Encouraging the Department of Agriculture to lead efforts, in partnerships with States, localities, universities, and various farming and ranching groups, to prepare for the disruptive transformation of the entire agriculture industry.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 427 Encouraging the Department of Agriculture to lead efforts, in partnerships with States, localities, universities, and various farming and ranching groups, to prepare for the disruptive transformation of the entire agri- culture industry. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. SCHWEIKERT submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture RESOLUTION Encouraging the Department of Agriculture to lead efforts, in partnerships with States, localities, universities, and various farming and ranching groups, to prepare for the disruptive transformation of the entire agriculture industry. Whereas the world’s population is expected to reach 7.8 bil- lion people in 2021; Whereas demographic trends point to an estimated 10.9 bil- lion people on Earth by 2100; Whereas as populations grow and urbanization expands, rural and agricultural land decreases; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR427.IH HR427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 427 IH Whereas climate change over the coming decades will increase the unpredictability of weather patterns for crops and water supply; Whereas advances in discovering genetic diversity in plants allow for an increase in plant species diversification, which can provide immunity against diseases that could cause entire plant species to die out; Whereas recent breakthroughs in photosynthesis in certain plant species raise the possibility of increasing crop yields on less land; Whereas biotechnology, including gene-editing and CRISPR, synthetic biology, and other modern techniques are im- perative for crops to survive a changing climate and in- creasing productivity on less arable land with less water to meet a growing world population; Whereas science has proven countless times that such foods are safe for human and animal consumption; Whereas the Department of Agriculture and various academic institutions have focused on research and development of innovative biotechnologies; Whereas outreach and education to farmers growing such crops remain imperative; and Whereas expanding acceptance for gene-edited crops is nec- essary, including for cross-border trade and consumption: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) encourages the Department of Agriculture 2 to lead efforts, in partnerships with States, localities, 3 universities, international partners and organiza- 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR427.IH HR427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 427 IH tions, and various farming and ranching groups, to 1 prepare for the future transformation of the agri- 2 culture industry; 3 (2) continues to promote the safety and effec- 4 tiveness of biotechnology in agriculture, including 5 the science behind this safety; and 6 (3) promotes biotechnology and other modern 7 technologies that will have positive effects for the cli- 8 mate and natural carbon solutions. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR427.IH HR427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS