In the United States, the new welfare law is a clear human rights violation. The third main area is the promotion, here in the United States and overseas, of the proposed Global Food Security Convention and a legally binding Code of Conduct, both discussed at the World Food Summit in Rome. The United States government negotiators were the most difficult to convince of the merits of these ideas, and our government remains the major obstacle to further progress. Promoting Sustainable Food Production and Food Safety Simultaneous with our work to promote and defend the human right to food security, we must work to make sustainable food security a physical reality. The key to economic sustainability for family farmers is ensuring that their crops receive a fair price in the market.
Food safety is the final element of sustainable food security.
It is not enough to have a bountiful table if the food is laced with pesticides, dioxins, heavy metals, or other dangers. We have to find ways to farm that ensure that the food is not contaminated. This also means protecting farmers and farm workers from exposure to these threats, and keeping our watersheds and drinking water safe for human consumption. The results of the World Food Summit have provided an extraordinary opportunity to formulate a new global commitment to the fundamental human right to be free from hunger and malnutrition. It is up to each individual, family, and community to turn the right to food into reality.