Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just to follow up on a question my colleague asked about what biotechnology is, when we took on this study.... I think what was exemplified here today illustrates the problem we have in terms of people understanding--the general public. We have a panel here of people who are in the know. I look to a journalist, Madam Park, and you struggled to find what the answer is.
What we're finding so far, quite honestly, is that at every meeting we come to there is this almost Frankenstuff about anything outside of organics, that it's all bad. I find that very unfortunate, because I'm feeling and finding that we need to have this balanced approach of hearing both sides. I have great organic farmers. I have great--and doing well--conventional farmers. We've not even talked yet about livestock. We're going to focus on crops today.
With that, I have a question, first of all, for Madam Park. I have to tell you, I am so pleased that we have an organization called Science Media Centre of Canada. I also understand where your funding comes from, and I understand where NRC funding...and I'd ask Madam Young where her funding would come from if she could help.
I'm concerned. There's been this big issue and talk about feeding the world, and I do not want that responsibility to totally fall on the laps of the farmers. You can't do that without talking about corruption in governments, other government policies, the waste of food when it's shipped to these countries--they don't know how to store it. We have governments that won't distribute food. They have their reasons--black marketing.
The other night...likely two or three weeks ago now. And this whole thing about Canada, how we have a billion--I think my colleague said--more people starving or hungry in the world. How do we put a message out? How do we help the agriculture industry carry a message to the consumer so that we don't wear it?
When I went home that night and turned the TV on, when they were talking about the hungry in the world, what did I see first? I saw a combine coming down the field, dumping grain into a grain buggy. I can tell you, likely nobody in the urban area knows what a combine or a grain buggy is, but they know it's a farmer. They didn't talk about the Galen Westons of the world, they didn't talk about the trucking industry, they didn't talk about the distribution. It was a picture of a farming operation.
I'm asking you to help us, as an industry, with what you might be able to do as part of your forum of public policy to help the agriculture industry be recognized as a provider of food, not the cause of the starvation.