Thank you for the question.
In terms of the nutrient content of food, I want you to know that I started out my career, more years ago than I care to remember, squeezing tomatoes in a horticultural research institute laboratory where they were actually genetically breeding tomatoes to increase the vitamin C content. So I can tell you the vitamin C content of a tomato varies depending upon whether it rained the day before it was picked. You have to put all of these sorts of nutrient content issues around the food supply into a perspective of how much we know and how much we don't know. There isn't a feeling or evidence that what we need to be doing today is eating our nutrients in a vitamin pill.
Now that I've said that, I can tell you that this particular food pattern that we're putting forward does not meet the vitamin D requirements of those over 50. So that is an issue that will need to be addressed. But I think none of what we heard—I shouldn't say “none”, because there are people who say we should simply tell Canadians to take a vitamin pill and then not worry about what it is they're eating, or worry less about what they're eating. In fact, what we tried to do is integrate not only nutrient requirements but a pattern that will reduce risk of chronic disease.
What we hear from people...all anecdotal, I don't know that anybody has done research. My colleagues can correct me if I'm wrong, but very often people will think that if they take a vitamin and mineral supplement they don't have to worry. They think it doesn't matter if they take some cookies and choose to think it's part of their pattern of eating because they've covered it off with a vitamin and mineral supplement. That isn't a sound approach to healthy eating.