Brown Promotes Bill to Boost Bio-Products Industry
Youngstown Business Journal – YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Ohio farmers who grow crops to put food on Americans’ dinner tables are increasingly producing feedstocks that are being turned into plastics, lubricants and chemicals, and U.S, Sen. Sherrod Brown says legislation he recently introduced aims to support that growing bio-based products industry.
The idea is to marry agriculture, Ohio’s No. 1 industry, with manufacturing, another key sector in the state economy. Ohio already is home to some 130 companies that manufacture bio-based products, Brown told reporters Wednesday as he outlined his proposed “Grow It here, Make It Here” initiative.
“It’s those American-made bio-based products that are typically good for our environment, good for our economy and good for energy independence,” said Brown, D-Ohio. Such products help to create jobs, are environmentally friendly and reduce dependence on foreign sources of oil that would otherwise be used in the manufacture of these products, he added.
The legislation, Brown said, would strengthen a program that certifies and labels products so consumers can better choose ones that are bio-based; improve access to loans for manufacturers of bio-based products; and strengthen programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bridge the gap between development and commercialization of bio-based products.
