Mars plays key role at meeting of Nobel Laureates and summer-long sustainability exhibition in Germany

Lindau, Germany (ots) -

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Mars will showcase its cocoa sustainability program as part of a
summer-long sustainability exhibition on Mainau Island, one of
Germany's most popular tourist destinations. The exhibition, which
opens today, follows on from the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
in Germany last week, in which Mars played a significant role.

The Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau which ended today, saw 23
Nobel Laureates in Chemistry and more than 500 of the world's most
promising young scientists and researchers come together to share
ideas on the topic of sustainability. Mars involvement in this year's
conference builds on a strong relationship with the Lindau Nobel
Laureate Meetings. Mars became a prominent supporter of this
globally-recognized forum in 2007 and Mars family member, Pamela
Mars, was appointed to the Honorary Senate of the Lindau organization
last year.

"The meetings are a unique opportunity to share ideas and interact
with the world's brightest minds across various disciplines," said
Pamela Mars. "Our relationship with Lindau stems from our mutuality
principle; by working collaboratively we can realize and share
science-driven innovation to benefit everyone involved".

Mars will also play a major part in today's formal opening of the
sustainability-themed "Discoveries Exhibition". Established by the
Lindau Nobel Laureates organization, the exhibition will be held on
Mainau Island - a botanical island famed for its flora and fauna and
located in the middle of Lake Constance, Germany. Mars is one of 20
exhibitors hosting pavilions to demonstrate innovative sustainability
concepts. The Mars pavilion, set in a large sunflower field on the
island, showcases the future of sustainable cocoa farming.

"The Mars pavilion will tell the compelling story of the cocoa
crop and its importance to the 40 million people worldwide who depend
on it for their livelihood," said Howard Shapiro, Global Director,
Plant Science and External Research for Mars. "The pavilion charts
the course of cocoa throughout history - from its origins and impact
on ancient cultures, to how we are using ground-breaking science to
improve the sustainability of the crop for the generations to come."

As part of today's exhibition opening ceremony, Mars will donate
three cocoa trees to Mainau Island, renowned for its excellent
environmental practices. These cocoa trees are the same variety used
by Mars in sequencing the cocoa genome, a project launched in June
2008 to better understand and improve the sustainability of the cocoa
crop.

About cocoa sustainability at Mars

For nearly 30 years, Mars has pursued a cocoa sustainability
strategy with a goal to secure responsible cocoa production and the
future supply of the crop. During this period, Mars has helped bring
together the cocoa industry with leaders in related fields to create
and fund beneficial research programs. These programs include
education and training for farmers, development of pest and disease
resistant cocoa crops, and other pioneer avenues for cocoa research.

For more information, please see:
http://www.mars.com/global/Who+We+Are/Cocoa+Sustainability.htm

About the cocoa genome

In June 2008, Mars, Incorporated, the United States Department of
Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), and IBM
announced that they would sequence, annotate and assemble the cocoa
genome. A genome is essentially a map of all the components that make
up the characteristics of an organism - in this case, cocoa. By
understanding the exact location of these characteristics, it is
easier to breed cocoa plants that have beneficial characteristics.

The public-private collaboration may enable farmers to plant
better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier,
stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance,
and increased water and nutrient-use efficiency.

For more information, please see:
www.mars.com/global/News+and+Media/News+archive/Cocoa+Genome.htm

About The Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are a globally recognized forum
which has been bringing Nobel prizewinners and promising young
scientists and researchers together since 1951. The week-long, annual
event consists of panel discussions, seminars and social events. This
year's meeting (28 June to 3 July 2009) is dedicated to chemistry and
has a special focus on sustainability.

Mars entered into its engagement with the Lindau organization in
2007. In 2008, Pamela Mars was invited to join the Honorary Senate of
the Lindau Foundation of Nobel prizewinners.

For more information, please see: http://www.lindau-nobel.de/

About the Discoveries Exhibition on Mainau Island

The sustainability exhibition on Mainau Island is entitled
"Entdeckungen/ Discoveries" and takes place from 3 July to 31 August
2009. The exhibition showcases sustainable ideas and concepts that
will shape the future.

Mars is one of 20 exhibitors that will host pavilions to showcase
sustainable ideas and concepts that will shape the future. The
exhibition is part of Germany's 'Year of Science 2009' and marks the
100th birthday of Count Lennart Bernadotte (1909 - 2004), who was the
driving force behind the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

For more information, please see:
http://www.mainau-entdeckungen.de/

Originaltext: Mars Inc.
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For more information, please contact:
Roland Klein
M +44 7776 162 997

Julian Hill
M +44 7825 768 740