Food as punishment, food as dignity

Abstract

This chapter aims at deepening, from a comparative perspective, the legal treatment of food in the context of prison, by analyzing relevant constitutional norms, legislation and judicial decisions that deal with the ambiguous and multifaceted nature of “prison food” as a service to be supplied by the prison administration and, on the side of prisoners, as both a fundamental right and an instrument of fighting. The starting point of the analysis is that, in prison, nutrition, as an activity essential to human survival and wellbeing, is subtracted from the domain of “liberty” and transferred to the “discretionary power” of the administration. Although the administrative discretion is limited by the fundamental right of prisoners to an “adequate” food, the prison administration is likely to provide nutrition service by pursuing also (and foremost) the system’s efficiency and effectiveness, as well as a sort of “moral” idea of (scarce and poor quality) food as a component of the punishment. The dimension of food as a fundamental right closely connected to the dignity of prisoners is multifaceted, ranging from inadequate food as a degrading treatment violating human dignity to a nutrition diet that must guarantee the respect of the right to health, the right to cultural and religious identity and the right to personal thought and ethical beliefs (e.g. question of vegetarianism and veganism not related to a religious belief).

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