Defend The Right To Food by MercyCorps Action Center 7:05am 6th Oct, 2010   People are guaranteed a right to be free from hunger under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations has also said governments must make sure their citizens have enough food to eat. But not all do.    From poor weavers in India pushed to commit suicide because they could no longer feed their families to peasants stripped of their land in Haiti, many of the poor, sick, disabled and discriminated against often find their right to adequate food and to be free from hunger under attack.    Violations of people''s right to food can take many different forms. Discrimination, in one form or another, plays a central role in a lot of these violations.    Land rights violations have disproportionately affected traditional, indigenous and peasant populations and have resulted in unjust settlement of legal disputes, evictions, clearing of forests and land, and the destruction of crops. Access to natural resources such as water has also come under attack.    Labor rights violations have caused poor people to work in unsafe working conditions, under oppressive working conditions and for unjust wages. Some employers and governments have cracked down on union and labor organizers. Agricultural workers have been particularly vulnerable to all of these labor rights violations.    Trade deregulation, the dumping of food commodities, and the neglect of rural communities all have impinged upon the right to food in many parts of the world.    Conflicts have disrupted planting and harvest seasons, cut farmers off from suppliers and distributors and uprooted people from their land. Combatants have scorched the earth, poisoned water sources, and killed civilians.    Wars often lead to long-term displacement. Refugees and people living in displacement camps end up with limited abilities to produce their own food and commonly need to rely on external assistance to survive.    Make sure governments respect, protect and fulfill the right to food. Visit the related web page
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