U.S. President Joe Biden issued an "Executive Order on the Advancement of Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe and Protected American Bioeconomy." Some of its goals are to increase biomanufacturing capacity in the U.S., increase biomass production, and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers in q bioeconomy disciplines.  

The Executive Order gives the Secretary of Agriculture 180 days to report on how biotechnology and biomanufacturing can be used for food and agricultural innovation. If the USDA conducts a full investigation, the report could be a roadmap identifying the potential of biotech products to improve sustainability, help agriculture adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, increase food quality and nutritional content, and produce alternative food sources.

At the same time, the OMB Director should identify the existing levels of USDA spending on biotechnology and biomanufacturing-related activities. A detailed budget inventory of what different USDA agencies and offices are investing in biotechnology, especially if divided into categories such as basic research, product development and risk assessment and management, would allow policymakers to determine whether public investment in biotechnology is sufficient to achieve the potential that will be presented in the Secretary's report.

This order requires the USDA, EPA, and FDA to identify "areas of ambiguity, gaps, and uncertainties" and then provide a plan for regulatory reform. For those of us who have studied the U.S. regulatory system, "ambiguities, gaps, and uncertainties" have been well known for years and arise from regulating new and innovative products using statutes that have never predicted such products.

Source: Agrolink