Policy Statement: Without food security, no sustainability nor economic stability

Germany is the world's third largest importer of agricultural products and sources 65% of these products from non-EU countries, particularly from the Global South. These include coffee, cocoa, coconut and palm oil, and avocados – products that hardly compete with EU goods but are part of everyday life in Germany. However, precarious working conditions and a lack of social standards in the countries of origin, as well as the pressure of expectations to meet new sustainability requirements, place a burden on producers of agricultural commodities and jeopardize the future viability and stability of supply chains.

New EU directives address this issue and, for the first time, require proof of compliance with human rights due diligence obligations right down to the production level. Welthungerhilfe (WHH) is committed to ensuring that the right to food is recognized and addressed as a human rights and economic risk. With the Food Security Standard (FSS), it offers a practical instrument for verifying compliance with human rights standards in agricultural production.