The Constitutional Right to Food in South Africa.

This work considers the right to food in the South African Constitution & the steps needed to realise this key right. Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition provide the social context. In addition to the indispensable nature of having access to sufficient food, another rationale for the study was a lack of extensive academic study in the area. Socio-economic rights, like the right to food, are fully justiciable in South Africa, equally worthy of protection as civil and political rights & interdependant on one another. This book analyses the relevant South African Constitutional provisions & other legal authority at a national & international level to determine the State's legal obligations to meet its peoples' food rights. Existing legislation, State policies & programmes are analysed to gauge whether the State is adequately meeting its food rights obligations in South Africa. Inadequacies highlighted are a lack of feeding schemes in high schools & insufficient food provision in emergency situations. This study argues that a generous & broad interpretation of South African Constitution food rights is called for.