James Beard Foundation Examines How Money & Media Influence the Way America Eats

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) New York, NY - September 27, 2011 - The James Beard Foundation (JBF) will host the second annual James Beard Foundation Food Conference ­ – “Sustainability on the Table: How Money and Media Influence the Way America Eats” – at the Hearst Tower in New York City on October 12 and 13. Co-hosted by Good Housekeeping, the invitation-only conference will bring together a diverse group of thought leaders and stakeholders in the food system to serve up stimulating conversation and examine the complex issues surrounding how money and media influence what and how we eat. 

“By bringing people working and interested in diverse areas of the food system together to align values, identify challenges, provide inspiration, and share insight we hope to discover the most effective levers of change in the food system,” said Mitchell Davis, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation. “As we enter our 25th anniversary year, we want the James Beard Foundation to be known as a place that not only celebrates the bounty of American cuisine and those people who create it, but also where thought leaders can convene to address the most important issues facing the food industry and our society.”   “For more than 125 years, Good Housekeeping has been synonymous with American cooking, and from the very first issue, we’ve advocated for safe, healthy food,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor in chief of Good Housekeeping. “Co-hosting the James Beard Foundation’s conference on food and sustainability reinforces our commitment to promoting a healthy, eco-friendly lifestyle, which we support through our Green Good Housekeeping Seal. Holding the event at the Hearst Tower, the first gold-LEED-certified office building in New York City, makes perfect sense.”   The James Beard Foundation Food Conference will provide a unique platform to address major food-related challenges facing America by focusing on diverse topics, including sustainability, urban farming, public health, childhood nutrition, and the complex structure of the food system. The agenda is based on a series of regional roundtable discussions with farmers, philanthropists, business people, policy makers, chefs, and food system experts. These “salons,” which in keeping with this year’s themes are exploring the intersection of food and pop culture, will have taken place in Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; Louisville, KY; and New York City. Through various presentations, panels, group discussions, and other guided conversations, the Food Conference will address many of the common themes discussed by the top influencers in the food system who attended these regional meetings led by Mitchell Davis and Karen Karp of Karp Resources.   Topics that will be covered during the Food Conference include:

• How money, incentives, and industry concentration influence our food system.

• How our food choices are shaped by the media.

• How social media is impacting our decisions about food.

• What we are learning about the structure of the food system.

• How images of food in various media impact our food choices and eating behaviors.

  Guest speakers and panelists include Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University; Fabio Parasecoli, author of Bite Me: Food in Pop Culture; sustainable seafood expert Paul Greenberg; economics expert Jeff Madrick, author of Age of Greed; James Beard Foundation Award–winning chefs José Andrés, Marcus Samuelsson, and Michel Nischan; Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland; Susan Westmoreland, Good Housekeeping’s Food Director; Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group; Stephan Habif, vice president of foods R&D at Unilever, as well as James Beard Award-nominated chefs Michael Anthony and Laurent Gras.   Other highlights of the Food Conference include: a special director’s screening of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, an appetizing documentary by David Gelb about family, tradition and the value of hard work;  “Sustainability in the City: A Day of Discovery Tours In and Around NYC”; a tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, and the First Annual JBF has also created a conference blog, Food Matters, for news and ongoing conversation about issues that surround our food system, and information about the Food Conference and the Leadership Awards. For more details, visit www.jbffoodconference.org. James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards Ceremony & Dinner, where ten visionaries will be honored for their tireless work creating a more healthful, sustainable, and safe food world.   Founding support for the JBF Food Conference, portions of which will be streamed live at www.jbffoodconference.org, was provided by Edens & Avant, GRACE Communications Foundation, and Sodexo. The conference is also made possible with leading support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Additional support is provided by AGree, American Humane Association and Karp Resources.   About the James Beard Foundation Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America's diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation’s blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter.   About Good Housekeeping Founded in 1885, Good Housekeeping (www.goodhousekeeping.com) magazine reaches nearly 25 million readers each month. In addition to the print title, there is The Good Housekeeping Research Institute, the consumer product evaluation laboratory of Good Housekeeping magazine. Founded in 1900 and continuing today with the same mission, the Research Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of consumers and their families through education and product evaluation. Only products evaluated by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute can be accepted for advertising in the magazine, and thereby become eligible to display the Good Housekeeping Seal, the hallmark that provides assurance to readers that the products advertised in the magazine are backed by a two-year limited warranty against being defective, with specified exceptions. In 2009, the Green Good Housekeeping Seal was introduced as an environmental overlay to the primary Seal, offering consumers guidance on products making environmental claims. Readers can also interact with the brand on the digital front, with Good Housekeeping mobile (m.goodhousekeeping.com). In addition to its U.S. flagship, Good Housekeeping publishes nine editions around the world. Good Housekeeping is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com). Once it completes its acquisition of Lagardère SCA's 100 titles in 14 countries outside of France, Hearst Magazines will publish more than 300 editions around the world, including 20 U.S. titles. Hearst Magazines is a leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation and reaches 88 million adults (Spring 2010 MRI).
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