#CDHX2608641VOpinion on the Right to Healthy, Sustainable and Chosen Food (A - 2026 - 4)
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This CNCDH opinion is the first comprehensive French human rights body statement on food. It calls for the constitutional recognition of a "right to food" with constitutional value, governed by a framework law (loi-cadre) and guaranteed opposability. The document details alarming trends: 16% of the population experiences food insecurity, poverty reached 9.8–12 million people in 2023, and non-take-up of social rights stands at 30–40%. It highlights how food precarity causes shame, social isolation, worsened chronic diseases (2.8× diabetes, 2× obesity among lowest incomes), and territorial disparities especially in overseas territories (e.g., 39% higher food prices and double diabetes rate in French Guiana). The opinion stresses that the current food system generates at least €19 billion annual hidden societal costs and that over 80% of the €48.3 billion public support in 2021 reinforces volume-driven, low-price models. It urges reorientation of public aid toward decent farmer incomes and agroecological transition while aligning with international obligations under the ICESCR and General Comment 12.
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Key Changes
- Constitutional recognition of the right to food with framework legislation (loi-cadre) and guaranteed justiciability
- Reorientation of >80% of the €48.3 billion public food-system supports (2021 figure) toward decent agricultural incomes and agroecological practices
- Reduction of at least €19 billion annual hidden societal costs linked to health and environmental damage from the current food system
+ 3 more changes with Pro
Obligations
What this law requires
Recognize and enshrine the 'right to food' (droit à l'alimentation) with constitutional value in French law
Enact a framework law (loi-cadre) governing the right to food with guaranteed enforceability (opposabilité)
Reorient public agricultural subsidies away from volume-driven, low-price models toward support for decent farmer incomes and agroecological transition
Implement measures to address food insecurity affecting 16% of the population and reduce non-take-up of social rights currently estimated at 30-40%
Ensure the right to food incorporates four mandatory dimensions: availability, accessibility (physical and economic), adequacy (nutritional quality, safety, social-cultural relevance), and sustainability