Agriculture committee  We don't actually have full statistics because the government doesn't keep track of them. The figures from the USDA, which are based on estimated plantings, were that 43.7% of the corn area was for GM varieties, but if you look at the variety registration for this year, about thr

Agriculture committee  That particular statistic comes from a USDA Global Agricultural Information Network report, looking at biotechnology in Canada.

Agriculture committee  CBAN is a coalition of civil society organizations, so it can be farmers' organizations such as the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario or Union paysanne in Quebec. It brings together NGOs as well, like ACT for the Earth, Inter Pares, USC Canada, organizations that have bee

Agriculture committee  Interestingly enough, I was at a meeting in March with the organic producers of Quebec. They were looking for ways to develop their own seeds and to produce their seeds at the farm because they cannot find varieties without GMOs, especially varieties that are not contaminated. M

Agriculture committee  First of all, there are too many risks associated with GMOs to justify their release in the market, end of story. However, since the government decided to allow the marketing of GMOs, I believe it has a responsibility to ensure a minimum of protection and transparency. So why no

Agriculture committee  At present there's very little transparency or access. Recently, the 26 top corn scientists in the U.S. sent out a letter saying that they can't get access to the data they need from GM crops because it's all locked up under contract and under patent. So they can't get any access

Agriculture committee  Can I finish what I was saying?

Agriculture committee  Also on this point of access, right now hunger is a question of access. We have 20% of humanity that doesn't have access to food, and 80% of those people are farmers. They don't have access to food-producing resources. If we put more of those food-producing resources in the hands

Agriculture committee  May I answer in French?

Agriculture committee  My name is Devlin Kuyek. I'm a special advisor and a member of the steering committee of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. We're a coalition of 17 groups from across Canada and we represent farmers' organizations, environmental and international development groups and va