Good morning. My name is Denise Dewar, and I'm the vice-president and executive director for plant biotechnology with CropLife Canada.
CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the developers, manufacturers, and distributors of plant science innovations, pest control products, and plant biotechnology for use in agriculture, urban, and public health settings. CropLife Canada's mission is to support innovative and sustainable agriculture in Canada, in cooperation with others, by building trust and appreciation for plant science innovations. We stand for safety and innovation.
Safety is delivered to all Canadians by protecting human health and the environment through industry-led stewardship initiatives and a rigorous science-based regulatory system. CropLife Canada is a pioneer of industry-led programs through our stewardship's first commitment to responsibly manage the life cycle of all our products, both pesticides and plant biotechnology, from discovery to consumers. Our programs are recognized nationally and internationally for the results they deliver.
CropLife Canada members want to play an important role in enhancing the value of Canadian agricultural production by introducing innovations to agriculture. We recognize that Canadian producers have been experiencing enormous pressures, with border closures resulting from BSE, historically low commodity pricing, and competition from countries such as Brazil, whose agricultural production is growing at an extraordinary rate.
Our members have worked and continue to work toward bringing innovative products to Canadian agriculture, offering farmers new seed and trade technologies as well as the latest advancements in pest control for crop protection. These new tools provide farmers with improved yields, better pest control, higher-value crops, and lower production costs. In addition, the technologies currently in the research pipeline of the life science companies have the potential to revolutionize agriculture as we know it today. Crop plants will be the platform of the new bio-economy, which is estimated to reach some $500 billion by 2015.
We often hear the saying that oil is black gold. Well, the vision for agriculture from CropLife Canada member companies is that agriculture will be the new green gold. Plants will be used to produce renewable energy, plastics, fibres, new materials, nutritionally enhanced foods, and safer, more secure supplies of medicines. We believe that new technology is part of the solution to the current challenges facing crop agriculture. We want Canadian farmers to benefit from this tremendous opportunity by capturing their share of the growing bio-economy.
Today you are examining one type of technology that is still under development in laboratories, not yet in the field trial or in the marketplace. Some call it terminator gene, which is a catchy expression, but absolutely inaccurate and misleading. I would like to take a few moments to give you our perspective on this technology, how it works, and what it can deliver to Canadian farmers.
Our industry is all about delivering interesting and valuable traits to farmers through seeds and crop varieties. From traditional plant breeding to more recent advanced genetics, the aim is the same: to provide added value and improvements to the crops we grow through increased yields, pest and disease resistance, improved nutrition, and in the future, the ability to grow industrial products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, fuels, and other materials from a renewable resource.
By exploring how plants can be used in novel ways, we have made new discoveries, as well as discovered new ways to improve upon known results. We call one area of discovery GURTs, or genetic use restriction technologies. It's not a catchy name, but it is scientifically accurate. One type of GURT can impart seed sterility. This is known as varietal GURT or V-GURT. Plant breeding resulted in seedless grapes and watermelon, and seed sterility, the inability for a seed to reproduce. This technology is no different.
We see real benefits to this technology in certain situations. For example, seed sterility technology prevents the unwanted transfer of genetic properties to other plants. Simply put, they block the possibility of engineered genes from ending up elsewhere. This is an advantage when growing crops that produce industrial products or pharmaceuticals in an area where there is also food production. This is also an advantage for neighbouring farms producing organic crops. There is no longer a concern about the potential for pollen flow. In addition to the already very strict rules governing the production of industrial products, including pharmaceuticals and plants, this technology is another tool that can provide benefits.
Critics say that this technology threatens farmers in the developing world by preventing the saving of seed from this year's crop for next year's planting, but these seeds are not designed for developing world farmers. These are designed, in part, for farmers who already buy new seed every year. Most farmers in the developed world buy hybrid, certified, or transgenic seed each year. These types of seed cost more but produce far better yields, protect the environment, or cost far less to grow, so the farmer gains in the end. Farmers in Canada have voted with their seeders by rapidly adopting these technologies.
Another type of GURT acts as a switch, similar to a light switch in your house, that only switches on when needed. This is known as a trait GURT or a T-GURT. Examples of this technology include enabling a plant to switch on its ability to withstand drought conditions only when a drought occurs. In non-drought conditions the plant would not express this gene, allowing it to devote its energy to the crop itself.
While we are developers of innovations for agriculture, we support farmers' choice in production systems, such as conventional, organic, or biotechnology-based agriculture. We also support farmers' choice in seed varieties to decide which varieties deliver the highest returns and benefits. As with all agricultural inputs, if varieties with this technology do not provide a significant financial benefit, farmers will remain free to use varieties that do not contain GURTs, and free to use farm-safe seed, as appropriate and allowed under local customs and laws.
We are asking you, as parliamentarians, to support the evaluation of GURTs and other technologies through a science-based regulatory system, and on a case-by-case basis, so the benefits and opportunities of innovation are made available to Canadian farmers.
Thank you for your interest in this topic. I look forward to answering any questions you might have.