Vital funding is needed to improve the nutritional quality, taste and accessibility of food, protect the integrity of food for safety purposes and increase the supply of nutritious food needed to feed a growing population, says a new white paper from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
“Following years of stagnant public funding, food science research faces mounting and urgent challenges. During this time, private funding increased, but it has not been a direct substitute due to shorter-term focus,” the authors wrote. “Continued underfunding will likely risk public health, food safety, food security, and erode the U.S. talent pipeline and global competitiveness.”
What agriculture contributes vs federal funding dollars
The agrifood industry is the third largest direct contributor to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), according to the white paper. In 2018, the agricultural industry contributed nearly $5.08 trillion to the country’s economy, nearly a quarter of the GDP, and accounted for 14% of the workforce.
However, the industry netted only $21.6 billion worth of private research funding, while public investment only added up to $1 billion. This is only 4.2% of the GDP, less than the pharmaceutical sector.
Greatest decline since 2008
Federal funding for agrifood research in the US has drastically declined since 2008. Between 1970 and 2008, approximately half of the agrifood research in the country was publicly-funded. That number fell to 30% in 2008, the paper says.
“Currently, the decline in public funding for food, most pronounced since 2008, is of great concern and cannot be substituted by private funding,” the authors added. “Public and private funding, however, can be complementary. This ‘call to action’ includes a paradigm change in public, private, and public–private investments for research in food to unlock scientific and technology solutions, build a robust talent pipeline, and maintain our global competitiveness.”
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