Good Food Institute

What problem is GFI working on?

Globally, meat consumption is the highest it has ever been. According to the UN, global meat production is projected to double by 2050.

GFI’s mission is to develop “the roadmap for a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply.” The organisation works to “identify the most effective solutions, mobilize resources and talent, and empower partners across the food system to make alternative proteins accessible, affordable, and delicious.”

In addition to reducing animal suffering, GFI believes that transforming the food system would help reduce the risk of disease, feed more people, and positively impact the climate.

What does GFI do?

GFI is working to build “a world where alternative proteins are no longer alternative.” To that end, GFI:

• Conducts and advances scientific, open-access research in food technology and plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products like meat and dairy.
• Engages in policy work focused on procuring public (government) funding for alternative protein research and advocating for the fair regulation and labelling of alternative proteins.
• Partners with companies and investors to grow the plant- and cell-based food industry by employing a variety of acceleration strategies. These include finding particularly impactful business opportunities for industry advancement, supporting startups, conducting and sharing market and technical research, and facilitating industry collaboration.

Why is GFI one of our top-rated charities?

Good Food Institute meets our criteria to be a top-rated charity because our trusted evaluators have conducted extensive evaluations highlighting its cost-effectiveness. (Our trusted evaluators are charitable giving experts who focus on impact — their research into the best charities means your donations can do even more good. Learn more about charity evaluators we trust and why.)

• Animal Charity Evaluators has listed GFI as a top charity: “The main interventions used by GFI (research, policy work, and corporate outreach) are likely to be highly effective in strengthening the animal advocacy movement and increasing the availability of animal-free products.
• Open Philanthropy believes the acceleration of cost-competitive protein alternatives is an animal welfare avenue that is worth pursuing, and has awarded several grants to GFI. In 2021 it stated that its Farm Animal Welfare Team “has been particularly impressed with GFI’s public policy work relating to plant-based products.”
• Founders Pledge also conducted a review of GFI, concluding that its advisory committee “recommends The Good Food Institute as one of the most cost-effective animal advocacy organisations in the world.”

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