Press Release:
Top economist will work with experts around the world to address global food issues
May 24, 2011 (MILAN) – John M. Reilly, Co-Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, is now the newest member of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) Advisory Board, a panel of top health, food, environment, economy and medical experts around the world. Dr. Reilly will collaborate with other BCFN experts and Board members to analyze and develop proposals on pressing global food and nutrition issues.

The BCFN is a think tank established to gather global knowledge on food, analyze it and propose solutions to negotiate the challenges of the future. It aims to encourage general well-being through a healthy and sustainable approach to food. Over the last three years, the BCFN has published 11 works on the subjects of environmental sustainability, relationship between food and health in adults and children, access to food resources and cultural value of food.

“An integrated look at the food system considering the nutrition and health of consumers, the environmental sustainability of the production system, and its potential vulnerability to climate and environmental change is much needed as we look ahead to a growing world population and increased threats of environmental change,” Dr. Reilly said. “I look forward to working with the BCFN on these topics and expect to learn as much as I contribute given the outstanding group of experts the center has assembled to support their work.”

Dr. Reilly, an energy, environmental and agricultural economist, focuses on understanding the role of human activities as a contributor to global environmental change and the effects of environmental change on society and the economy. A key element of his work is the integration of economic models of the global economy as it represents human activity with models of biophysical systems, including the ocean, atmosphere and terrestrial vegetation.

“Our board members are the best in their fields, and we are excited to have Dr. Reilly join us,” said Guido Barilla, BCFN Chairman. “His experience and research on energy systems and the intersection of the economy and the environment will be key to our future research on the sustainability issues of the food and nutrition industry.”

The BCFN Advisory Board ensures that the most advanced knowledge and foremost professional capacities are used to address the BCFN’s specific themes and to enhance and refine the quality of its work. The members identify topics of interest, develop distinctive and scientifically valid content and make proposals and recommendations. Dr. Reilly will join the current members:

• Barbara Buchner, Director of the Climate Policy Initiative of Venice
• Mario Monti, President of the Università Bocconi of Milan
• Gabriele Riccardi, Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolic Pathologies at the Università degli Studi of Naples
• Camillo Ricordi, Professor of Surgery, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Miami
• Claude Fischler, Directeur de Recherche at CNRS
• Umberto Veronesi, Scientific Director of the European Institute of Oncology of Milan

About the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is a multidisciplinary think tank focusing on issues of food and nutrition and their relations to economics, medicine, diet, sociology and the environment.

The work of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is backed by an authoritative Advisory Board composed of Barbara Buchner, Director of the Climate Policy Initiative of Venice; Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Mario Monti, economists; Gabriele Riccardi, endocrinologist; Camillo Ricordi, surgeon and scientist; Claude Fischler and Joseph Sassoon, sociologists; and Umberto Veronesi, oncologist.