Essentials
Discover our favorite writings, resources, research, and updates about plant-based meat, cultivated meat, and fermentation.
What are alternative proteins?
Explore these resources for a general overview of the growing fields of plant-based meat, cultivated meat, and fermentation as well as our favorite resources. Given how essential alternative proteins are to a global protein transition, the term itself needs to be universally understood, on the tip of more tongues, and at the top of more agendas. Learn how alternative proteins are defined.
GFI at TED
GFI Executive Director and 2019 TED Fellow Bruce Friedrich discusses how plant-based and cultivated meat can solve some of our most pressing global challenges.
Making Sense with Sam Harris: Food, climate & pandemic risk
GFIers Dr. Liz Specht & Bruce Friedrich join Sam Harris for a discussion of GFI, food, climate, antibiotic resistance, and pandemic risk.
Modernizing meat production will help us avoid pandemics
GFI’s Dr. Liz Specht explains how the Covid-19 outbreak stresses the need to change how we make meat.
Meat by the molecule: Making meat with plants and cells (The Biochemist)
This article from The Biochemist provides a high-level overview of plant-based and cultivated meat.
Nerds over cattle: How food technology will save the world
GFI’s Bruce Friedrich discusses the problems caused by our current method of producing meat and how plant-based and cultivated meat will address each of those issues.
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Cultivated meat
This is your guide to cultivated meat. Explore our tools, resources, and expert analysis of the cultivated meat industry.
State of the Industry Report: Cultivated meat
This report details the commercial landscape, investments, regulatory developments, and scientific progress in the cultivated meat and seafood industry.
The science of cultivated meat
Learn about the science of cultivated meat and the challenges that must be addressed for commercial production.
Cultivated meat 101 (video)
Learn about the history of cultivated meat and how cultivated meat is made.
Is in vitro meat the new in vitro fertilization?
GFI’s Bruce Friedrich explores the history of society’s opposition and then adoption of new technologies, as well as reasons to expect many consumers to embrace cultivated meat.
Is the future of meat animal free?
In the cover story for Institute of Food Technologies’ January 2018 Issue, GFI scitech director Dr. Liz Specht discusses cultivated meat.
Growing meat sustainably: The cultivated meat revolution
This fact sheet lays out the sustainability advantages of cultivated meat production at scale compared to conventional animal agriculture.
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Plant-based meat
This is your guide to plant-based meat. Explore our tools, resources, and expert analysis of this field, from science to policy and markets.
State of the Industry Report: Plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy
This report details the commercial landscape, sales, investments, public funding, and innovation trends in the plant-based meat, seafood, egg, and dairy industry.
Plant-based retail market overview
Explore sales data for plant-based meat, egg, and dairy products in the U.S. retail market. Find key category insights, size, sales growth, and purchase dynamics for the plant-based industry.
The science of plant-based meat
Learn about the science of plant-based meat. Discover resources and research on the latest technological developments and key scientific questions.
Formulating with animal-free ingredients
GFI scientists explain how ingredients derived from plants and fermentation can be used to create animal-free meat, egg, and dairy alternatives.
Plant-based meat for a growing world
This fact sheet explains the comparative environmental advantage of producing meat directly from plants.
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Fermentation
This is your guide to precision fermentation and whole biomass fermentation for alt protein production. Find resources, tools, and expert industry analysis here.
State of the Industry Report: Fermentation
This report details the commercial landscape, investments, regulatory developments, and scientific progress in the fermentation for alternative proteins industry.
Precision fermentation and cellular agriculture
Learn how cellular agriculture makes it possible to produce genuine animal protein through microbial precision fermentation.
Fermentation 101 (video)
Learn about the three primary ways that fermentation can be used for alt proteins: traditional, biomass, and precision.
Whole biomass fermentation (video)
Learn how biomass fermentation can be used to create the next wave of whole cut meats like steak, chicken breast, bacon, and flaky fish.
Tiny organisms, huge potential
GFI scitech director Liz Specht explains how fermentation is on par with — and enabling — advances in plant-based and cultivated meat in Food Technology.
Key resources
Research grants
Learn about cutting-edge alternative protein research funded by GFI. Find funding opportunities for your own research.
Sustainable Seafood Initiative
Learn how plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated seafood can improve the health and sustainability of oceans.
GFIdeas Community
Learn from and network with experts in alternative protein. GFIdeas is a community for entrepreneurs, scientists, students, and subject matter experts.
Startup manual
This guide lays out the steps involved in starting an alternative protein company, from securing funding and developing your product to scaling up and expanding distribution.
Massive open online course
Enroll in GFI’s open-access online course to learn about the science of plant-based and cultivated meat.
Policy filings and briefs
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Year in Review
Discover how we’re creating a world where alternative proteins are no longer alternative. Dig into our annual reports to learn more.
GFI annual reports
Year in Review 2022
In 2022, GFI expanded our global student movement to 36 total universities, influenced the Israeli and UK governments to declare alternative proteins an R&D priority, and collaborated with the government…
Year in Review 2021
In 2021, GFI released life cycle and techno-economic assessments for cultivated meat and elevated alternative proteins as a global climate solution at the UN Food Systems Summit and COP26.
Year in Review 2020
In 2020, GFI supported a proposal resulting in the U.S. National Science Foundation funding cultivated meat research and launched our ASAP Initiative to identify the field’s most pressing challenges.
Year in Review 2019
In 2019, GFI grew government support for alternative proteins in the United States, India, Brazil, and Israel, and our grant program funded 14 open-access research projects.
Year in Review 2018
In 2018, GFI launched our research grant program, hosted the inaugural Good Food Conference, and mounted a defense of plant-based meat and milk labeling across the U.S.
Year in Review 2017
In 2017, GFI launched the world’s first university course on plant-based meat and supported more than 100 alternative protein startups.
Year in Review 2016
In 2016, the year GFI was founded, we launched two alternative protein startups and accelerated innovation in the public and private sectors.
Featured blogs
BREAKING: World’s first approval of cultivated meat sales
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the lead agency for food-related matters in Singapore, has approved the sale of a cultivated meat product in the city-state.
Why the U.S. should prioritize alternative protein research
Alternative proteins can enhance food security. But, to integrate them into our food supply, we need public investment in alternative protein research and development.
How plant-based companies are fighting back against label censorship
With help from organizations like GFI and ALDF, plant-based companies are challenging unnecessary and unconstitutional label censorship laws and transforming the policy landscape.
Cultivated meat could transform our food system. Let’s use images that do it justice
Cultivated meat needs fewer bad stock photos and more images of real, delicious products. We put together a guide for journalists and cultivated meat startups who would like to help…
Stanford Medicine study shows nutrition benefits of plant-based meat
A new Stanford School of Medicine study on the effects of plant-based meat compared to animal-based meat shows nutrition benefits for plant-based meat.
GFI’s top 20 moments for alternative proteins in 2020
All around the world, 2020 was a remarkable year for alternative proteins.
How plant-based meat can help heal our soil while feeding more people than ever
There is no such thing as a sustainable food system without healthy soil. The alternative protein economy can help us get there.
GFI activities
Why we’re funding the next crop of alt protein research
If plant-based and cultivated meat are to supply the global demand for meat, we must fill white spaces in research. Check out four innovations our 2020 Competitive Research Grant recipients…
Students will lead the alternative protein revolution. GFI’s Alt Protein Project is here to help.
As the leaders of tomorrow, students are uniquely positioned to help build a better food system. That’s why GFI launched the Alt Protein Project.
GFI’s symposium highlights fermentation’s critical role in the alternative protein industry
How do we feed 10 billion people by 2050? Fermentation provides a promising solution. That’s why GFI held the first virtual Symposium on Fermentation, connecting experts and industry players to…
WSO’s Friend of the Sea certification matters for the plant-based seafood industry. Here’s why
The World Sustainability Organization, in partnership with GFI’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative, announced it will begin certifying plant-based seafood products under their Friend of the Sea certification program.
Help power a good food future
All of the above – and much more! – has been accomplished only because of the generous support of donors like you.
To USDA re solicitation of input on agricultural innovations
GFI urges former Deputy Secretary Censky to prioritize open-access research for alternative proteins. Learn more about the benefits of doing so.