The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945 to help countries improve nutrition and agriculture

and better the lives of rural people.

With 190 members, FAO works across the globe to fi ght poverty and hunger and achieve food security – access by all people at

all times to the food they need to lead active and healthy lives.

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy Email: FAO-HQ@fao.orgWeb site: www.fao.org

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is a worldwide movement providing non-formal education where girls and young women develop leadership and life skills through self-development, challenge and adventure.

Girl Guides and Girl Scouts learn by doing.

The World Association brings together Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Associations in 144 countries. It is the voice of girls and young women who infl uence issues they

care about and build a better world.

World Bureau, Olave Centre12c Lyndhurst Road, London, NW3 5PQ, UK

Email: wagggs@wagggsworld.orgWeb site: www.wagggsworld.org

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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© FAO 2007 - second edition

BRAZILWhen Paula, Davi, their teacher and classmates go to Vila Esperança, they see

with their own eyes the lives of people living in poverty with little food and poor housing. They hear their stories and discover what can be done to help.

CANADASara, Tommy and Sam fi nd an ancient arrowhead that leads them to discover how people have had to change their ways of getting food over the years. Together

with their grandfather, they meet a community group who are planting a vegetable garden to help provide more food for the neighbourhood.

INDIAA group of citizens go to court to help ensure poor people’s right to food.

This leads to free mid-day meals for schoolchildren and to other government programmes for the poor. Kaushik and Gayatri can concentrate better in school

now that they are not studying on an empty stomach.

INDONESIAJusaf visits the village of his cousins only to fi nd that the food and life of the community have changed because of deforestation and pollution of the river.

Together, the cousins learn the value of nature for their community and how they can help the land to recover.

ITALYFor their school work, Anna and her teenage friends interview shoppers at a supermarket, grocery store and an open-air market about their food choices.

Together they learn about healthy eating and life-styles. Later, Anna tests what she has learned at the dinner table.

JORDANWhen Emily arrives in Jordan from Australia, she learns about the importance of

water for food and life. Together with her host Fatima, she visits a refugee camp and a farm, and realises the importance of safe water for people, agriculture and

industry.

SIERRA LEONE Life is not easy after the war. Mariama’s husband has died and Adama’s husband has lost his leg. With help and training, the two women are able to take over the

farming to provide food for their children and rebuild their lives.

UGANDA Tina and Jane want to go to school like their brother Joseph, but their help is needed at home. Thanks to their mother’s chicken production and a new water

point, they are able to return to school, where they learn some lessons that they share with others.

Contents

About This Book ................................... 4

Side by Side and Worlds Apart - Brazil ......... 6

Finding Ancient Arrowheads - Canada ............ 16

In the Name of the Law - India ................. 26

Trees, Fish and Orang-utans - Indonesia ........ 36

Just the Right Mix - Italy ........................ 46

Water, Water Everywhere - Jordan ............. 56

Starting Over - Sierra Leone ..................... 66

No One Left Behind - Uganda .................... 76

THE RIGHT TO FOOD: ATHE RIGHT TO FOOD: A

Equator

NORTHAMERICA

ATLANTICOCEAN

ATLANTICOCEAN

SOUTHAMERICA

PACIFICOCEAN

PACIFICOCEAN

Paula and Ronaldo in Brazil

Sara, Tommy and Sam in Canada

Anna and her friends in Italy

Kadi and Uncle John in Sierra Leone

Discover the world and theDiscover the world and the

A WINDOW ON THE WORLD WINDOW ON THE WORLD

OCEANIA

INDIANOCEAN

PACIFICOCEAN

ASIA

EUROPE

AFRICA

ARCTICOCEAN

ANTARCTICA

Fatima and Emily in Jordan

Kaushik and Gayatri in India

Jusaf and his cousins in Indonesia

Tina and Jane in Uganda

right to food together with...

About This Book

4

Everyone has the right to obtain and enjoy food in a dignified way It is a right that is due to every person.

Fulfilling the right to food means that everyone must have access to nutritionally adequate and safe foodFreedom from hunger and malnutrition means that all people must be able at all times to get a sufficient amount and variety of good quality and safe foods to meet their body’s needs.

This is a book about the right of every human being to be free from hunger. It tells eight separate stories, set in different countries and cultural settings, that illustrate how people in every country can work together to overcome similar problems. All of the stories are about making sure that all people, no matter what their cultural, economic or social situation, can get the food they need.

Many millions of people in the world never get enough to eat. When people do not have enough food or enough of the right kinds of foods to meet their body’s needs, they will be hungry and malnourished and will not be able to lead healthy and active lives. Many will die. Food is so important for life and health that governments all over the world have recognized that people have a right to food. The right to food means that all people have the right to feed themselves and their families with dignity. People must be able to grow or hunt or catch the food they need or earn enough money to buy it. Fulfilling the right to food means ensuring that people have the knowledge, skills, resources and opportunities they need to get food for themselves. It also means that when people, for reasons beyond their control, are not able to feed themselves, they still have a right to food and they must be helped until they are able to feed themselves again. By recognizing that people have a right to food, national governments have committed themselves to doing everything possible to make sure that all of their people have enough to eat.

malnourished: people who are unhealthy as the result of eating too little, too much or not having the right variety of food

right to food: the right of every man, woman and child to always have enough food for a healthy and active life

violate: break a law or a rule

Each story in the book points out different important features of the rightto food. They do not reflect the overall situation in any particular country and do not cover all of the issues about the right to food.

By reading these stories, you will understand that:

5

About This Book

National governments must meet certain obligations on the right to foodGovernments must do everything possible to make sure that all of their people are free from hunger and have access to adequate and safe food. They must help people who are not able to get adequate food on their own and they may not take any actions that prevent access to food or violate the right to food.

All members of society have responsibilities in the realization of the right to adequate foodEveryone - individuals, families, local communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, the private business sector - has responsibilities in securing and protecting the right to food for the local and global community.

FAO Right to Food www.fao.org/righttofoodFeeding Minds Fighting Hunger www.feedingminds.orgThe United Nations CyberSchoolBus www.cyberschoolbus.un.orgUNICEF Voices of Youth www.unicef.org/voy

Want to know more about the right to food? See the Activity Guide that goes with this book, and:

interesting points to think about while reading the story.

a chance for you to express your own thoughts on the story and how things are in our world.

6

Brazil

poverty and inequality lead to hunger and

malnutrition. Food and other basic goods and services that affect food security, health and nutrition - clean

drinking water, a clean environment, safe housing conditions, schools, health care services - must be available for all people,

including the poorest.

Why people in Vila Esperança are hungry and sick.

What needs to change to make life in Vila Esperança better.

How the community is helping itself and what we can do to help the community.

With about 180 million people, Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America.One out of fi ve Brazilians - over 40 million people - lives on less than two dollars a day.Nearly 16 million people, including many children, are hungry.Many people live in slums which lack basic services and work opportunities. Life in the countryside is hard: nine out of ten rural people lack access to clean drinking water and most rural houses have no toilets. Nearly fi ve million rural families are landless or struggle to survive on small pieces of land. Yet Brazil is not a poor country. It is one of the major food producers and exporters in the world. Brazil is also doing well in education: almost all boys and girls (97 per cent) go to primary school. The Zero Hunger Programme, a massive national effort aimed to fi ght hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, was launched by the Brazilian government in 2003.

Did you know that...

Some facts about my country

Read my story to fi nd out...

Think about our world

1185

Have you thought about...how mother’s project changed the life of Tina and Jane’s family?

how going to school can help Tina and Jane have a better future?

Is it fair that...women have fewer chances than men to go to school, own land, inherit property, get a loan?

some girls have to sell their bodies and risk getting HIV/AIDS in order to survive?

people living with HIV/AIDS are discriminated against?

Everyone can do somethingFind someone near you who needs help and support and do what you can to help them.

So, what do YOU think?

the key right to food messages for that story.

some facts and fi gures about the country in which the story takes place.

At the beginning and at the end of each story you will fi nd: