To begin with, I'm glad to hear that you're a big supporter of the pulse industry. That's great to hear.
Canadians get less than 2% of their caloric intake from pulses, compared with around 20% from cereals and 20% from meat and dairy products. We have a long way to go in terms of increasing pulse consumption here in Canada.
As some of you may know, in 2013, we had a record grain crop in Canada, and that included a record pulse crop. We had six million tonnes of pulses grown in Canada, nearly four million tonnes of peas, and two million tonnes of lentils. We have lots of pulses. Farmers like to grow them because they work well on a rotation and they are getting good prices for them these days.
What's hot is that more and more companies are looking to pulses, as a source of protein in particular, as well as fibre. As you probably know, pulses are about 25% protein, which is two or three times that of other cereals like rice, corn or wheat. Many companies are looking to pulses as a source of protein, and that's why companies like General Mills are incorporating pulses into their food products.
There is a new company in the U.S. called Hampton Creek that's making egg substitutes out of vegetable proteins. Their primary ingredient is pea protein. That's going to be a very small substitute for the one billion eggs they use every day in the U.S., but it's a very important market opportunity for Canadian pulse producers. It's that type of research and innovation.
Our Canadian producers and processors need to be able to meet the demands of these up and coming innovative companies that are emerging in North America and in Europe, but also in countries like China and India where consumers are very concerned about health. We talk about it in North America, but if you go to China, consumers are very knowledgeable about the importance of the link between diet and health and wellness. I think we have a great opportunity, not only in North America to expand pulse consumption, but also in markets like China.