The Hazon Food Conference is set to open a new chapter in its five-year history: Organizers have moved the event to the summer, made it one national conference rather than two regional events and are holding it at a university that emphasizes agriculture.
The conference will take place from 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18 until 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 at U.C. Davis. Registration is still open.
Hazon is a nonprofit that examines environmental and food sustainability through a Jewish lens. For the conference, organizers have lined up the movers and shakers in the Jewish food movement for workshops, cooking sessions, discussion panels and other programming, including Jewish rituals. The final day will feature an eco-fair and Israeli-style marketplace.
Until this year, the conferences had always been held in December, with one on the East Coast (starting in 2006) and one on the West (starting in 2008).
The featured presenters will be Aaron Gross, farmed animal welfare advocate; Oran Hesterman, author and founder of the Fair Food Network; and Joan Nathan, cookbook author and chef. In addition, there will be more than 80 other presenters.
“It’s the only place where farmers, rabbis and chefs come together to explore dynamic interplay between food and Jewish life,” said Deborah Newbrun, Hazon’s Bay Area director.
Attendees can choose different tracks of sessions, and they will also have the option of visiting the university’s brewery, farm, dairy and slaughterhouse. U.C. Davis is opening its pool, fitness center and a separate dining hall to attendees. Student dormitories will be used for overnight accommodations.
Adult registration is $350, plus mandatory additional costs for room and board. For information on the schedule and costs, or to register, visit http://www.hazon.org or call (415) 397-7020.
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08/12/2011 at 06:44 AM
As president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America and author of the book “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” I was very pleased to see this article. I wish Hazon much success in spreading their important message.
I hope that Hazon will increasingly focus on issues related to vegetarianism because meat consumption and the ways in which meat is produced today arguably conflict with Judaism in at least six important areas:
1. While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.
2. While Judaism forbids tsa’ar ba’alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals—including those raised for kosher consumers—are raised on “factory farms” where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3. While Judaism teaches that “the earth is the Lord’s” (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God’s partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, global warming, and other environmental damage.
4 While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of grain, land, water, energy, and other resources.
5. While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.
6. While Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions, animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war.
In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, and since animal-centered diets violate and contradict each of these responsibilities, committed Jews (and others) should sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products.
One could say “dayenu” (it would be enough) after any of the arguments above, because each one constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practice that should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.
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