FOOD

     Access to food, along with health care, may be considered a human right. After all, there is little sense in governments guaranteeing their citizens political and social freedoms if at the same time those citizens lack basic health and sustenance. Food is such a basic human need it makes sense everyone should have a right to acquire it.

     There are reasons, though, why food might not be a right. It’s difficult to define a minimum standard of what food (let alone healthcare) people should have a right to. Limited resources may make guaranteeing this right (healthcare in particular) impossible, and creating a healthy society may require spending money on other things (for example, art and culture) that also enrich the public. A right to food and medicine may absolve citizens of personal responsibility for maintaining their own health and working to support themselves. In this view providing food and health care for others is an act of charity, but not something those in need have a right to.

     
    Political and economic rights may also conflict. In the mid- 20^th century, as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was being drafted, communist countries argued that economic rights are most important. Governments might need to limit citizens’ abilities to choose their profession, strike, or demonstrate in order to guarantee universal employment and healthcare. Western countries have often considered political rights most important. But if people are allowed such extensive freedoms, can society be expected to insure everyone’s health and support?