comes with it is a discourse with an entire legal and international apparatus for articulating and asserting the right to food."

Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says: "Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is.
By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime...Poverty eradication is an achievable goal."

In the United States:
35 million Americans, including 13 million children experience hunger and inadequate food supply at some point during 2005. 

In Philadelphia:

• Nearly 20% of the people living in Philadelphia County are living in poverty. 
  
• 31.6% or 113,657 of children living in Philadelphia live in poverty.
• 359,677 children in Philadelphia are on food stamps.
• Only 25% of the eligible families in Philadelphia receive food stamps.
• At least half of all Philadelphian households that are food insecure, 225,000 families, have at least one adult working fulltime.
  

Philadelphia is the eighth poorest city in the country among families with children.  Among all Philadelphians, it is the seventh poorest city.  Poverty becomes a lifecycle that is very hard to break and often children become entrenched in the same cycle their parents experienced. 

For further information on Human Rights Day & The Right to Food click on the following links:
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/

Human Rights Day 2006
http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/


The Right to Food--United Nations
The United Nations recognizes the right to food as a fundamental human right.  
Click here to see documents prepared by the UN "special rapporteur"
on the right to food, and read an article commenting on the United State's response.

Center for Economic and Social Rights
The Center for Economic and Social Rights promotes the universal right 
to housing, education, health and a healthy environment, food, work, and an
adequate standard of living by connecting local initiatives for social and
economic justice to international institutions. Click here to read more.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads
international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and
developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations 
meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. Visit their website to learn more.

FoodFirst
FoodFirst, also known as the Institute for Food and Development Policy, 
was created in 1975 with a mission to eliminate the injustices that cause
hunger. They work to reshape the global food system in order to 
guarantee all people the resources necessary to produce or means to purchase
sufficient food to lead healthy and productive lives. Read more here.