Canada has to protect its credibility by following the science. Ottawa-Governments need to be aware of reckless theories about agricultural practices that do not recognize improvements already made by farmers, says former Conservative cabinet minister Ted Menzies. Food production has risen steadily in Canada despite a shrinking land base because farmers have adopted new practices and plant varieties, said Menzies, an Alberta farmer and former president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. “Governments tend to listen to loud activists who care less for those who go hungry than they do for their unscientific research gleaned from their own Internet algorithms,” he told the Commons agriculture committee. “They claim we would all be better off growing less food and using less crop protection, but they fail to understand the harm this would cause to the air, water and soil through organic practices that require increased tillage, which causes soil erosion, and organic pesticides, many of which are more harmful to nature than are those approved by certified regulatory bodies. The result is substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from excess field equipment passes.” An example of reckless was a federal environmental plan for a blanket reduction of nitrogen fertilizer use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Menzies said. It came “with no understanding that actions already taken by farmers have accomplished more to reduce emissions through practical methods that don't limit food production.” Many factors have improved yield and quality through research, such as improved varieties for drought tolerance, shorter season maturity, in-plant pest deterrents, timed-release nutrients and improved photosynthesis. The adoption of the 4R plan for fertilizer applications and use of satellite technology for data collection, GPS guidance and sectional equipment control have all enhanced efficiency and sustainability. “Producers can grow more with less. This is good news for the grower, good for the consumer and good for the environment. Never forget that sustainability has two fundamental components—environmental and economic,” he said. The EU's nonsensical farm-to-fork strategy has proven actually to reduce food while Sri Lanka's failed organic experiment that caused immediate mass starvation was and still is devastating. “The full-bellied activists want all food to be grown under the guise of regenerative agriculture, a term for which no two people could offer a similar definition,” he said. Farmers stopped a repeat of the dirty 30s through new technologies. “Don't take them away.  We depend on scientists to give us that information. We can watch what we've gone through with COVID. We depended on science rather than our emotions.” If the Pesticide Management Review Agency did not stick to the science in making decisions, people would not be comfortable in buying Canadian-produced food, he said.