Jean-Marie Pelt

About Jean-Marie Pelt

Jean-Marie Pelt, born on 24 October 1933 in Rodemack in Moselle, is an associate pharmacist, botanist-ecologist, honorary professor of universities in plant biology and pharmacognosy. He presides over the European Institute of Ecology in Metz, a research and promotion association for ecology, particularly in urban areas.

Jean-Marie Pelt began his career in 1962 as a professor of botany, plant biology, and cryptogamy at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Nancy. He then taught botany and plant physiology from 1972 at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Metz.

He carried out numerous scientific missions abroad, such as during the summer of 1967 for the Office of Overseas Scientific and Technical Research (ORSTOM) in Lomé, Togo, where he conducted a study of traditional pharmacopoeias. He also undertook two missions in Afghanistan in 1964 and 1967 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CNRS) and devoted numerous scientific publications to plant ecology and the traditional pharmacopoeias of this country.

Between 1971 and 1983, he held the position of Deputy Mayor of the city of Metz. He was a member of the municipal council and played a role in the preservation of the city’s historic centre. In full agreement with Jean-Marie Rausch, the mayor at the time, he is credited with the water plan, the allocation of the Saint-Clément cloister to the Lorraine Region, the restoration of the Récollets Cloister, the Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains Church, the Cour d’Or Museum, and finally the restoration of the Roches, Piques, and Tanneurs districts.

The environment has long been a concern for him. In 1975, he founded the European Institute of Ecology in Metz, which he still presides over today. He opposes genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and co-founded in 1999 with Corinne Lepage and Gilles-Éric Séralini, the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN). He is the Secretary-General.

A defender of organic agriculture, he is highly sought after by the media on issues of food safety or the impact of pesticides on the environment and health.

Jean-Marie Pelt is a personality known to the general public, notably thanks to his numerous television programmes and documentaries, such as “The Adventure of Plants,” his radio interventions, his multiple works on the history of plants, evolution, ecology, or his conferences.

He presides over the European Foundation for Research on Education and Ecology of the Person and its Social Applications (FEREEPAS, general delegate: Franck Steffan) and is a member of the scientific committee of the Rhine-Meuse Water Agency and Committee 21. He is also a volunteer ambassador for the environment of the European Union and sponsor of the ecological construction group Ecologgia10 and the Frontier of Life project in Ecuadorian Amazonia.

He is honorary president of the French Society of Ethnopharmacology (SFE, current president: Jacques Fleurentin) and is an honorary professor at the Paul-Verlaine University (Metz).

Jean-Marie Pelt was appointed Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour on 24 May 1995 and Officer on 13 July 2005. He was also appointed officer in the National Order of Merit on 11 December 1989 and commander on 15 November 1997. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, a symposium on the theme of friendship and solidarity was organised on 24 October 2013 in Metz.