From grains to meals: the gender dimension of the right to food in India

The right to food has a long history as a human right. In India, the right to food has been given a legislative form through the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA). The law establishes an ambitious food security programme, serving almost two-thirds of India's population by providing subsidised food grains. However, a general invisibilisation exists in the legal discourse surrounding the right to food when it comes to women's labour, essential for the realisation of the right. The NFSA treats women's labour as a free resource to implement the Indian state's welfare agenda. It is women's labour that converts subsidised food grains into consumable meals. This article makes the argument that the right to food must be reconceptualised as the 'right to a meal' to socialise food preparation tasks that women carry out in the home. Thus, changing the nature of food preparation from a private activity into a public care provision, making this traditional task of 'social reproduction go public'.