ABSTRACT
Food analysts distinguish between the availability of food, which refers to the overall quantities and types of foods in any particular place, and accessibility, which refers to the ability of individuals to obtain that food. The articulation of the human right to adequate food in modern international human rights law arises in the context of the broader human right to an adequate standard of living. Historically, national and international responses to problems of malnutrition have been based on compassion and the argument that reducing malnutrition can benefit society as a whole. In 1974 the World Food Conference issued a Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition. Its assertion that "Every man, woman, and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties" was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 3348 (XXIX) of December 17, 1974.
