State Food Crimes

Some states deny their own citizens one of the most fundamental human rights: the right to food. Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, a leading scholar of human rights, discusses state food crimes, demonstrating how governments have introduced policies that cause malnutrition or starvation among their citizens and others for whom they are responsible. The book introduces the right to food and discusses historical cases (communist famines in Ukraine, China and Cambodia, and neglect of starvation by democratic states in Ireland, Germany and Canada). It then moves to a detailed discussion of four contemporary cases: starvation in North Korea, and malnutrition in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and the West Bank and Gaza. These cases are then used to analyse international human rights law, sanctions and food aid, and civil and political rights as they pertain to the right to food. The book concludes by considering the need for a new international treaty on the right to food.

Part I. Introduction and Background: 1. State food crimes; 2. Communist famines; 3. Democracies and famines; Part II. Contemporary Case Studies: 4. North Korea; 5. Zimbabwe; 6. Venezuela; 7. The West Bank and Gaza; Part III. Implications for the International Human Right to Food: 8. International law and the right to food; 9. Sticks and carrots: sanctions and food aid; 10. Interdependent human rights; 11. Liberal democracies and the right to food; 12. A new international treaty on the right to food; References.

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann held the position of Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights at Wilfrid Laurier University from 2003 to 2016. Since 1993 she has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, which awarded her the John William Dawson Medal for Interdisciplinary Research in 2013. She was named a Distinguished Scholar of Human Rights by the Human Rights Sections of the International Studies Association and the American Political Science Association, in 2013 and 2006 respectively. Earlier books include Can Globalization Promote Human Rights? (2010), Reparations to Africa (2008), Compassionate Canadians: Civic Leaders Discuss Human Rights (2003) and Human Rights and the Search for Community (1995).