Program Themes

Programming Overview 

Programming at the 2009 Hazon Food Conference, provides an incredible journey into the world of food and Jewish tradition. There will be panels, lectures, hands-on workshops, film screenings, yoga, biking, meditation, and multiple prayer services geared towards every denomination. Hazon seeks to engage people as much as possible to feel like active participants rather than observers. We hope that attendees will feel empowered to make positive change once the conference ends—be it at their dinner table or through their state legislature.  

The conference will link contemporary issues to ancient ones—from the commandment of food justice inherent in the Jewish commandment of pe’ah, to the environmental value of letting the land “rest” in the shmita year, the Hazon Food Conference will create a context for the Jewish community to share responsibility in addressing modern problems. 

Participate in any or all of the following tracks: 

Do-It-Yourself Food
Before there was a frozen food aisle in the supermarket, people enjoyed nutritious, naturally preserved food.  There was a time when a baker used the same yeast starter that his family had used for generations. Cereal once referred to the hearty grains a person ate as the most important meal of the day, not the high-fructose corn syrup-soaked, "vitamin enriched" flakes we dine on today.  Your food is more – or should be more – than "Nutrition Facts" and a list of unknown (and unpronounceable) ingredients.  This year sessions will be more hands-on than ever, covering everything from making your own cheese, pickles, pastrami, and more.  

Food Justice
There is a need for a response from the New Jewish food movement to address root food justice issues and to link the food movement with the vibrant Jewish culture of social justice organizing. If you aspire to build a healthy, sustainable, and just Jewish food movement, join sessions that deal within and beyond the Jewish community. This track will examine the role of power and privilege and how it plays out in the food industry.  Issues include justice, workers rights, greenwashing, and how we can all be more responsible consumers.   

Jewish Tradition and Food: History and Culture
What's a Jewish gathering without food?  Or at least without a joke about how Judaism is centered around food?  Whether it's the fact that our religion is an agricultural one at its core, or that the myriad of holidays have spawned world renowned culinary traditions, Jews have a rich and vibrant food history and culture. This track will cover the history of Jewish farmers, explore the importance of the knish among other Jewish staples, and offer a “101” session on kashrut (kosher laws) and more. 

Health and Nutrition 
According to the World Health Organization, “health is a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.”  How do various Jewish perspectives add to our understanding of health? How can we better negotiate “healthy choices” among the myriad of information about health and nutrition that is thrown at us every day? Sessions in this track will guide participants in discovering new ways of thinking about the foods we choose to put in our bodies from physical, social, mental and spiritual health perspectives.  Gain new wisdom and share your experiences with nutritionists, chefs, activists, and doctors who will offer information and expertise on food and its effect on the body during pregnancy, while exercising, and as a child.  A highlight in this track is the veggie chef roundtable and a special session for gluten-free attendees. 

Food Systems and Sustainability
This track will address farmers and farming methods (including urban farming) as well as issues around food distribution, food policy, and the connections (or lack thereof) between rural and urban food systems. Meet innovators, policymakers, farmers, and entrepreneurs who are working to increase access and food that is produced without depleting natural resources, compromising biodiversity, or contaminating the soil, air, and water necessary for our planet's survival. Sessions will cover a lot of ground with a strong policy focus, as well as exposure to a day in the life of a sustainable farmer be they on a rural farm, urban block, or roof deck. This track will also tackle the confusion around farmed versus wild-caught fish.  

Israel: Food & Agriculture
Explore the growing food movement in Israel with a focus on permaculture, politics, and people.  Explore Israel, farmland, and transitioning from the early idealism of the kibbutz (collective farms) to current privatized agribusiness. Learn about Israel's soup kitchens and food pantries serving low-income families on Shabbat and the chagim (holidays) . Hear about the advances and struggles within the sustainable agriculture movement and farming industry in Israel from the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.  

Jewish Food Education
From composting in the classroom to picking parsley at a farm, food and farming is being used as a platform for innovative Jewish education. This track is targeted at Jewish professional and lay educators who want to learn more about how to connect food and farming to formal and informal learning environments. This track promotes, explores, and explains the sustainable food movement in a Jewish context and provides curricula for educators to take back to their communities. Topics will include Min Ha’Aretz, Hazon’s inter-disciplinary curriculum on food and Jewish tradition, experiential ways to teach Jewish holidays, and methods to incorporate cooking and growing food into your Jewish institution.  

Food for Thought
On Saturday afternoon, the entire community will come together to learn from Food for Thought, Hazon’s sourcebook on Jews, food, and contemporary life. Join conversations lead by rabbis, farmers, and scholars about mindfulness, blessings, health and nourishment, agriculture and tzedakah (charity) and much more. Engage with Jewish texts to explore food and its meaning in our lives, in our rituals, and in our communities.

Fasting and the Holiday of Asara B'Tevet
This year, the Food Conference falls over Asara B’Tevet, a minor fast day in the Jewish calendar. Attend sessions discussing the meaning of fasting and what fasting represents for Jews in the context of a food conference and of our changing relationship to food. Develop a deeper understanding of the Jewish tradition of fasting and its role in contemporary life.