With new labeling requirements, bioengineering entered consumer consciousness in a new way this year—but people are learning the benefits, says a podcast episode featuring Sarah Gallo, BIO’s VP of Agriculture and Environment.
ICYMI: The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law, passed in July 2016, requires that, as of January 1 this year, food labels must identify any bioengineered ingredients.
“The label isn’t actually educating the consumer—it’s only telling you what’s in it,” said nutritionist Leah Flure on a recent episode of the Illinois Farm Bureau Partners podcast. “I think we’re missing that piece of educating the consumer.”
The label does not explain that science shows “bioengineered food is just as safe as their non-engineered counterparts,” or that bioengineered foods “can decrease the needs for chemical inputs,” Flure said.
Biotechnology’s achievements are already improving the industry’s image,said BIO’s Sarah Gallo: “If COVID has done nothing else it has exposed us to the role that science plays in our everyday life and the way that science can help us tackle some pretty monumental challenges.” Along with improving health, bioengineered foods are allowing improvements in nutrition.
“Heightened awareness of climate policy” is also shining a spotlight on biotech, she continued—like gene editing to prevent food waste, sustainable aviation fuels, and biomanufacturing that involves creative recycling of carbon and other materials to produce alternatives to petroleum-based products.
Along with consumers and the climate, this activity benefits farmers: “Farmers still are at the base of a lot of this innovation because so many of the feedstocks are agricultural in nature,” Sarah Gallo added. It’s another example of the “intersection between climate activity solutions and keeping a lot of economic activity happening in rural America.”
Listen to the whole podcast.
More Agriculture and Environment News:
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