Plant-based products industry stakeholders called for support of Federal research and development in the FY22 appropriations bills, along with increased funding for USDA’s BioPreferred Program, to support the continued growth of the circular bioeconomy.

A copy of the letter is included below.

Plant-Based Products Industry Stakeholders Letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in Support of Funding for Federal Research and USDA’s BioPreferred Program

Dear Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees:

Our companies are part of the nation’s plant-based products industry, which is a critical component of the US bioeconomy and includes businesses, small and large, who are providing quality jobs, addressing environmental challenges, and bringing more sustainable products to market. As such, we hope you will strongly support Federal research and development in the FY22 appropriations bills, along with increased funding for USDA’s BioPreferred Program, to support the continued growth of the circular bioeconomy.

As you may know, many of the products and materials we all use every day can be made from renewable, plant-based resources that provide the same or better functionality of traditional products. They also offer value-added circular end-of-life management options like composting and recycling. 

To provide the public and policymakers with essential information on our nation’s competitiveness within the global bioeconomy and important insights on how the use of renewable agricultural feedstocks can help address environmental concerns, we support the Plant Based Products Council’s (PBPC) requested report language for the following research:  (1) a USDA study of the U.S. biobased economy compared with other countries, (2) a collection by USDA of life cycle analyses of the main biobased products used in chemicals, plastics, and fibrous materials, and (3) an EPA study of the potential reductions in landfill greenhouse gas emissions from the increased use of compostable packaging and composting.

As supporters of the plant-based products industry, we urge you to include PBPC’s report language requests in FY 2022 appropriations bills for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency, and provide increased levels of funding for the BioPreferred Program at USDA.

Sincerely,