New edition of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch explores how hunger is used as a weapon and how small-scale food producers resist unjust food systems
Heidelberg, 17 October 2026 – The 17th edition of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch, the annual flagship publication of the Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition, has been launched. This year’s Watch examines how food is deliberately used as a weapon to control, displace and starve people, while highlighting the power of those who grow, fish, herd and produce the food that sustains us all.
At a time of growing violence against people, food, nature and communities, the Watch challenges the systems of power that deny people their right to adequate food and nutrition. It also highlights how communities resist these injustices and reclaim their ability to feed themselves with dignity, justice and peace.
Hunger is about power, not just scarcity
Hunger is rarely caused by a lack of food alone. It is also shaped by who controls land and territories, whose knowledge is valued, whose labour is recognised, and whose lives are neglected or treated as expendable.
The Watch examines how food is increasingly used as a weapon in situations of war, occupation and violence. When people are deliberately deprived of food, they are not only denied their basic needs but also pushed into dependence on humanitarian aid, while their ability to organise and challenge the systems that cause their hunger is undermined.
Violence also takes less visible forms. Climate breakdown, the destruction of ecosystems and the marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities threaten their livelihoods and access to food. These forms of violence often go unnoticed, yet they deepen hunger and inequality over time.
Communities are building alternatives
Across different contexts, communities are resisting these injustices by defending their lands and territories, sharing knowledge, strengthening relationships of care and rebuilding what has been destroyed.
These efforts are about more than producing food. They are about reclaiming the power to decide what is grown, how food is produced and how communities sustain themselves. They challenge systems that concentrate control in the hands of a few and defend people’s right to live with dignity.
Drawing on the experiences of right-to-food defenders and food sovereignty movements, the Watch asks a fundamental question: can food systems become just by improving what already exists, or does real change require a deeper redistribution of power?
A different format, a shared struggle
The 2026 edition takes a more accessible approach, bringing together conversations, online interviews and roundtables alongside other contributions. Rather than offering one definitive answer, the Watch creates space for different voices and lived experiences to challenge dominant narratives and explore paths towards change.
At its heart, this edition reminds us that food is never just food. It is connected to land, power, rights and the ability of people to shape their own futures. Defending the right to food means confronting the systems that produce hunger and supporting the communities working towards food sovereignty.
Discover the 17th edition of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch, launching on 17 October 2026. Explore how communities are challenging hunger, resisting injustice and reclaiming their right to food. Visit the Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition upon launch.
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First published in 2008, the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch is an annual publication that monitors policies, processes, and key issues related to the right to adequate food and nutrition at global, regional, national, and local levels. In doing so, it gives visibility to people’s struggles and their efforts on the ground. As a monitoring tool, it aims to strengthen accountability and advance the realization of the right to adequate food and nutrition for all.
For more information, please contact:
Jen Derillo: derillo@fian.org
619175088841