With contributions from over 30 international legal scholars, this topical Research Handbook on International Food Law provides a reflective and crucial examination of the rules, power dynamics, legal doctrines, societal norms, and frameworks that govern the modern global food system. The Research Handbook analyses the interlinkages between producers and consumers of food, as well as the environmental effects of the global food network and the repercussions on human health. Chapters explore the development of food law and governance strategies, the regulation of novel foods, including insects, and the application of technology and science in food production, such as genetically engineered food. The insightful contributions examine the legal challenges facing the global food system and suggest practical recommendations for future research and reform. Providing a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the complex legal landscape of food production and consumption, this Research Handbook will be essential reading for students and scholars of food law, consumer law, public international law, and regulation and governance, as well as food system advocates, international lawyers, and policymakers.
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International Food Law and Policy is the first interdisciplinary piece of academic literature of its kind with a comprehensive, reader-friendly approach to teaching the major aspects of food regulation, law, policy, food safety and environmental sustainability in a global context. The sections are grouped by continents and focus on a range of cross-disciplinary subjects, such as public health, international food trade, the right to food, intellectual property and global regulatory aspects of food production. With its systematic approach, this book will be a valuable resource both for professionals working in food regulation and anyone interested in the subject. It provides a solid foundation for courses and master’s programs in environmental management, food law, policy and regulation, and sustainable development around the world.
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In this book and elsewhere Dutch courts are portrayed as little short of barbaric for rejecting direct applicability of the human right to food. In this contribution I want to revisit case law asking the question if the rejection of direct applicability of the right to food implies that in the Netherlands hungry people are actually being let down by the courts.
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Moral food lab: Transforming the food system with crowd-sourced ethics
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The transition towards a sustainable and healthy food system is one of the major sustainability challenges of today, next to the energy transition and the transition from a linear to circular economy. This paper provides a timely and evidence-based contribution to better understand the complex processes of institutional change and transformative social-ecological innovation that takes place in the food transition, through a case study of an open innovation and food transition network in The Netherlands, the South-Holland Food Family (Zuid-Hollandse Voedselfamilie). This network is supported by the provincial government and many partners, with the ambition to realize more sustainable agricultural and food chains, offering healthy, sustainable and affordable food for everyone in the Province of South-Holland in five to ten years from now. This ambition cannot be achieved through optimising the current food system. A transition is needed – a fundamental change of the food system’s structure, culture and practice. The Province has adopted a transition approach in its 2016 Innovation Agenda for Sustainable Agriculture. This paper provides an institutional analysis of how the transition approach has been established and developed in practice. Our main research question is what interventions and actions have shaped the transition approach and how does the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influence institutional change, by analysing a series of closely related action situations and their context, looking at 'structure' and 'agency', and at the output-outcomes-impact of these action situations. For this purpose, we use the Transformative Social-Ecological Innovation (TSEI)-framework to study the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influencing institutional change. The example of TSEI-framework application in this paper shows when and how local agents change the institutional context itself, which provides relevant insights on institutional work and the mutually constitutive nature of structure and agency. Above institutional analysis also shows the pivotal role of a number of actors, such as network facilitators and provincial minister, and their capability and skills to combine formal and informal institutional environments and logics and mobilize resources, thereby legitimizing and supporting the change effort. The results are indicative of the importance of institutional structures as both facilitating (i.e., the province’s policies) and limiting (e.g. land ownership) transition dynamics.
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Purpose: Food waste occurs in every stage of the supply chain, but the value-added lost to waste is the highest when consumers waste food. The purpose of this paper is to understand the food waste behaviour of consumers to support policies for minimising food waste. Design/methodology/approach: Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a theoretical lens, the authors design a questionnaire that incorporates contextual factors to explain food waste behaviour. The authors test two models: base (four constructs of TPB) and extended (four constructs of TPB plus six contextual factors). The authors build partial least squares structural equation models to test the hypotheses. Findings: The data confirm significant relationships between food waste and contextual factors such as motives, financial attitudes, planning routines, food surplus, social relationships and Ramadan. Research limitations/implications: The data comes from an agriculturally resource-constrained country: Qatar. Practical implications: Food waste originating from various causes means more food should flow through the supply chains to reach consumers’ homes. Contextual factors identified in this work increase the explanatory power of the base model by 75 per cent. Social implications: Changing eating habits during certain periods of the year and food surplus have a strong impact on food waste behaviour. Originality/value: A country is considered to be food secure if it can provide its citizens with stable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. The findings and conclusions inform and impact upon the development of food waste and food security policies.
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While the right to adequate food is often discussed in the context of developing countries, especially in situations where access to adequate food is a problem on a larger scale, this book focusses on the right to food in two Western countries in which theoretically the circumstances allow this right to be enjoyed by each individual. Through a legal comparative study, the enforceability of the right to food is compared between the Netherlands and Belgium in light of the current UN Human Rights system. There seems to be a difference between what the countries do, what they say they do, and what they should do on the matter. As it appears, the coincidental constitutional circumstances mainly determine the enforceability of the right to food, rather than the content of the human right in itself. This book includes a thorough analysis of suitable comparative legal methodology and the embedment of the right to food in the UN human right system. Furthermore, for both countries, an in-depth analysis of the case law on the right to food (mostly concerning the status of foreigners), the constitutional context in which the Judiciary operates, and the relevant UN reports and subsequent procedures are outlined. Finally, recommendations are made to both countries and the relevant UN Committees.
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From the article: "This article evaluates the application of blockchain technology to improve organic or fair-trade food traceability from “Farm to Fork” in light of European regulations. This study aims to shed light on the challenges in the organic food chain to overcome, the drivers for blockchain technology, and the challenges in current projects."
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The right to adequate food is by no means a tranquil possession with one single undisputed content. It has been addressed uncountable times with the utmost of urgency. Being one of the prerequisites for a humane life with at least a right to a minimum of existence, this right is embedded in the international human rights system that evolved in the period after the Second World War. The right to food is interrelated with complex matters that are not easily solved. Therefore, it appeared to be not easy to give meaning to the content of the right to food, and to help Member States of the United Nations to implement this right on a suitable way in their national legal systems. It is no surprise then, that a large web of international institutions, each functioning within their own competences and mandates, are involved in the process of further developing the right to food. This is done in discussions between stakeholders during summits and gathering. It is done by negotiating and finally adopting legislative documents that stimulate the development of this right another step forward. It is done by desk and field research to learn about the nature of this human right, about how this right is (or is not) realized in distressful times, and about what could be done to further clarify and develop this right. It is also done by (financial) contributions, all kinds of aid and education. Finally, it is done by measuring progress that has been made, by trying to make actors responsible for the realization of the right to food, and even accountable for when they fail to their meet their obligations. The right to food streams throughout the whole international human rights system, from an ever increasing number of wells. This chapter aims to provide an inventory of those wells of the right to food.
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Most beginning food forests face the following challenge: how do we get the harvest to the consumer? At food forest 't Mortelke they had the same question. The following research presents the answer to the following question: 'What are potential outlets for the harvest of Voedselbos 't Mortelke and how can these collaborations be realized?' The research provides more clarity on the needs of the market regarding potential collaborations with Voedselbos 't Mortelke. Interviews with interested parties (restaurants, country stores, organic supermarkets, individuals) revealed that the most appropriate form of cooperation with the food forest lies with fine-dining restaurants in the Eindhoven area. To initiate these collaborations an experimental phase is needed in which the chefs can get to know the products of the food forest. As a result of this research, several collaborations with restaurants have been initiated! Due to privacy reasons, certain parts of the research have been removed from the publication version.
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