I think the programs that are in place have worked very well. I don't think we have to start from scratch. We have some programs that work very well.
What I tried to illustrate in my presentation was that Agriculture Canada has some good programs where they've facilitated industry to take a leadership role in some high-risk areas that also have some high reward. One of them is the science and innovation program, which allowed us to start working with the health community and food industry. It makes sense. We should have been doing it 25 years ago, but we didn't. Now that we've started, this is the kind of approach we need to focus on.
The two big drivers from the consumption side are, and will continue to be, environment and health and wellness. Agriculture has to engage itself in both of those areas. I was speaking only partly in jest when I said this committee really needs to be part of health and part of environment. This is the area in which agriculture can play a role for all Canadians.
So I'm hoping that in Growing Forward we see some strong programs in the environment area. As you mentioned, we have a very good story to tell. We have a story to tell that I don't think could be matched by the Europeans or by the Americans. We have an advantage that we need to focus on.
In the past, our environmental programs have focused on risk mitigation. I think we need to turn 180 degrees and say, “Let's start marketing the advantage we have.” I think we'll find willing buyers in the human food market, in the animal feed market, and in bio-products.
Of course, I work for the pulse industry, but I think crops that fix nitrogen, that take an essential nutrient out of the air, are going to play a big part--not only in Canada but around the world--in terms of sustainable agricultural production that will feed a doubling of the population by 2050.