Advancing the Business of Healthy, Sustainable, and
Delicious Food
Hyde Park, NY – For the fourth year, more than 400 executives, experts, and
innovators in food, foodservice, health and nutrition, and sustainability will
come together for the ®
leadership summit, which is
co-presented by The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T. H.
Chan School of Public Health. Together, the CIA and Harvard
are working to create a long-term, practical vision for the
integration of
optimal nutrition and public health, environmental stewardship and
restoration,
and social responsibility in the foodservice sector and beyond. The
conference
will take place at the Marriott Pavilion on the CIA’s main campus in Hyde Park, NY,
June 14–16. All conference general sessions will be available to view .
This year’s summit focuses on equipping chefs and other
foodservice business leaders with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to make
effective and successful changes in their kitchens and in their companies. In
particular, operators will gain new understanding of both the business case and
the practical steps for offering plant-forward menu options, eliminating
antibiotics in the meat supply, and sourcing sustainable seafood choices,
including how to navigate various certification programs. The 2016 conference provides
an overview and analysis of the latest scientific and policy developments,
including the release of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), menu
labeling requirements and what might be next in federal government-led efforts
to improve our nation’s food choices, and the implications for the food
industry—agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and restaurants—from the 2015
Paris Climate Conference (COP21).
A talented roster of influential chefs—including André
Chiang (Restaurant ANDRÉ, Singapore), Andrea Reusing (Lantern and The Durham,
Chapel Hill, NC) and Ed Brown (Restaurant Associates, New York City)—will
demonstrate plant-forward dishes from the main stage. Leading academics,
journalists, and executives will also be featured representing, variously, the
business community, nutrition science, environmental and health policy, and
sustainability. Additional sessions will focus on changing investor
expectations of the foodservice industry and marketing strategies for healthy,
sustainable and delicious food.
“At a time when Americans are increasingly shifting their
food choices to reflect greater interest in health and sustainability, our
nation’s chefs and foodservice operators have never been more engaged, more
passionate about re-imagining the future of American menus,” says CIA President Tim Ryan. “Through our Menus
of Change partnership with Harvard Chan School, we are committed to helping our
industry both build on the very promising innovation we are already seeing as
well as become more strategic about accelerating the pace of change.”
The full program schedule and biographies of all the
presenters are available on menusofchange.org. Because the conference has sold
out, a webcast makes it possible for more culinary professionals, environmental
stewards, healthcare providers, and anyone else interested in these vital
issues to hear cutting-edge insights and discussions on issues facing the $780
billion foodservice industry. The webcast will allow free, unlimited access to
all of the program’s general sessions from Tuesday, June 14 to Thursday, June
16. All times on the schedule are Eastern Time. Some
of the highlights include:
- June 14 at 4:15 p.m. ET: The opening session with CIA
President Tim Ryan and the release of the 2016
Menus of Change Annual Report with Walter Willett (Harvard
Chan School),
chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Council, and Arlin
Wasserman (Changing Tastes), chair of the Sustainable Business
Leadership
Council
- June 14 at 4:45 p.m. ET: The opening keynote presentation on
the new science of plant forward food choices, the DGAs, and COP21, and the
role of changing menus in addressing global challenges, with David Katz (Yale),
Robert Lawrence and Roni Neff (Johns Hopkins Center
for a Livable Future), and Walter Willett
- June 15 at 5 pm ET: A plenary session on fish, seafood, and
oceans that shows how competing foodservice companies create value
by working
together on sustainability issues, with Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly
(Seafood Watch), Kathy Cacciola (Aramark), and Amy Keister (Compass
Group)
- June 16 at 8:40 a.m. ET: A plenary session on the business of
plant-forward menus and how leading restaurant companies are
succeeding at
changing what’s on our plates, with Allison Aubrey (NPR), Erik
Oberholtzer (Tender Greens), Arik Markus (Rimon, former Brand Chef for
True Food
Kitchen), and Elizabeth Meltz (Batali & Bastianich Hospitality
Group).
Several resources are available on the for additional strategies
and information on the issues at the heart of the Menus of Change initiative.
These include:
- The Principles
of Healthy, Sustainable Menus, unique guidance for the foodservice industry
that brings together findings from nutritional and environmental science on
optimal food choices, trends in consumer preferences, and impacts of projected
demographic shifts;
- The State-of-the-Plate
Dashboard, a snapshot of the foodservice industry's progress year over year
towards improving nutrition, sustainability, and profitability;
- The Protein Flip, a hybrid infographic/white paper, and its companion toolkit, Protein
Plays, on the human and planetary health reasons for re-evaluating the “protein
portfolio” on restaurant menus nationwide; and
- The 2016 Menus of Change Annual Report that will be released on June 14.
Following the conference, the webcast will remain on
menusofchange.org until next year’s conference, June 20–22, 2017, again at the
Marriott Pavilion in Hyde Park. All are invited to join the conversation about
healthy, sustainable, delicious food choices throughout the year on Twitter: and #CIAMOC.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:
Because so much of this country’s food is prepared and/or consumed
outside the home, chefs and high-volume foodservice leaders are playing an
ever-more crucial role in aligning health, sustainability, flavor, and value. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)
Media Contact:
Jan Smyth
Marketing Manager
845-451-1457
j_smyth@culinary.edu
About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier
culinary college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the
foodservice and hospitality industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA
offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts;
bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food
studies; and executive education through its Food Business School. Its
conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the
food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world
cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The
college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and enthusiasts.
Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes leaders in every area of
foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York, California,
Texas, and Singapore.
About the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated
experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health
leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people
everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students from
around the world, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory
to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to
change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices to
create a healthier world. For more information, visit .
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