About the contributing authors
Hans Rudolf Herren
Dr Hans Rudolf Herren completed his PhD at ETH Zurich. After post-doctorate studies at Berkeley University, California, he began working in Africa in 1979, at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria. Later, he developed the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya into a leading institution and centre of excellence, particularly in the area of malaria control. For his efforts to improve nutrition and the basis of human life, he received the German Brandenburg Prize in 2002 and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2003. Herren has been president of the Millennium Foundation, in Arlington, Virginia (USA) since 2005. Alongside other commitments in international committees for ecological and sustainable development, Dr Herren was co-chair, with Professor Judi Wakhungu of Kenya, of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which was published in April 2008. In 2013, Dr Herren and his Biovision Foundation won the Right Livelihood Award, which is sometimes called the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’.
Angelika Hilbeck
Dr. Angelika Hilbeck is a senior scientist and lecturer at the Department of Environmental Sciences and the Institute of Intergrative Biology, at ETH Zurich. Her studies and scientific interests focus on agroecology, biocontrol and the environmental biosafety of GMOs, including sustainable farming practices. For 20 years, she has investigated the impacts of agricultural practices on biocontrol and biodiversity in agro-ecosystems, and she has developed concepts for environmental risk assessment and post-release monitoring of GMOs. In 2006, she was appointed lead author of Global Chapter 3 and the Synthesis Report on Biotechnology for the International Assessment Agricultural Science Technology for Development (IAASTD). Through her international work, she is increasingly involved in broader issues of technological development towards a democratically legitimated, sustainable future. She contributes actively to the debate on biosafety, international agriculture, hunger and poverty alleviation. She is a member of the board of directors of the Federation of German Scientists (FGS), co-founder and acting chairperson of the newly founded European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), and a member of the board of directors of the Swiss development organisation Bread for All.
Ulrich Hoffmann
Ulrich Hoffmann (1954), received his PhD and an advanced doctorate degree (Dr. habil) from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, where he also held an academic chair for international economic and financial relations. From 1984 to 2014 he worked at the Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, most recently as Senior Trade Policy Advisor to the Director of the International Trade Division. He was also editor-in-chief of the regular UNCTAD Trade and Environment Review, one of the flagship reports of the organization. Since January 2015, Dr Hoffmann has been working as chief economist (sustainability issues) at the Research Institute on Organic Agriculture, FiBL, in Switzerland.
Robert Home
Dr Robert Home is a senior researcher at the Department of Socio-Economic Sciences of FiBL. His particular areas of interest are participatory methods for stakeholder involvement, rural sociology and agricultural policy. He has broad experience gained from working on several EU research projects. He is currently involved in the EU’s FoodIntegrity and OrganicDataNetwork projects, as well as several national projects concentrating on motivational research and bridging the gap between science and practice.
Les Levidow
Dr Les Levidow is senior research fellow in the Development Policy and Practice (DPP) Group at the Open University, UK. Since the late 1980s his research interests have included controversial agricultural technologies, especially agbiotech and bioenergy, as well as alternatives to agri-industrial systems, such as short food-supply chains and agroecology. These topics have served as case studies for several policy-relevant issues: agri-environmental sustainability, European integration, trade conflicts, governance, public participation, regulatory science, the precautionary principle and eco-efficiency. Since its inception in 1987, he has been managing editor of the journal Science as Culture, and its editor since 2005.
Adrian Muller
Dr Adrian Muller studied theoretical physics and received his PhD from the University of Zurich in 2000. Since 2001, he has worked in various areas of policy instruments, sufficiency strategies, climate change adaptation, land-use modelling and productivity in agriculture. He has held post-doctorate and senior researcher positions at the University of Zurich, the University of Gothenburg and ETH Zurich. Since 2009, he has been a part-time senior researcher at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, FiBL, in Frick, Switzerland, and he is a scientific collaborator at the Chair for Environmental Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
Erin Nelson
Erin Nelson, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems as well as Adjunct Faculty in International Development Studies at the University of Guelph. She he has a background in international development and rural studies, and extensive experience in the fields of sustainable food systems, local food networks, food security and community development, in both Canada and Latin America. Specific topics of interest include food sovereignty, local food networks, food system governance, and participatory development. She has worked together with a wide variety of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, policymakers, farmers, and citizen groups.
Bernadette Oehen
Bernadette Oehen is a biologist and socioeconomist. Since 2003, she has worked as a senior researcher with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, FiBL. By combining knowledge derived from the natural and social sciences, her main areas of research are agroecology, technology assessment, farmers’ decision making processes and forms of cooperation along supply chains. She has led several EU projects examining the coexistence of agricultural production systems with and without transgenic plants. Currently, she is responsible for agroecology at FiBL and is involved in the EU projects Diversifood and Healthy Minor Cereals.
Michel Pimbert
Executive Director of the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University
Dr Michel Pimbert has previously worked for the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in India, the University François Rabelais de Tours, in France, and WWF in Switzerland. He has also done research for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Dr Pimbert has been a board member of several international organisations working on food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, the environment and human rights. He has worked in Asia, Europe, Latin America and West Africa. He is currently a member of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.