Thank you to all of you for being here.
A very timely topic these days is the global food crisis. Many people are talking about how we feed the world. There are those who advocate and say we need GMOs. In other words, GM technology is necessary to feed the world. On the other hand, you have, I believe, the Union of Concerned Scientists and I think it's a study with the IAASTD—I'm not sure—that's called Failure to Yield. It says that GM technology has not improved yield, that any improvements in yield have been through traditional breeding practices or non-GMO biotechnology.
Then we have the extreme example, which I can't help but remember. In India we have that tragic case of GM cotton that was introduced and brought a lower yield, and over 200,000 farmers committed suicide. It's a world tragedy.
Can we feed the world using non-GM technology? Further, there are those at the other end of the spectrum—I've asked the questions and received answers—saying that we can feed the world organically when we look at small plots in different countries that have sustainable agriculture. So can we do it? Is the fact that we're being told we need GM technology a spin coming from these big companies, or do we have sufficient technology and methods to do it?
Maybe I'll start with you, Ms. Young, and work down.