The production process of bio-based products is perceptibly new, the public lacks the education on these materials, and therefore could be hesitant to allow bio manufacturing companies into their cities.

Public sentiment provides significant direction towards advancement and adoption of novel technologies. Conversely, it can also stifle or completely halt innovative research and development should a large enough population find their interests at odds with producers of these technologies. The level and speed in which iterative progress is producing market-disrupting scientific knowledge and subsequent applications has pushed biotechnology to the forefront of a new industrial revolution. Like with all revolutions, they are disruptive and fraught with consequences, for good and for ill. Humans, by our very nature are, and should be, wary of the unknown, especially when potential repercussions are proximally situated within our communities. Ignorance is largely the status quo when it comes to advanced biotechnologies, and it is unreasonable to assume that the average layperson has the desire or capacity to fully understand and integrate all the potentials surrounding novel bio-based products and the technology that governs their production. Sheer lack of understanding and general scientific literacy may be a substantial roadblock to gaining community consensus and consent to allow potentially disruptive or dangerous biotechnology companies into our communal ecosystem.