A large part of moving away from fossil fuel dependency is the development of viable alternatives, not only for energy production, but also for everyday materials that have widespread uses. One may not expect an automobile manufacturer to be one of the major players in this move forward, but Ford motor company, in a combined effort with food giant Heinz, are doing just that. The new partnership is looking into how dried tomato skin fiber could possibly be repurposed as bio plastic in vehicles, both potentially reducing the overall weight of the vehicles, and eliminating more traditional materials. It’s part of an even larger initiative called the BFA, which sees several major corporations coming together to research new and innovative ways of developing and incorporating bio materials into existing markets as well as taking on the challenge of improving the technologies to ensure challenges surrounding the recycling, composting and disposal of bio materials continues to improve and become more sustainable. There is much more to be done, but it is encouraging to see large corporate entities putting time, effort and research dollars towards the reduction of fossil fuel consumption.