Sec. 2. Findings
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/bill/118/hr/5097/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Protein innovation that produces the characteristics of animal protein using plants, animal cell cultivation, and fermentation is an essential component of the bioeconomy. The United States has produced several groundbreaking biotechnological breakthroughs across the alternative protein sector in the last decade. In recent years, multiple countries have dramatically increased public investments into alternative protein research and development while government spending in the United States is still extremely modest.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, every one dollar of investment into agricultural research results in twenty dollars of economic productivity. As of 2019, the plant-based food industry supported over 55,000 jobs in the United States, and the alternative protein sector could create as many as 10 million jobs globally by 2050. Diversifying the protein supply of the United States will increase domestic supply chain resilience, decrease reliance on foreign grain and other commodities, and provide more choices to American consumers.
The global demand for meat is predicted to double by 2050, thus increasing the need for additional food sources such as alternative proteins. Widespread adoption of alternative proteins would decrease the risks associated with antibiotic resistance and zoonotic disease. Widespread adoption of alternative proteins would improve global and domestic food security. Widespread adoption of alternative proteins would improve the nutritional quality of the United States food system, contributing to improved health outcomes.
Widespread adoption of alternative proteins would likely help the United States’ food system become more climate-friendly and sustainable.