Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher is a biologist and geneticist. She is an invited member of the Federation of German Scientists and the British Society for Allergy, Nutritional and Environmental Medicine. She is based in the UK. She has acted as scientific expert in governmental and public consultations and court cases. She has been closely involved with the UN-led international negotiations and implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety since 1995.

Dr. Steinbrecher has specialised in gene regulation since 1982 and has worked as a research scientist in the field of mutational analysis, gene identification and gene therapy in university and hospital settings. She is author of many scientific papers, briefings, commentaries and reports. At present she is Co-Director of EcoNexus, a not-for-profit public interest research organisation based in the UK (www.econexus.info).

Contact: via Lucy Sharratt 613 241 2267 x 6 R.Steinbrecher@econexus.info

Dr. Michael Hansen is a biologist and ecologist. He has been Senior Staff Scientist at Consumers Union in the US for more than 20 years. He is based outside of New York. Dr Hansen represents Consumers International, a federation of more than 250 organizations in 110 countries, at United Nations negotiations on food safety guidelines (Codex Alimentarius).

He develops policy, testifies before government agencies, speaks widely at conferences, and talks frequently to media on food safety and environmental health issues including mad cow disease, genetic engineering, and pesticide use. He is author of “Biotechnology and Milk: Benefit or Threat?” and “Pharmaceutical Rice in California: Potential Risks to Consumers, the Environment and the California Rice Industry.”

Contact: 914 378 2452, cell: 917 774 3801 hansmi@consumer.org

Peter Andrée is a Professor in the Carleton University Department of Political Science. He has specialized in the national and international regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). His first book, on the global politics of regulating GM crops and foods, “Genetically Modified Diplomacy” was published by University of British Columbia Press in 2007.

Dr. Andrée undertook post-doctoral research on rural and food system sustainability at the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. His PhD is from the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, Toronto.

Contact: 613 520 2600 x 1953 pandree@connect.carleton.ca

Lucy Sharratt is the Coordinator for the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) in Ottawa, a coalition of 18 groups concerned about genetic engineering. Lucy has worked as a researcher and campaigner on issues raised by genetic engineering since 1999. Lucy was Coordinator for the International Ban Terminator Campaign 2005/2006. She was also previously the Coordinator of the Safe Food/Sustainable Agriculture Campaign at the Sierra Club of Canada. Lucy has written extensively on the regulation of GMOs in Canada.

Contact: 613 241 2267 x 6 coordinator@cban.ca