The Good Food Institute (GFI) is a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that promotes
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
- and
cell-based alternatives to animal products, particularly
meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
,
dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
, and
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
.
It was created in 2016 by the nonprofit organization
Mercy For Animals
Mercy For Animals (MFA) is an international nonprofit animal protection organization founded in 1999 by Milo Runkle. MFA's mission is to "prevent cruelty to farmed animals and promote compassionate food choices and policies."
MFA has conducted mo ...
with
Bruce Friedrich
Bruce Gregory Friedrich (born August 7, 1969) is co-founder and president of The Good Food Institute (GFI), a Y Combinator funded non-profit that promotes plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products. He is also a co-founder of the alte ...
as the chief executive officer. GFI has more than 150 staff across six offices in the United States, India, Israel, Brazil, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
GFI is one of
Animal Charity Evaluators
Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), formerly known as Effective Animal Activism (EAA), is a US-based charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused nonprofit founded in 2012. ACE evaluates animal charities and compares the effectiveness of their ...
' four "top charities" of 2022.
Mission
A primary motivation for GFI's founding was to address the negative impacts of global
animal agriculture
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...
, particularly the industry's contribution to
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
,
antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. ...
, and
environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...
.
To this end, GFI works to "make alternative proteins accessible, affordable, and delicious" since plant- and cell-based animal product alternatives contribute significantly less to the aforementioned problems.
Activities
GFI engages scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in a variety of activities to advance the alternative protein industry, which includes manufacturers and retailers of plant-based, cellular agriculture and protein fermentation products.
Strategic support
GFI provides strategic support to start-ups and established food companies, restaurants, and major meat producers to help them develop and advertise alternative proteins.
Scientific research
GFI creates open-access resources and publishes scientific research about plant-based and cell-based meat technology.
Market research
GFI publishes annual State of the Industry Reports for the plant-based, cellular agriculture and protein fermentation industries. The 2020 reports show that:
* ''Plant-based'': U.S. plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies raised $2.2 billion in 2020, tripling the amount from 2019.
The value of the U.S. plant-based retail market equaled $7 billion in 2020.
* ''Cellular agriculture'': Cell-based meat companies raised $366 million in 2020, increasing the 2019 figure by almost sixfold.
The industry grew from 55 to more than 70 companies.
* ''Fermentation'': The alternative protein fermentation industry consists of approximately 50 firms which have collectively attracted investments of $587 million in 2020.
In 2018, nonprofit research firm
Faunalytics
Faunalytics is a nonprofit organization that provides animal advocates with access to the research and analysis of various animal issues. Its research areas include factory farming, veganism and vegetarianism, companion animals, animal testing, h ...
partnered with GFI to measure consumer attitudes towards cell-based meat when presented with information about its environmental and societal benefits. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they would try cell-based meat; 53% would eat it instead of conventionally produced meat; 46% would buy it regularly; 40% would be willing to pay more for it.
Grantmaking
GFI runs a competitive research grant program to fund open-access scientific research for the development of plant-based and cell-based meat.
As of 2021, GFI has awarded 38 grants totalling more than $7 million.
The Good Food Conference
Every year in September, GFI holds a conference convening leaders across the plant-based and cell-based industries, research community, venture capital, tech sector, and traditional food industry.
Legal action
GFI has filed several lawsuits to contest policies and regulations implemented by several US states and federal agencies which ban producers of plant-based products from labeling that uses terminology conventionally associated with animal products, such as "soy milk" and "veggie burger".
Governance
In 2021, GFI employees reported that they were scared to openly disagree with their seniors due to a fear of retaliation. For this reason, Animal Charity Evaluators removed GFI from its "top charity" list for one year, reinstating it in 2022.
Animal Charity Evaluators stated in 2022 that since their last review, "
FIleadership has taken a series of actions, such as training staff on how to use the anonymous reporting system, distributing an anonymous survey to staff asking for feedback about their comfort with voicing their opinions without fear of retaliation and using the anonymous reporting hotline, and providing anti-retaliation training to all supervisors and staff. Based on this limited information, our impression is that leadership is working on addressing these situations."
Reception
In 2018, GFI participated in the startup accelerator
Y Combinator
Y Combinator (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator launched in March 2005. It has been used to launch more than 3,000 companies, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Quora, PagerDuty, Reddit, Str ...
, receiving funding and strategic support.
Y Combinator lists "cellular agriculture and clean meat" as one of its funding priorities, stating that "the world will massively benefit from a more sustainable, cheaper and more healthy production of meat".
GFI has ties with the
effective altruism
Effective altruism is a philosophical and social movement that advocates "using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis". People who pursue the goals of effective altruism, c ...
movement, having received endorsements and financial support from several effective altruism affiliated organizations.
For instance,
Open Philanthropy
Open Philanthropy is a research and grantmaking foundation that makes grants based on the doctrine of effective altruism. It was founded as a partnership between GiveWell and Good Ventures. Its current co-chief executive officers are Holden ...
awarded GFI with several major grants in support of its general operations and international expansion, totalling $6.5 million as of August 2021.
Sam Harris
Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...
' Waking Up Foundation recommends GFI as one of its top charities.
In 2022, GFI was chosen as one of four top charities by Animal Charity Evaluators.
See also
*
New Harvest
New Harvest is a donor-funded research institute dedicated to the field of cellular agriculture, focusing on advances in scientific research efforts surrounding In vitro meat, cultured animal products. Its research aims to resolve growing Environm ...
*
Timeline of cellular agriculture This page is a timeline of major events in the history of cellular agriculture. Cellular agriculture refers to the development of agricultural products - especially animal products - from cell cultures rather than the bodies of living organisms. T ...
References
External links
Official websiteTED Talk: "The next global agricultural revolution"(2019) by
Bruce Friedrich
Bruce Gregory Friedrich (born August 7, 1969) is co-founder and president of The Good Food Institute (GFI), a Y Combinator funded non-profit that promotes plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products. He is also a co-founder of the alte ...
, GFI's co-founder and executive director
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Food Institute, The
American food and drink organizations
Cellular agriculture
Charities based in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 2016
Y Combinator nonprofit organizations
Organizations associated with effective altruism