About

The Right to Food and Food Security

Each one of us has the Right to Food. It is a universal human right protected by international law. To achieve the Right to Food means that all people should have access to adequate food. Despite this, food insecurity and malnourishment plagues millions of people around the world.

During the 1996 World Food Summit, the definition of food security was agreed. “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Therefore, food security is understood in terms of food being available and accessible over time. Food security is also understood in terms of how nutritious food is and whether it aligns with our cultural preferences.

We all have our favourite dishes of chakula. From githeri to mursik to nyama choma, or pilau, our different food cultures are important. They are part of our identity. The government has a constitutional and civic duty to achieve the Right to Food for all Kenyans as required under Article 43 of the Constitution.

This human right should ensure your favourite plate of chakula is available and affordable. It is a right that ensures our mama mbogas sell safe produce. It is a right that should ensure all Kenyans are free from hunger and our children don’t go to bed hungry or have to attend school on an empty stomach. Unfortunately, chronic food insecurity is a daily reality for more than 10 million Kenyans.