WATCH: U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s Jonathan Miller Talks Progress on CBD in Food and Beverage

Even as the world’s attention is focused on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the hemp/CBD industry is still working diligently to expand the progress made since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. At the front of those efforts is the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a group which works with elected officials to craft and pass legislation on a state and national level to support the burgeoning market for CBD as a food and beverage additive, as well as hemp’s various other uses.

In this interview, BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero speaks with Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, to get an update on the group’s efforts to open a path for CBD to be recognized as a legal food and beverage additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Miller also shared his thoughts on issues such as hemp testing, the current glut of CBD in the U.S., ways in which other countries like the United Kingdom are approaching the issue and how the hemp industry can play an important role in the country’s post-COVID economic recovery.

“We really are counting on the beverage industry to become outspoken on this,” he said. “Congress needs to understand that if the FDA engages in regulation, there will be a lot more beverage companies in the space and thus creating a lot more jobs and a lot more opportunities for farmers.”