INDICATORS
-
Non discrimination
-
The 14th amendment to the US constitution guarantees equal protection under the law to all people: “"No state shall . . . deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Furthermore, a large number of anti-discrimination laws work in concert to provide a wide base for protection from discrimination in the US. Examples of these include but are not limited to:
-Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1871, 1957, 1964, 1968, 1991
-Employment Non-Discrimination Act
-Equal Pay Act of 1963
-Age Discrimination Act of 1975
-Americans with Disabilities Act
That said, a significant amount of discrimination still exists in regards to the treatment of women (unequal pay and discrimination in the work place; gender-based violence and harassment) and minorities such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans (discrimination from employers; unequal and unfair treatment by law enforcement and in the judicial system leading to relatively high incarceration rates). While these groups technically have equal protection under the law, they tend to suffer from many of social and economic problems that result from long-term bias and discrimination, such as disproportionately high rates of poverty, infant mortality, unemployment, and low high school completion rates.
Undocumented immigrants are legally protected against discrimination on the basis of race or nationality, by employers or anyone else. That said, these rights are often violated because employers know the workers don't want to reveal their undocumented status, or undocumented workers are not aware of their rights. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants often face stigmatization, fear of deportation, lack of access to social services, and unjust treatment in informal work environments.
(http://immigration.lawyers.com/general-immigration/legal-rights-of-illeg...)
-
-
Outcomes
-
2%
-
N/A
-
1960: 30%
2015: 18%
-
No data
-
-
People’s Sovereignty over natural resources
-
-Restrictions on the harvesting and re-sowing of own seeds (must meet certain requirements)
-Unlike most other countries, seeds can be sold in US without being certified. This encourages the development of non-hybrid varieties by non-corporate farmers, but because of the aggressive intellectual property environment there is not way to easily distribute these seeds without risking them being patented by others
-
-Legal system allows for patenting of seeds
-Farmers intimidated by licensing laws and “club” schemes into only purchasing industrial seeds, for fear of persecution for breaking the law
-Farmers required to sign lengthy “technology use contracts” upon purchasing seeds, prohibiting them from saving the seeds among other things. Upon (suspected) infringement, seeds and crops can be confiscated or destroyed, and farmer can be fined. Unclear if farmer can be required to serve jail time.
-Companies such as Monsanto and Dupont have entire departments with huge budgets devoted to investigating potential patent infringements.
-Local seeds may be privatized if “discovered”
-
Fungicides and Bactericides: 5,842.96 tonnes; relatively constant
Herbicides: 7,676.52; sharp decrease since 2005 (before which, amount was consistently above 20,000 tonnes)
Insecticides: 716.54 tonnes; relatively constant
-
-
Political Participation for the Right to Food
Participation is one of the fundamental human rights principles, requiring that everyone has the right to participate in making decisions that affect them. In order to ensure that those most affected by violations to the right to food and nutrition participate in political processes, it is essential to have the legal and policy infrastructure within national frameworks, as well as the participatory spaces that give meaningful space for participation.
-
Legal Recognition of the Right to Food and Nutrition
Is Right to Food recognized in the legal system Read moreThe Constitution of de the United States of America does not explicitly guarantee the right to adequate food.
The United States of America have signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1977 but has not yet become a State party.
U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, Terri Robl, explanation of position on right to food, 12-03-2014:
“Overall, we view the right to food as a desirable policy goal; it is our objective to achieve a world where everyone has adequate access to food. We do not, however, treat the right to food as an enforceable obligation.”
(http://www.humanrights.gov/dyn/2014/12/u/u.s.-explanation-of-position-on...)
-
Existence of multiactor governing or decision making bodies for food policy at national, subnational and/or local level with diverse participation of civil society organizations
Read moreNational level, this does not exist. Approximately 293 Food Policy Councils at a county, municipal or city/town or state level in the USA ranging from independent grassroots coalitions, non-profits, within government institutions, linked to universities- and with some receiving public support and others completely independent. [1]
After recent (2012) cuts to welfare programs (in particular the SNAP program), increasing role of private sector and civil society. These groups include:
-Food pantries
-Soup kitchens
-Food banks (warehouse-like establishments that function as distribution centers for food pantries, soup kitchens, etc)
These groups generally function on the community/local level. Often volunteer-based or have religious affiliations.
-