Sustainable Farming, Cleaner Air, and Greener Packaging; How Biotech is Helping to Mitigate Climate Change

As we celebrate Earth Day 2020, climate change is top of mind. At BIO, climate change solutions are a top priority – especially as it relates to food production.

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) released today a new consumer research survey, “Climate Change and Food Production,” which provides unique insights into how consumers consider their concerns about climate change with food purchase decisions.

For each of the major themes that emerged from this research, biotech plays a prominent role:

Consumers are concerned about food production’s impact on climate change, and they care about “the how.” Two out of every three people (67%) are at least somewhat concerned about the impact of food production on climate change (34% are very concerned; 33% are somewhat concerned). When asked to rank what they believe plays the largest role in our food system’s impact on climate change, 48% indicated that how food is grown is a top concern.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), biotech crops can contribute to a “sustainable intensification” strategy favored by many science academies worldwide, which allows productivity and production to be increased, thereby saving forests and biodiversity.