Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank our witnesses for being with us today.
I have a question for the representatives from AmiEs de la Terre de l'Estrie.
It is clear from your presentation that you are not in favour of GMO use. But that isn't really what we're discussing today. GMOs are used, and that will not stop.
The real issue is this.
It touches on low-level presence. GM crops have been approved for animal feed. They've been approved for human consumption here in Canada. They're considered to be safe, as based on science. I understand the concerns you have, and it's good that you bring them up, but really we're just talking about a low-level presence, not whether GM crops should exist in the first place. They do exist; they're going to continue to exist. They've been deemed safe through scientific methods.
I was listening to Madame Brosseau on low-level presence in organics. My point of view would be that the organic sector would be in favour of low-level presence, not because that would necessarily imply you therefore approve of GM crops, but because an organic shipment can be contaminated not just by GM products but by non-organic products, through no fault of your own. The organic farmer may harvest his crops in an organic manner. He may store them in a silo that is perfectly clean, but then they go onto a truck and they go into another silo. They go through another handling system. His organic crop that he paid a premium to grow and to harvest has been contaminated, and it's not his fault. It's not a health and safety issue; it's just a very low-level presence of non-organic material. It might not even be GM.
I don't understand, really, the organic opposition to low-level presence when I think it would actually help the organic farmer, because it's quite reasonable. If there were one thousand grains of corn and one grain of wheat in that one thousand grains of corn, the organic farmer would ask, why are we rejecting my one thousand grains of corn for the one grain of wheat that was actually in a truck that I don't control, or on a conveyor belt that I don't control?
I'm not even talking about GM. If the organic sector accepted low-level presence, in no way does it mean they therefore accept GM. It's just talking about delivery of a product, provided it's fit for human consumption. As I said at our last meeting, we're not talking about arsenic or lead being in there; we're talking about the other product being fit for human consumption as well.
I'm wondering if you could comment on that. I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts.