Other than the regulatory process, I don't know if I have five asks of the government.
One issue, though, that's obviously been coming up quite a bit is the issue of childhood obesity and obesity in general. We spend a considerable amount of time talking to both provincial and federal governments about that issue and putting in the window everything that our industry is doing to address consumer needs and to address the issue of obesity.
There is not another industry in the food and beverage sector that has done so much to try to address that issue as our sector has, mainly through, as I mentioned before, our “clear on calories” campaign. We were the first industry across all of our producers, not just individual companies but across the entire industry, to decide on a front-of-pack calorie labelling program, which very quickly lets consumers know exactly how many calories are in that beverage they consume. In addition, our industry has approximately 30% of our sales in either low-cal or no-cal beverages. We like to say, with reason, that there is a beverage out there for every lifestyle. If you enjoy a full-calorie beverage, they're there, or if you enjoy zero-calorie or sugar-free or different sweeteners, they are there too.
Certainly recently there has been an increased focus on our industry. Some advocates out there like to try to communicate to government that our industry is the sole cause of obesity. We know that is not true. There is a mountain of science out there that says that is not true, that obesity issues are very complex and are about the calories you take in and the calories you burn. One thing we would look for this committee and particularly the Department of Agriculture to do is to try to bring some balance to that debate. Singling out one product as a sole reason that obesity rates are increasing is short-sighted and, quite frankly, is the easy way out on this file.
Statistics Canada shows that over the last 10 years there has been a 31% decrease in the consumption of full-calorie beverages and yet at the same time obesity rates have continued to rise. You can chart those, and they go in different directions. If our industry's products were the sole cause of this problem, it would not be a problem anymore, simply based on those declining consumption rates. The reason those consumption rates are dropping is that our members are bringing different products to the market—bottled water, flavoured water, sports drinks, and a variety of juices. That's why those consumption rates are dropping.
I don't have a list of five, but certainly the agriculture committee assisting us in bringing some balance to these conversations would be extremely helpful.