Contact: Ben Lilliston, 301-270-4787, blilliston@iatp.org

Mark Ritchie, mritchie@iatp.org

Minneapolis - The President of the Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) will talk at a world life sciences conference in Lyon, France next week. IATP President Mark Ritchie is the co-chair of part of the forum addressing food security and safety.

Last year, "BioVision: The World Life Sciences Forum" attracted over 1,200 experts from 45 countries. The event's steering committee includes representatives from the World Bank, the European Commission, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UN Environment Program. In the past, the forum has been criticized for focusing too much on the life sciences industry and not enough on public interest concerns. This is the first year that non-governmental organizational (NGO) representatives have been asked to participate in the leadership of the forum.

IATP President Mark Ritchie is the co-chair of the conference program called "Securing Enough Safe Food" which covers: technologies to enhance food security; the connection between food, diet and health; biotech crops and biodiversity; and advances to safer food.

"The life sciences industry must address human health, ecological, and socio-economic issues before it can move forward in a sustainable manner," said Ritchie. "Science does not exist in a vacuum and the concerns of citizens need to be at the table. Participating in this conference has helped to bring some of these concerns to the table on a global scale."

The forum will run from April 8-11. The conference brings together leaders from government, industry, NGOs and the media to facilitate a dialogue on new developments in life sciences. More information about the conference can be found at: www.biovision.org

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