This volume discusses the significance of human rights approaches to food and the way it relates to gender considerations, addressing links between hunger and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, agricultural productivity and the environment.

MANJU BALANA Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur (Rajasthan), IndiaPRADEEP BHARGAVA Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur (Rajasthan), IndiaLYNN BROWN Rural Development Specialist, World Bank, USAANDREW CHARMAN Director, Sustainable Livelihood Consultants, Cape Town, South AfricaJOHN CURRY Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyALESSANDRA GARBERO, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyUGO GENTILINI Policy Economist, Social Protection and Livelihoods Service, UN World Food Programme (WFP)JAMES HODGE Engagement Manager at Genesis Analytics; Seasonal Lecturer, WITSJOHN HOURIHAN Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyJOSEPH T. KARUGIA Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, KenyaYIANNA LAMBROU Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyREGINA LAUB Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyJOHN UHURU MANYENGO Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kakamega, KenyaWILLIS OLUOCH-KOSURA Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, KenyaISABELLA RAE Right to Food Consultant, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO)NIRA RAMACHANDRAN Consultant, Unicef, New Delhi, IndiaK. L. SHARMA School of Economics, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, FijiSHANNON STOKES Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyJULIAN THOMAS Former Coordinator, Right to Food Unit, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)ANDREW THORNE-LYMAN Public Health Nutrition Officer, Headquarters of the World Food ProgrammeMARGRET VIDAR Legal Officer, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO)S. VIVEK Graduate Student, Syracuse University, USAGUANGHUA WAN Senior Research Fellow, Project Director and Director for Visiting Fellowship and Internship Programme, UNU-WIDER, FinlandJULLIET WANJIKU World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, KenyaPATRICK WEBB Former Chief of Nutrition for WFP; Dean for Academic Affairs, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, USAESTHER SILVANA WIEGERS Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), Gender and Development Division, Rome, ItalyZHANGYUE ZHOU Associate Professor in Business Studies, School of Business, James Cook University, Australia

Preface PART I: VULNERABILITY TO HUNGER: CAUSES AND REMEDIES National Food Policies impacting on Food Security: The Experience of a Large Populated Country - India; S.S.Acharya Food Security in the South Pacific Island Countries with Special Reference to the Fiji Islands; K.L.Sharma Food Security in the SADC Region: An Assessment of National Trade Strategy in the Context of the 2001-03 Food Crisis; A.Charman& J.Hodge On the Edge: The Role of Food-Based Safety Nets in Helping Vulnerable Households Manage Food Insecurity; L.Brown& U.Gentilini The Public Distribution Systems of Foodgrains and Implications for Food Security: A Comparison of the Experiences of India and China; Z.-Y.Zhou& G.Wan PART II: GENDER AND HUNGER: THE LINKS Gender, HIV/AIDS and Rural Livelihoods: Micro-Level Investigations in Three African Countries; J.Curry, E.Wiegers, A.Garbero, S.Stokes& J.Hourihan Gender, Local Knowledge and Lessons Learnt in Documenting and Conserving Agrobiodiversity; Y.Lambrou& R.Laub Gender Differentiation in the Analysis of Alternative Farm Mechanization Choices on Small Farms in Kenya; J.Wanjiku, J.U.Manyengo, W.Oluoch-Kosura& J.T.Karugia Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns; N.Ramachandran PART III: HUNGER AS ENTITLEMENT FAILURE: THE RIGHT TO FOOD Entitlement Failure from a Food Quality Perspective: The Life and Death Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Humanitarian Crises; P.Webb& A.Thorne-Lyman The Right to Food as a Fundamental Human Right: FAO's Experience; I.Rae, J.Thomas& M.Vidar Realizing the Right to Food in South Asia; P.Bhargava& M.Balana Rights-Based Approach to Development: Lessons from the Right to Food Movement in India; B.Guha-Khasnobis& S.Vivek