Biobased report highlights a decade of growth

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Biobased report highlights a decade of growth

A new report by USDA finds the biobased products industry displaces more than 9 million barrels of oil a year and contributes more than $470 billion to the nation’s economy.

“The soybean industry contributes to this report and really has made a difference in moving industrial uses, any number of different uses, away from petroleum and into biobased.”

Janna Fritz with the Michigan Soybean Committee says Ford Motor Company has been one the earliest adopters to use soy-based products in its manufacturing process and today is one largest biobased product users in the U.S.

“In terms of the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, we’re on the right track if we can continue to increase the utilization of these products,” she says.

The report says biobased products potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 12.7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

USDA’s BioPrefered Program recognizes about 20,000 biobased products from seven main sectors including ag and forestry which were studied in the analysis.

Fritz says Michigan ranks among the top ten states across multiple biobased product categories which added $3.5 billion to the state’s economy in 2017.

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