Eleventh International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Unlike many other countries the United States has no legal right to food, nor has it ratified treaties that would make the right to food justiciable. Nevertheless, advocates across the country, using a human rights framework, have begun to advocate for such a right in individual states. Currently, three U.S. states have constitutional amendments in process before their respective state legislatures. Each of these three has employed different legal strategies and a range of organizational strategems. This discussion will explain the conceptual frameworks that U.S. advocates are incorporating, a review of the legal approaches used, case reports from each of the three states with current constitutional amendments currently in progress, and an analysis of the successes and failures encountered thus far. A short handout explaining the legal, economic and equitable issues at play, and my work with the advocates in each state, will be distributed.