Agricultural News
ASA & Other Leading Industry Associations Launch Coalition to Advocate for Expansion of America's Ag Bioeconomy
Fri, 22 Jul 2022 07:54:03 CDT
ASA and other leading industry associations this week launched the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition to advance federal policy initiatives that promote growth toward a circular economy based on innovative, sustainable products derived from agricultural commodities.
Founding coalition members include ASA, American Farm Bureau Federation; Corn Refiners Association; Growth Energy; National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; National Corn Growers Association; National Hemp Association; and Plant Based Products Council.
“It is well known that America’s abundant supply of soybeans helps feed our country and the world; lesser known is that U.S. companies also offer about 1,000 soy biobased industrial and consumer products,” said ASA President Brad Doyle (AR) in a coalition news release this week. “These sustainable, job-creating, soy-based products are the result of tremendous private sector investment and research, but more can still be done to help the renewable economy really take off. We are proud to help launch the new Ag Bioeconomy Coalition to advocate for creation of new market opportunities for soybean growers that will also meet society’s economic and environmental needs.”
What is the ag bioeconomy?
• Renewable ag resources that create products like biobased fuels, chemicals, materials and consumer goods
• People and businesses that produce, manufacture and sell these products
• Consumers who purchase these products
According to the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition news release, investing in this sector presents opportunities to tap into the full potential of American ag, support supply chain resiliency and:
• Create U.S. jobs
o The domestic biobased products industry adds over $470 billion of value to the US economy and supports 4.6 million jobs.
o For every biobased job created, 2.79 additional jobs are generated in other sectors of the U.S. economy. Between 2013 and 2017, 1.65 million jobs directly supported the biobased product industry, resulting in 2.96 million spillover jobs.
• Meet consumer demand for more eco-friendly products
o In 2021, nearly half of Americans report purchasing plant-based products monthly.
• Address economic and environmental challenges
o USDA estimates that the use of biobased products reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 12.7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents per year – that is equivalent to taking over 2.7 million cars off the road for a year.
The coalition is also focused on advocating for policies that promote governmental support of bioeconomy research and development. Learn more about the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition here.
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