11/17
PBPC Executive Director Jessica Bowman Testifies on the Renewable Economy in Rural America
November 17, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – On November 16, Jessica Bowman, Executive Director of the Plant Based Products Council (PBPC), participated in the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit hearing titled “A Look at the Renewable Economy in Rural America.” In her testimony, Bowman emphasized the important role of the plant-based products industry in empowering American agriculture to provide technology, innovations, and solutions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide economic opportunity for rural communities.
“We’re glad to see the Subcommittee’s support for the renewable economy and their recognition that plant-based products can play a role in bringing high-paying jobs to rural America and achieving environmental goals,” said Bowman.
While the plant-based products industry brings $470 billion in value to the U.S. economy and supports over 4.6 million American jobs, the U.S. bioeconomy currently accounts for less than 2.5% of American economic activity. In her testimony, Bowman shared several key ways that Congress can support its growth, including enforcing the 2018 Farm Bill mandate to establish North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for bio-based product manufacturing. During her testimony, Bowman responded to several questions about their establishment.
“I appreciated Representative Troy Balderson’s (R-OH 12th District) questions about NAICS Codes and how updating them can help us better understand and track the growth of the bioeconomy, which would also serve to uncover policy gaps and inform future legislation. The next update to the NAICS Codes, which is only carried out every five years, is in 2022. It’s critical this update includes codes for biobased product manufacturing. These codes would help lawmakers better understand the economic impact of this industry, informing more sound policies that support economic opportunity for rural America.”
Bowman also discussed the importance of collecting better data on the plant-based products industry, modernizing USDA’s BioPreferred Program, and helping communities develop essential end-of-life infrastructure. You can read Jessica’s written testimony here, and can view the entire hearing here.
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The Plant Based Products Council (PBPC) is a group of like-minded organizations working to guide the global economy toward more sustainable and responsible consumer products and packaging through greater use of plant-based materials. Learn more at https://pbpc.com/