I wish I did because I'd be talking to Mr. Johnston for 20 minutes. He's just given us a little piece of the story, and I'm going to give him an opportunity to talk a little more about it, but first, my introduction.
Yes, Chatham-Kent—Leamington is my riding. Wheatley—I told him about Wheatley harbour—also has Cavendish Farms there. I'm very proud to have you, fish and chips, the whole nine yards.
On the history of potatoes, Mr. Ritz talked about South America. That's really where potatoes first came from. I read one time that by the 17th century, 100 years after potatoes were introduced to Europe, they were the staple diet of Europe. Incredible. I did some calculations: 1.5 billion pounds and there are seven billion people in the world; if you were selling all your taters just to Canadians, we'd have to eat 1,500 pounds of potatoes. So it's a no-brainer. We have to export.
I get excited when I start thinking about the potential. You're obviously a very clever bunch of entrepreneurs, and you do great work. You have a fabulous formula. I know that in the greenhouse industry in my neck of the woods we talk about potential for greenhouse consumption and, again, we just scratch the surface in North America compared to Europe. If we look at the United States, with 200 million people within a 24-hour drive, there are so many potatoes. Wow. If Asia—its staple diet is still rice—finds out about potatoes.... I've done a little bit of research on potatoes, and I know just how much the potato has to offer. It has everything. I understand one time there was a person who lived an entire year just eating potatoes.
So, tell us about the potential for growth. This is exciting stuff, because I can just see this expanding exponentially.