MEDIA ADVISORY: “Plants for the Future” Symposium to Feature World-Renowned Expert on Plant Use Among Amazon Healers
Story Contact(s):
MU News Bureau, munewsbureau@missouri.edu, 573-882-6211
WHAT: Mark Plotkin, a noted ethnobotonist who studies traditional plant use among traditional healers in the Amazon, will be joined by Christopher Herndon of University of California-San Francisco Medical School to present “Plants, shamanic healing, and rainforest conservation in the 21st century,” as the keynote lecture of the “Symposium on Plants for the Future” at the University of Missouri.
The symposium will feature internationally-renowned experts in biology and agriculture. Experts will discuss biofuels, genetic engineering of crops, plant uses in pharmaceuticals and food sustainability. A full listing of events and registration information are available at: http://muconf.missouri.edu/ipgsymposium/Information.html.
WHO: Mark Plotkin, president of the Amazon Conservation Team, and Christopher Herndon, a physician at UC-San Francisco, will give the keynote address.
Plotkin has written two books, including “Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice,” where Plotkin tracks shaman knowledge of the curative powers of plants. In 1995, Plotkin founded the Amazonian Conservation Team. He has been named “Environmental Hero of the Planet” by Time magazine and one of “35 Who Made a Difference” by Smithsonian magazine. Plotkin has received the Skoll Foundation’s “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1993 and the San Diego Zoo Gold Medal for Conservation in 1993.
For a complete list of speakers, visit http://muconf.missouri.edu/ipgsymposium/Speakers.html.
WHERE: Monsanto Auditorium, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center
WHEN: The Symposium on Plants for the Future takes place May 25-27. The special lecture by Plotkin and Herndon will begin at 7 p.m. on May 24 and will be open to the public.
NOTE: The event is organized by the Interdisciplinary Plant Group and sponsored by the Mizzou Advantage program, the National Science Foundation, LemnaTec, Syngenta, Pioneer and Conviron. Mizzou Advantage has been instrumental in creating opportunities for the most prominent scholars around the world to network and discuss important global issues.
For more information, visit: http://muconf.missouri.edu/ipgsymposium/Information.html or http://www.amazonteam.org/.