It is refreshing to see that, in Commitment 4, governments have agreed on a more balanced approach, calling instead for a fair and market-oriented world trade system. A fair trading system is one that provides access to markets, above all local and regional markets for the poorest producers. We also need to recognize and remedy the impact of structural adjustment policies which have compelled people to mortgage their children in order to salvage external debts. To ignore the work and power of TNCs is to ignore the reality of food production and distribution. We should welcome the signs of readiness for dialogue between the corporate sector and civil society, but any comprehensive Plan of Action must at least recognize the role of TNCs and their negative input.
People are hungry for peace, just as people are hungry for food.
The arms trade is a major factor in the present economic globalization. It is one of the principal causes of conflict and displacement of peoples from their sources of food, many of whom go hungry. We must stop using food as a weapon. The Plan of Action seems to clarify the content of the right to adequate food. Governments have referred this task to United Nations bodies.