GFI Alt Protein Pulse

From GFI

Our top 23 of 2023

Before we start a new year of work catalyzing the alternative protein sector, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the good food progress across science, policy, and industry that our global community made possible over the past year. Dig in.

The top climate moments of this year and what they mean for alternative proteins

Up until a few years ago, the discussion of alternative proteins at major climate conferences was minimal, and their integration into programming and meals was limited. This year marked a notable increase in interest and understanding of the impact of food on our climate, with a growing recognition of the role alternative proteins can play in mitigating the climate impact of our food system. In this blog, we look back on a few of the high-impact ways alternative proteins secured the climate spotlight in 2023.

Inviting everyone to the table

GFI brings together partners from across the food system to advance alternative proteins, inviting everyone to the table to build a brighter future for the planet, people, and animals. We are honored that Giving Green , Animal Charity Evaluators , Charity Navigator , and Founders Pledge have recognized our impact as a field catalyst and convener. See what they had to say about us.

Upcoming events and opportunities

Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day 2024

Join GFI founder and president Bruce Friedrich for Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day 2024, hosted by Tufts University on January 11, 2024. Check out the rest of the speaker lineup and register here.

Warwick Economics Summit

The Warwick Economics Summit (WES) is the largest student-run academic conference in Europe. The Summit’s forums cover a broad range of fields including economics, politics, and the wider social sciences. Connect with GFI founder and president Bruce Friedrich, GFI Europe senior science and technology manager Seren Kell, and other thought leaders. Register.

Meat Evolution Leaders Summit

The second annual Meat Evolution Leaders Summit (MEVO) will convene 250+ decision-makers from across the food industry, all focused on how to make cultivated meat affordable, accessible, and delicious. Join GFI president and founder Bruce Friedrich and other leaders in the space in Barcelona, Spain, for two days of reimagining how meat is made. More details.

Find more upcoming conferences, pitch competitions, workshops, and opportunities for good food innovators on our events calendar.

Alt Protein Headlines

What’s Cooking?: An assessment of the potential impacts of selected novel alternatives to conventional animal products

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a report focusing on alternative proteins as a tool to slash food systems emissions, marking a pivotal moment in the push to elevate alternative proteins as a climate solution on the global stage. The report highlights plant-based meat, cultivated meat, and fermentation-derived foods as a path to reducing the environmental impacts associated with animal agriculture with co-benefits for public health, such as curbing antimicrobial resistance and pandemics. It also calls out the need for public R&D funding, international collaboration, and appropriate regulatory frameworks to ensure alternative proteins can meet consumers’ expectations and needs, including taste/price/nutrition parity with animal-based foods. Download the report or read our summary of the report.

Pledges to slash methane pollution at COP28 are leaving out one big thing

Negotiators at COP28 agreed to put more money behind pledges to cut methane — a greenhouse gas that is roughly 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. But as Umair Irfan notes in this piece for Vox, few of the announced actions addressed the largest driver of methane pollution: the food we eat — especially animals raised for food. This is precisely why GFI advocates for leaders to incorporate food and agriculture solutions into broader climate discussions (e.g., methane) rather than treating them as a separate agenda. Read the full piece.

David Kaplan is building an academic community for the future of meat

Dr. David Kaplan, professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University, has been recognized as one of Vox’s 2023 Future Perfect 50 for his important work in building an academic field and fostering open-access research in the cultivated meat space! Impressed by the research published by Kaplan and his fellows, the USDA gave Tufts a $10 million grant to create the largest U.S. government-backed research center for cell-cultivated meat in 2021: the USDA National Institute for Cellular Agriculture at Tufts. Dr. Kaplan also serves as a mentor for the Tufts chapter of GFI’s Alt Protein Project. Learn more about Dr. Kaplan’s work.

Making students’ cellular agriculture dreams come true

This fall, Tufts University launched the world’s first undergraduate degree in cellular agriculture—a minor that allows students to take a deep dive into the groundbreaking field. While Tufts has offered classes to undergraduates in the past and has also welcomed them into the lab, the new minor is “a vital step toward securing the future of cellular agriculture,” according to David Kaplan, Stern Family professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Executive Director of the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA). Check it out.

Liberation Labs bags $25MM USDA-backed loan to fund U.S. biomanufacturing hub: “What matters is whether the capacity is fit for purpose”

Liberation Labs has secured a $25 million government-backed loan to bolster its inaugural commercial-scale precision fermentation facility in Richmond, Indiana. The facility is dedicated to producing bio-based proteins at scale and addressing capacity bottlenecks in the industry. Securing government funding is crucial to accelerating the growth of the alternative protein sector! Read more.

Powered by philanthropy

Feeling #GFInspired? Please join us in finishing 2023 strong!

Does what you read in this issue make you believe change is possible? If so, consider donating to GFI. All of the insights and research that GFI offers are made possible by people like you who support our mission for a sustainable, secure, and just food system. Plus, a generous friend of GFI has offered to match all gifts dollar-for-dollar from a pool of $150,000 until midnight on December 31st. Double your impact today!

Work at GFI

General Interest:

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You can view all job opportunities at GFI here. For more information on the application process, we encourage you to attend one of our bi-weekly hiring information sessions.

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The Good Food Institute is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. Alongside scientists, businesses, and policymakers, GFI’s teams focus on making plant-based and cultivated meat delicious, affordable, and accessible. Powered by philanthropy, GFI is an international network of organizations advancing alternative proteins as an essential solution needed to meet the world’s climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals. Click here to support our work.