Plant Based Fund

INCREDIBLE: New editorial in the prestigious Nature Biotechnology: “In the best-case future, cultivated meat will contribute meaningfully to emissions reductions and food security, help end the cruelty of industrial meat farms, and free up land devoted to livestock for biodiversity restoration, carbon sequestration, small farmers and agroecological farming. Governments should use their powers to stimulate these changes.” #AltProteins

"When he first read the paper’s title, [Gunter Kuhnle, a nutritional epidemiologist] assumed it referred to plant-based meat alternatives, plant-based drinks or plant-based milks—in other words, only the replacements for animal-derived products. 'Reading the paper, it became pretty obvious that it was not that,' he says." Great piece in Scientific American unpacking the issues with a recent study on ultra-processed foods and misleading headlines that followed:

It was 8 years ago next week that The Good Food Institute went from 2 staff to 8, and I have to say: What a difference 8 years makes. Last week: TED Conferences' third annual climate conference (TED Countdown) focused on food, with a significant focus on alt proteins, including three TED talks and a breakout session, which I led (alongside Sanah Baig, USDA; Allyson Fish, ADM; and Oliver Zahn, Climax Foods). Two weeks ago: The Bezos Earth Fund (BEF) announced a $30 million center for alt proteins at North Carolina State University (GFI is working closely with BEF on this process). More: https://lnkd.in/egeQ2jVV Also two weeks ago: At the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s annual “Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution” conference (C4IR), we unveiled a report about the importance of alt proteins to the global economy - from WEF, C4IR-Israel, The Good Food Institute Israel, and the Israel Innovation Authority. Report: https://lnkd.in/ekqUgi5C Three weeks ago: 5-day strategy session focused on alternative proteins, organized by Climate Advisers, sponsored by GFI, the World Resources Institute, and the Bezos Earth Fund. Four weeks ago: The World Bank released a 250-page report analyzing all of the 26 most promising food and land interventions for climate change mitigation. Alternative proteins are the second most promising, with 9 times more potential than the second most promising livestock-based intervention. GFI 1-pager: https://lnkd.in/e_n_-meZ So if you're a GFI donor, thank you so much for helping us to move the ball forward for alt proteins, an absolutely critical tool in the world's global climate mitigation toolkit. ICYMI: Giving Green Charity Navigator recommend GFI as a top-6 and top-4 charity for climate mitigation, respectively: - GG: https://lnkd.in/eAbn2Eia - CN: https://lnkd.in/eUYU9tqB

Move to sustainable food systems could bring $10tn benefits a year, study finds. New report aims to be the food equivalent of the Stern Review on climate economics. It calculates huge hidden costs (health and environment) of current global system, and suggests changes that could make farms a carbon sink instead of a driver of destruction. Political challenges are immense. To prevent more farmer protests, report calls for extra support for small holders and other vulnerable groups. Story by me. https://lnkd.in/dS8cmVRD.

🔥🔥 72-page report from UN Environment Programme: Alt proteins for climate, land use, AMR & pandemic risk. Calls for “research funding, commercialization funding, appropriate regulatory frameworks” - plus: international research & regulatory cooperation. 1-pager: gfi.org/unep Full report ( press conference): https://lnkd.in/dUuSmk78 Authors:  Sir Robert Watson, IPCC chair from 1997 to 2002 Cleo Verkuijl, SEI — Stockholm Environment Institute Rajeswari Raina, Shiv Nadar University Ploy Achakulwisut, UNSG Climate Action Team ( SEI) Jonathan Green, SEI Ana Maria Loboguerrero, CGIAR Dolapo Enahoro, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Ndaindila Haindongo (MCIEH, UK), UN World Food Programme WFP Mario Herrero, Cornell University Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Cornell University Laura Scherer, Leiden University Oscar Rueda, EMBA, Leiden University Katie Noble, Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity Carsten Gerhardt, Kearney Tsakane Ngoepe, University of the District of Columbia Michael Carter, The Good Food Institute Shayna Fertig, GFI Varun Deshpande, The Good Food Institute India

It was great to see this support of #RegenerativeAgriculture in Forbes this week, calling out the negative impacts of society's current, most popular farming model, and promoting a healthier, greener alternative. Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, environmental justice, animal cruelty and food inequality are systemic problems that will require huge, systemic changes—and it all starts with what’s on our plate. Securing these changes will not only require us to end industrialized animal agriculture, but to replace it with a resilient, regenerative, more compassionate food and farming system. https://bit.ly/46RtyFF