Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control

Article 25, Section 1
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations defined the right to adequate food and freedom from hunger when it ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948. Sixty years later, nearly a billion people around the world still go hungry every day. Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies from hunger-related diseases.

Food cannot be used as a weapon or withheld as punishment. But, the right to be free from hunger still comes under attack around the world. People displaced by war or conflict, the poor and groups that face discrimination, including women, children, ethnic or cultural minorities, and the sick or disabled are often among the ranks of the hungry.

The right to food does not equal a right to merely "be fed" through outside assistance, according to the United Nations. People have the right to feed their families, whether that means the ability to purchase or produce enough food so they get enough to eat every day.

People have a right to food that is both culturally appropriate and provides them with the proper nutrition according to their age and health. The right to food can't be defined through an arbitrary number of calories.

• Learn more about how the right to food is linked to other human rights.
• Visit the Right to Food Virtual Library to find more information on the global food crisis.
• Hear from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food.