Today I'm pleased to represent Genome Prairie. We are a regional centre of Genome Canada. We cover the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
We are very interested in facilitating and coordinating new initiatives related to biosciences, particularly in the emerging area of genomics. We see this as very important for Canada's society and for our economic well-being going forward.
Over the last decade we've administered some $180 million of investment in developing research, much of it in the area of crop agriculture. We partner with universities, with government laboratories at both the federal and the provincial levels, and with small and emerging Canadian companies. We think the partnership issue is a very important part of the innovation agenda for Canada and that biosciences are going to be critical to our economic well-being in the future.
I would like to make a few general comments about the whole issue of bioscience and crops. Of course, since the beginning of human civilization 10,000 years ago or so, we have been interested in improving and selecting and modifying crops for our purposes. The field of genetics first really started in the 20th century, particularly after the First World War. Canada came to the fore as a major developer, producer, and exporter of high-quality crops. There is a long list, but certainly wheat, canola, oats, flax, and mustard all come to mind. We're a major producer of high-quality products.
During the period following the First and Second World Wars, there was a lot of work on genetic improvement. Hybrid crop varieties came into being, such as new varieties of disease-resistant, rust-resistant wheat, which is an important Canadian story.
With the discovery of the DNA molecule as the basis of genetics, we moved into the era of molecular biology in the 1960s and 1970s. Ultimately, this spawned whole new industries, commonly referred to as the biotechnology industry, with many small companies growing out of universities in both Canada and the United States. Many types of technologies that had an economic impact were generated, including the production of pharmaceuticals, such as insulin. Almost all insulin is produced in genetically engineered yeast. Food additives, such as for cheese manufacturing, for example, are genetically modified. Certainly our friends in Europe have adopted them and use all these products.
Along with that came the tools for improving crops, commonly referred to as biotech crops, which are based on understanding a single gene and introducing it into a crop to bestow on the crop a perceived benefit, be it disease resistance, tolerance to herbicides, or hybrid production systems. This technology has been rapidly adopted by Canadian farmers, and at an international level, to the extent that in 2009, more than 275 million acres of genetically modified crops were grown in more than 20 countries. I believe that 25 countries are producing 100,000 acres or more of these crops. Trade in genetically modified crops is here to stay.
Over the last decade we've seen a new wave of genetics-based research, referred to as genomics, which is based on handling and understanding the whole genome. Technological aspects of sequencing the genome include using informatics and computer power to analyze it. The sequencing of the human genome, which cost $10 billion two years ago, can now be done for $10,000 and will be done for $1,000 and perhaps, ultimately, $100. It will have a tremendous impact on what's going to happen in medical research. We already have evidence of new diagnostics and therapeutics, which are reported in the paper and the news fairly often. It has a tremendous impact on Canadian industries, the health industry, and the health research communities in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
In the case of crops, we can expect similar, major, and I would say transformational changes, because now we are dealing with the whole genome and have the ability to look at complex traits, be they drought tolerance or changing the components of seed for better human nutrition. We will see new industries and many new companies coming to the fore. This is an important era for Canada in terms of trying to capture value from these technologies and for building an innovation agenda that really emphasizes the growth of our small, new companies based on our creative, young Canadian researchers. From my experience working with these companies, they will exist in many sectors across food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and so forth, covering our major clusters, not only in Saskatoon, where I come from, but in Guelph, for example, and in Montreal, which has its biopharmaceutical industry.
My feeling, as a researcher, is that this is not a time to introduce non-quantitative, non-scientific issues into our regulatory framework, which sets the environment for investment. Consequently, our organization will make the following three recommendations in a concluding form.
One, continuing on what I've been mentioning, we need to build on that vision of having an innovative society that's based on new company growth. That involves partnership between public and small, private companies, and it's ultimately critical that the environment for investment in these new enterprises is stable and secure. We believe that it's ultimately best done through a science-based regulatory framework. We do not believe it's appropriate to introduce non-science-type issues into our regulatory framework. It will dampen the potential for investment for those small, new companies. Investors want to understand, and they need to see a good stable environment. We think we need to pursue that vision, and we do not recommend that Bill C-474 be supported.
Two, building on the fact that there is going to be an appropriate environment, we need to move forward to develop high-quality crops and high-quality products to continue to build our leadership. We are now the world's leader in exporting canola, durum wheat for pasta, oats, flax, mustard, and lentils. Some of these are genetically modified; others are not. The important point is that we use research to position ourselves to be a leader in exporting the best products and the best technologies available, and it's going to depend on clear research and a strong research environment. We need to support our producers. Canada needs to play its role in sustaining food production on a global basis, with some 10 billion people expected to be on this planet. We need to diversify our capability in agriculture to build that enterprise.
Three, we would recommend that Canada, rather than looking at the regulatory framework in terms of adding new elements, streamline our regulatory framework to make sure we are competitive. We think there's room. I do believe that. And we do recommend that Canada's emphasis should be on becoming a leader in dealing with the issue of adventitious presence, the issue of contamination in seed lots, be it some seeds that are found on a boat that are from a non-registered, non-approved variety.... We have to move away from zero tolerance to some type of accepted limit. We accept limits for all kinds of non-external products in our seeds. They can be small rocks, they can be dead insects, or they can be weed seeds or seeds from other crops. We have to do the same for genetically modified products. A zero tolerance ruling is not feasible, is not realistic, going forward.
I think this is an opportunity for Canada to be a leader, to develop guidelines that are globally acceptable, so that our trade will continue, because the technology is going to develop in many directions and we want to be in the best position possible to capture value from that going forward.
Thank you.