The right to adeguate food: actors and tools for implementation

Even if the Italian constitution does not expressly recognize the right to food, numerous provisions allow for protecting food safety and food security.

This guarantee, required because of the welfare state form of state, is becoming urgent due to recent increasing of social needs and the economic crisis.

From the European level, actions and resources have been put in place to respond to this need. It is worth remembering the FEAD Regulation recently amended in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in order to support national institutions in providing basic material assistance

National, regional and local institutions are implementing regulatory and policy interventions to support the right to food. See, for example, the Law n. 34/2016 enacted by Lombardy Region and the institution of the Consulta regionale per la promozione del diritto al cibo (Lazio Region) but also the legislation on food waste, especially Law No 166/2016 that takes advantage of both the private and the Third sector.

The operational plan involves the following steps: 

• recognition and analysis of the policies adopted by national and regional institutions implementing existing regulation in order to support the right to food, especially for fragile groups also in comparative perspective;

• analysis of the FEAD Regulation recently amended in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and growing needs in order to better understand how national institutions are using the additional resources;

• analysis of national and regional laws and policies on food waste and their implementation also in comparative perspective;

• identification of the pros and cons of different piece of legislation (at national, regional and local level);

• interviews with European, national and sub-national Food Banks or other entities of the so called "Third sector" in charge of protecting the right to food;

• elaboration of guidelines for policy simplification and for a better coordination among national, regional and local policies;

• Pointing out the interactions with policies adopted by the different levels of government (from the UE down to national, regional and local government) highlighting convergences and divergences among them. The analysis also aims at figuring out if and to what extend integration and simplification are needed;

• Pointing out the Italian food waste policy and the strategies designed to guarantee food security.