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Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law

The Environmental Justice Implications Of Biofuels, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2015

The Environmental Justice Implications Of Biofuels, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez


Analyses of the viability of biofuels as alternatives to fossil fuels have

often adopted a technocratic approach that focuses on environmental

consequences, but places less emphasis on the impact that biofuels may have

on vulnerable populations. This Article fills the gap in the existing literature

by evaluating biofuels through the lens of environmental justice – including

climate justice and food justice. The Article examines the impact of biofuels

on the global food system and on the planet’s most food-insecure

populations. It concludes that the laws and policies promoting the

cultivation of biofuels have contributed to global malnourishment by raising

food …


International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2013

International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

This chapter examines the historic and current policies and practices that have contributed to food insecurity in the global South. It analyzes the impact of international economic law on the patterns of trade and production that perpetuate food insecurity, and recommends concrete measures that the international community might take through law and regulation to promote the fundamental human right to food. Part I provides a short introduction to the right to food framework and its implications for international trade, investment, and finance. Part II places the current food crisis in historical perspective by discussing the trade and aid policies that …


The Global Food System, Environmental Protection, And Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2011

The Global Food System, Environmental Protection, And Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The global food system is exceeding ecological limits while failing to meet the nutritional needs of a large segment of the world’s population. While law could play an important role in facilitating the transition to a more just and ecologically sustainable food system, the current legal framework fails to regulate food and agriculture in an integrated manner. The international legal framework governing food and agriculture is fragmented into three self-contained regimes that have historically operated in isolation from one another: international human rights law, international environmental law, and international trade law. International trade law has taken precedence over human rights …


Climate Change, Food Security, And Agrobiodiversity: Toward A Just, Resilient, And Sustainable Food System, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2010

Climate Change, Food Security, And Agrobiodiversity: Toward A Just, Resilient, And Sustainable Food System, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The global food system is in a state of profound crisis. Decades of misguided aid, trade and production policies have resulted in an unprecedented erosion of agrobiodiversity that renders the world’s food supply vulnerable to catastrophic crop failure in the event of drought, heavy rains, and outbreaks of pests and disease. Climate change threatens to wreak additional havoc on food production by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, depressing agricultural yields, reducing the productivity of the world’s fisheries, and placing pressure on scarce water resources. Furthermore, the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are occurring at a …