Executive Director
Tal Haikin – RD, MAN, is a clinical dietician with a Masters in Nutrition and Behavior, and serving as the Executive Director of the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition. Tal is a social activist and is one of the leaders of the food and environmental movement in Israel. Tal is frequently interviewed in the wider media. She has written a series of widely viewed and influential articles on food politics and the politics of nutrition science for Haaretz newspaper. In addition, Tal lectures and represents the Forum’s professional positions with policy makers—government ministries and Knesset committees.
The Team
Prof. Danit R Shahar, RD, PhD, is a clinical dietitian and epidemiologist in the department of Public Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Danit studies the relationships of several direct and indirect nutritional exposures on health indices. She devotes her career for research on nutrition diet and health with over 100 scientific publications on the topic. For this research she develops traditional and non-traditional dietary assessment methods that are used in her studies. These include, assessment of dietary patterns, dietary intake, exposure to pesticides and environmental load of food. Presently she invests most of her efforts to the linkage between health environment and nutrition searching for an algorithm that will encompass both sustainability and healthy diet. Within her work at the university and as a member of the Ministry of Health committees for dietary guidelines she promotes healthy and sustainable diet for all.
Opher Mendelsohn, Msc.Agr, is an agronomist, specializing in sustainable agriculture. His PhD studies in Tel Aviv University focus on the impact and adoption of regional integrated pest management (IPM) as a method for reducing pesticide use. He is involved in various projects for improving large scale agro-ecological policy and management for better interface between agriculture and environment, in both developed and developing countries. At the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, Opher spearheads projects that promote the role of local agriculture within sustainable food systems, and food security at the national level.
Dr. Sigal Tepper – RD, PhD, is a clinical dietitian and epidemiologist, her area of interest and passion is sustainable nutrition. Sigal’s work as a researcher at Tel-Hai Academic College involves research on understanding and measuring sustainable nutrition aimed at exploring how different dietary patterns affect the environment and what are the best interventions to improve public nutrition and to make it healthier and more sustainable. Sigal believes that the sustainability consideration is the “missing link” in healthy diets. She is a graduate of the Heschel Fellows Program at the Heschel Sustainability Center. Sigal joined the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition out of her strive for promoting healthy and sustainable diets and the understanding that there is a need to address the food system as a whole. Furthermore, within her work as a university lecturer, Sigal promote issues such as nutritional activism and leadership for generating a change in unhealthy food environments.
Sivan Ben Avraham Shulman – RD, MPH, is a clinical dietitian and epidemiologist, her main area of interest is the effect of processed and ultra-processed foods on health and environment. As a researcher, current studies she is involved in look into the effects of processed food intake on pregnancy outcomes and the association between red and processed meat intake and cancer.
Dr. Yael Kuperman – RD, PhD, is a clinical dietitian, a scientist holds a teaching certificate in biology. Yael’s work as a staff scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science where her work involves research on energy balance and its regulation by factors such as stress and the microbiome. Yael and strongly believes in education as a key tool for empowering children and adults with knowledge about nutrition and its effects on both planetary health and the human health. Yael joined the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition out of her desire to promote a healthier and a more sustainable way of living for the Israeli society.
Dana Efrati Philip, MSc in Nutritional Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research on food insecurity, food banks and the interaction between diet and the genome was published in leading scientific journals. Dana is a PhD student at the Sustainability and Environmental Policy Lab in the Department of Geography and Environmental Development at Ben Gurion University. She’s also a researcher at the Heschel Center for Sustainability in the topic of renewable energy. Beforehand Dana had worked as a parliamentary advisor for MK Yael Cohen Paran. At her spare time she grows organic vegetables and adopts rescue animals.
Dr. Haim Haviv, Ph.D in Biochemistry and a professional pharmacist, is the Outreach Program Manager of the Davidson Institute of Science Education, the science education branch of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Haim was one of the founding members of the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, where he uses his scientific skills and science-outreach expertise to improve sustainability and nutritional safety– in order to shape a better future for generation to come.
President
Dr. Dorit Adler, B.Sc, MPH, PhD, is a Clinical Dietitian deeply involved in nutrition, public health, nutrition security, and health promotion and its relation to social issues. Dorit is the past Director of the Nutrition and Dietetic Department at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Currently, she is the Head Dietitian of the Israeli Council for Nutrition Security, a member of the Heshel Center for Sustainability Leadership, as well as a member of the national advisories committees for women’s health and health promotion in the Ministry of Health. She served as the head of the food committee of the Israeli Diabetes Association. Dorit co-founded the Israeli Dietetic Association, and is one of the leaders in the field of diabetes education in Israel. Dorit heads the steering committee of the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, and sees her activity in the Forum as a key platform for bringing a comprehensive change in sustainable nutrition and nutrition security in Israel, both for individuals and society as a whole.
Executive Committee
Dr. Alon Shepon – PhD, is an environmental scientist studying food systems, ecology, and sustainability. Alon co-founded the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition and currently chairs the organization. During his PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science his work contributed to understanding the environmental implications of the production and consumption of animal-based products in the US food system. His current research at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health focuses on understanding the links between nutrition and environment in the context of fisheries in developing countries. Alon has NGO management experience of working with indigenous communities, which includes strategic planning, staff supervision, innovative project coordination, fund-raising and evaluation skills.
Dr. Giora Alexandron is a faculty member in the department of science teaching at the Weizmann Institute of Science. His research lies at the intersection of science education, artificial intelligence, and learning technologies, with the goal of developing ‘intelligent’ personalized learning environments. He has been an environmental activist in Israel for many years. Giora co-founded the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, as he believes that the urgent need of furthering a healthier, more sustainable nutrition environment requires the multidisciplinary effort of researchers and practitioners who are committed to public interest and research-based decision making.
Dr. Noam Chehanovsky, Ph.D in plant sciences, is a plant geneticist and breeder. Among his activities, Noam has founded the “Zir’ey Kedem” (Ancient Seeds) initiative, which focuses on the preservation of local heirloom seeds, through providing access and knowledge of the these seeds for the benefit of local communities and private growers. Noam co-founded the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition in hopes of bringing his comprehensive understanding of the importance of private and communal local produce growth into fruition, as a part of the sustainable nutrition revolution.
Dr. Asaf Tzachor arrives from the University of Cambridge where he leads the research on chronic risks in the global food system, and other critical systems, in CSER. He is also academic staff in the Cambridge Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Center. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), and a Sustainable Development Expert and Future of Food Expert in the World Economic Forum. He was educated and trained in the University of Oxford, University of London, University of Cambridge, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
Dr. Moran Blueshtein, LLB (Tel Aviv University), PhD in Economics (University of Pennsylvania). She is a clinical professor at the School of Business, UT Dallas, and teaches applied econometrics and statistical research methods. Moran has been active in the field of food and environmental advocacy for more than a decade, both in Israel and in the US. She has contributed to and led several professional position papers. In addition, she has written a series of investigative articles published in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz and contributed to many other TV segments and newspaper articles
Steering Committee
Prof. Elliot Berry is a professor in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His principal interests are the bio-psycho-social problems of weight regulation from obesity to anorexia nervosa as well as the benefits of the Mediterranean diet; his laboratory research investigates the effects of nutrition on cognitive function. From a synthesis of this work he evolved the concept of understanding how people cope with life stress and chronic diseases. Berry has chaired national committees for food supplementation and obesity and is an advisor to the Ministry of Health on nutrition. Prof. Berry is a consultant for the WHO, World Bank and the Serbian Government in Public Health. He was the Director of the Braun School of Public Health & Community Medicine (2003-6) and Head of the WHO Collaborating Center in Capacity Building in Public Health (2007-2013). Berry was also the Director of the Dept. of Human Nutrition & Metabolism at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and was a consultant at FAO, Rome (2013-4) where, following his development and publication of a Global Nutrition Index, he worked on indicators for food security and sustainability.
Prof. Lisa Sasson is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor at New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health. In her role, she teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses and directs the graduate clinical master’s program, dietetic internship and NYU’s study abroad program in Tuscany, Italy, titled, Italy: Its Cuisine and the Mediterranean Diet. She also works with the NYU dental faculty to advance nutrition and oral health in the dental curriculum. In addition to her work at NYU, Lisa counsels private clients in healthy eating and weight management. She is a consultant to public affairs at Nickelodeon, a division of Viacom Media, on health and wellness. Lisa was a member of the food processing working group for Global Reporting Initiative, a nonprofit organization that developed the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting guidelines.
Prof. Meidad Kissinger’s professional interests and academic background are interdisciplinary. He is a geographer specializing in bio-physical accounting and sustainability policy and planning. His research explores linkages between human activities and the natural environment (dependence and impact). He uses and develops various bio-physical (i.e., land, energy and water) accounting tools, and examines the policy implications of human – environment interactions at several spatial scales. Dr Kissinger holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from the ‘School of Community and Regional Planning’ at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Natural resources management Masters degree from the University of Haifa. Dr. Kissinger leads the ‘Sustainability and Environmental Policy’ research group at the Department of Geography and Environmental development at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Following the above research interests, one aspect of the research group focus is ‘Food System Sustainability’. The research explores direct and indirect connections between food consumption and production and different aspects of sustainability. A few examples of his recent research projects include: A study which analysed the bio-physical inputs and outputs of Israel’s grain and meat system; a study on Israel’s food security exploring the extent to which Israel can advanced self-sufficiency; a study which explores households’ food consumption and footprints.
Prof. Tamar Dayan is a faculty member in the department of zoology at Tel Aviv University whose work mostly engages with the fields of ecology and nature conservation. Prof. Dayan is highly involved in combining sustainability with environment and agriculture through her years of public activity and scientific research. Her former public, scientific, and environmental positions include: plenum member of the Israeli parks and nature reserves authority; chairman of Israeli UNESCO human and biosphere committee; member of the parks and nature reserves council,; member of the Israeli oceanography research institute board of directors; member of the national R & D council; and chairman of the board of SPNI (society for the protection of nature in Israel) and of OLI (SPNI Open Landscape Institute). She established, and currently chairs the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, which serves as the primary national exhibition of Israel’s natural history.
Prof. Ron Milo is a faculty member in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Prof. Milo is working to harness the tools of systems biology research (Systems Biology) to environmental and sustainability challenges. His lab investigates the processes of photosynthesis and carbon sequestration, which are the world’s natural engine for converting solar energy into sugars. These Processes are also the source of human food and the dominant systems determining the composition of the atmosphere. Ron’s studies concentrate on examining the possibilities of carbon-based metabolism pathways in an attempt to understand the basic design principles which convened during millions of years of evolutionary experiments. The aim of the study is to increase our understanding on how to improve our ability to produce food and fuel more efficiently. In recent years, his lab has lead research in quantifying the environmental impacts of production and consumption of animal-based products – another important metabolic pathway for humanity, occuring on a regional and global scale. Prof. Milo is the founder and developer of BioNumbers, a database of useful numbers in biology for researchers and the general public.
