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The right to food has frequently caught headlines in the mainstream media in recent years. An obvious explanation is the considerable rise in food prices, which first peaked in 2008, followed by a decrease, but then peaked again in 2011, with less publicity, and with almost no subsequent decrease. Moreover, the efforts by the two UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to food � though different in how they have approached policies relating to food � have led to considerable debate.
The two Special Rapporteurs, Jean Ziegler and Olivier de Schutter, together with their respect ive collaborators co-authored two of the books under review: The Fight for the Right to Food and Accounting for Hunger. The third book included in this review � Governing Food Security � emerged from the Law and Governance Group at Wageningen University, which has devoted much attention to food. The fourth publication is an FAO study that identifies how the right to food is recognized in constitutions around the world.
The FAO study is useful as it provides a detailed classification of all countries; its findings are, however, not encouraging from the perspective of the broad recognition of and effective achievement of the right to food. While 140 constitutions recognize rights relating to the environment, only 23 constitutions explicitly recognize the right to food, while an additional 33 include formulations which are generally understood to encompass the right to food, including the right to an adequate standard of living or the right to the means necessary for a dignified life (at 21). Moreover, an additional 51 states have legal provisions that give international treaties higher status than national legislation.
