Protein diversification is becoming a core strategy for major food producers to manage risk, meet demand, and unlock new value. Our new piece looks at what a four recent investments signal about where protein is headed next: https://bit.ly/4mHC9Em

"This is an industry that is Washington’s to lose." A new @foreignpolicy.com piece by GFI's @brucefriedrich.bsky.social argues the nations that lead in making meat with far fewer resources will help shape the supply chains & strategic industries of the 21st-century food system.

Real-world production data from Czech startup Bene Meat's small-scale production facility shows cultivated meat's environmental impacts Cultivated meat had a lower land use than conventional production & a competitive carbon footprint with chicken and pork:

✅ Paris-based startup PARIMA (creators of Gourmey) has received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) for their cultivated duck product. It follows the regulatory green light that the company earned for their cultivated chicken just six months ago. A few things that stand out 🧵

Heading to Chicago tomorrow for #SEJ2026 w/ @sejorg.bsky.social ! @gfi.org is co-hosting a tour with @sentientmedia.org, showcasing how Illinois is leading the way in alt protein innovation and sustainability 🌱🌽 . We still have a few open spots if you'd like to join us: tinyurl.com/ycxtp6mb

🍄 Fungi. 🔬Fermentation. 🛠️ Biomanufacturing. If you’re working anywhere along this pipeline, join us on May 1 for a deep dive into the future of fungal biomanufacturing with Dr. Ke Wang of @cornelluniversity.bsky.social Register → bit.ly/4mOkgE1

Researchers in the Netherlands have secured €1.3MM in public funding to explore how to produce casein—a protein that gives cheese its distinct texture and meltability—using precision fermentation. The project could expand scalable pathways for producing dairy proteins with fewer resources.

Many people say they prioritize health when choosing what to eat, but health goes beyond the nutrients on our plates. If a food is made in ways that contribute to the spread of zoonotic disease and accelerate antibiotic resistance, pollutes our waterways and exacerbates hunger—is it still healthy?

📣 Alt protein researchers and industry leaders: we need your input! 🔬 GFI’s scientific and technical resources support work from early-stage research to commercialization—and your input will shape what we build next. 📝 Take the short, anonymous survey → https://bit.ly/47ayUP3

📣 Calling all aspiring student researchers! GFI’s Alt Protein Project is launching its first Academic Research Challenge (ARC) for students who want hands-on experience developing innovative solutions to some of the highest-impact research topics across the alt protein value chain. Check it out👇

Why don’t more consumers choose plant-based meat? For many, they're unfamiliar with the products & don’t have a strong reason to buy them, making messaging a critical tool to increase adoption. Join us April 9 to unpack new research on which messages drive consumer interest → https://bit.ly/416mvsd

One of cultivated meat’s biggest bottlenecks is how much science remains within company silos. Drawing on lessons from biotech and AI, this new commentary co-authored by GFI APAC makes the case that sharing breakthroughs—and even failures—could help accelerate the industry’s path to scale 👇

⌛ Ten years ago, GFI started with a simple question: What if we could give people the meat they crave, but produced in ways that are better for people, the planet, and animals? A decade later, answering that question has become a global effort.

From fine-dining innovation to flavor fermentation, Dr. Nabila Rodríguez Valerón has taken a fascinating career path. Join us to hear about her journey and her advice for those entering the alt protein field. Register: zoom.us/webinar/regi...

A new Trends in Biotechnology commentary highlights a persistent bottleneck within the cultivated meat industry: too much technical knowledge remains locked inside individual companies, limiting how quickly the field can solve shared challenges.

🚨 Alt protein researchers & industry leaders. We need 5 minutes of your time! 🚨 Your input will help shape @gfi.org's technical resources used across the alt protein field. Please complete our anonymous survey to help us improve the accessibility & impact of our work. forms.gle/mFZnhzhJjLmK...

In blind taste tests, AlephFarms' cultivated beef was indistinguishable from conventional beef on taste/texture www.greenqueen.com.hk/aleph-farms-...

Policymakers don't always consider the strong connection between food security and national security, but they should. As GFI APAC's Ryan Huling details in his new LA Times op-ed, that shift is well underway in China—and the implications extend well beyond its borders. Read more 👉 lat.ms/487RV58

Yesterday was #WorldWaterDay — a reminder that water sits at the center of nearly every global challenge we face. As water constraints tighten, how we produce protein becomes a central question for long-term resilience.

⏰ Deadline: March 25 💸 Researchers working on plant-based + fermentation-enabled proteins still have time to apply for a grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in partnership w/ GFI, awarding $400K–$500K per project. ✍️ Learn more + apply → https://bit.ly/40doKcu

Protein. Fiber. Ultra-processed foods. Three nutrition conversations shaping how consumers evaluate plant-based meat—and where the data is more nuanced than the headlines suggest. In our Substack series, GFI’s Jody Kirchner unpacks how health perceptions actually influence purchasing behavior 🧵

Careers! Discover how #alternativeproteins can reduce food shortage and improve public health. Our past webinar with @gfi.org explored cutting-edge career and research opportunities for biochemists in this emerging field 🧪. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSyf...

🥛 Why is plant-based milk’s popularity outpacing that of other plant-based dairy products? 👅 One key reason: Taste. New analysis from GFI + NECTAR shows products that better match conventional dairy on taste, texture, and functionality do better in the market. More on Substack: bit.ly/4lC5akg

"Ultimately, I believe precision fermentation will allow us to create a new generation of food products that are healthier, more sustainable and can be tailored to individual dietary needs and preferences." Well said, Professor Cerrone 👏

⏰ Deadline: March 25 💸 Researchers working on plant-based + fermentation-enabled proteins still have time to apply for a grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in partnership w/ GFI, awarding $400K–$500K per project. ✍️ Learn more + apply → https://bit.ly/40doKcu

🔗 Food production and biodiversity are closely linked. 📗 We’re grateful to @givinggreen.earth for recognizing that crucial connection in their new report on high-impact strategies to reduce biodiversity loss (which names GFI as a Top Biodiversity Nonprofit!)

🍋Did you know your fridge probably already contains foods made using precision fermentation? Although its use to develop alternative proteins is relatively new, precision fermentation has been used for decades to make food tastier, more nutritious, more functional and longer-lasting.

Plant-based cheese often struggles to replicate the melt, stretch, and creaminess people expect from dairy, posing a big barrier to wider consumer adoption. Researchers are exploring rice proteins as a way to improve those essential functional properties.

Candy. Soda. Chips. Plant-based meat? One of these things is not like the other—and our data shows that many consumers understand the difference. Our latest Substack unpacks key insights from recent resources on consumers' plant-based meat health perceptions + purchasing behaviors: bit.ly/4bn3zKy

China continues to heavily invest in alternative proteins. Would not be surprising if they replicate their control of supply chains like batteries and solar, but for future protein production www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sc...

📣Alt protein researchers + industry leaders: we need your insight! 📊If you use GFI’s technical analyses, reports, or research roadmaps, your input will help ensure our resources remain practical + relevant across the alt protein ecosystem. 📝Take our short, anonymous survey➝ https://bit.ly/47ayUP3

🚨 Breaking: EU agrees to ban 31 everyday terms for plant-based alternatives – ignoring consumers and threatening Europe’s economic competitiveness. Read our take below 👇 and learn more here: gfieurope.org/blog/burger-...

A new large-scale analysis published in @natfood.nature.com reinforces that of all the foods we produce on the planet, beef is by far the biggest driver of deforestation. Soybeans are the 3rd biggest contributor—with much of those crops going to feed chickens + pigs rather than humans 🧵

🎥 Want a deeper look at the economics of cultivated meat? ▶️ Watch the recording of our webinar with @elliotswartz.bsky.social and Marie Gibbons, who unpack GFI’s analysis on amino acid costs and what it reveals about the path to affordable cultivated meat 👇

Protein diversification is increasingly being treated as a structural component of the bioeconomy, not an afterthought. Check out the latest developments that signal how food, fermentation, and biotechnology are being embedded in real policy and economic landscapes 👉 https://bit.ly/4rEbtpr

Q: American plant-based sales may be stalled, but in parts of Europe, they're on the rise. What's the difference? A: An active effort from grocery stores to steer customers toward more climate-friendly options.

On the season finale of GFI India's Smart Protein Pod, Sonalie Figueiras, founder of Green Queen, unpacks how media coverage of sustainable proteins has evolved over the past decade, the importance of evidence-backed narratives, and her perspective on what comes next. Listen 👉 https://bit.ly/4aXMNRP

🍄‍🟫🏅Mycelium is stepping up as a serious contender in the future of protein. A study supported by GFI’s Alternative Protein Research Grant Program compared mushroom species for biomass fermentation—evaluating protein quality, yield, growth rate & taste. The findings? Each fungi has unique advantages 🧵

Scientists in China publish one of the first studies using spent cell culture media as a fertilizer. Another potential way to valorize waste and increase circularity in the cellular agriculture ➡️ conventional agriculture industries. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🗺️ Curious where alternative protein innovation is taking shape? GFI’s Alternative Protein Ecosystem Map brings the global community into view. 🔎 Explore the map → ecosystem.gfi.org 📍 If you know a company or researcher working in alternative proteins*, submit them using the “Add a Pin” button.

Today on Volts: meat! Bruce Friedrich argues that a) the dire environmental & social impacts of meat cultivation are rising, but b) so is meat consumption, so the only solution is c) plant-based or cultivated meat. We talk about the state of the market, the tech, & the future possibilities.

As pressure mounts on global seafood systems, innovation is accelerating to help meet growing demand in more sustainable ways. In that spirit, Atlantic Fish Co. + Revo Foods have teamed up to create whole-cut fish fillets that combine mycoprotein scaffolding with cell-cultured proteins.

💸 Looking for funding to advance plant-based or fermentation-enabled protein research? We hosted a webinar w/ the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) on a new open global grant opportunity—Protein Innovation Program—for researchers working to diversify protein production. Details ⤵

A new study published in @pnas.org underscores why protein diversification is 🔑 to a secure and sustainable food future: Grassland-based grazing systems will “witness a severe contraction” due to climate change, threatening food security—especially in regions already facing hunger and instability.

“Produced at scale, plant-based proteins and cultivated meats would help mitigate the plethora of national security threats related to animal-protein production,” argues Director Caitlin Welsh in the foreword for @brucefriedrich.bsky.social's new book, "Meat." More in the thread below ⤵️

Cultivated meat companies raised ~$38M in Q4 2025, bringing the lifetime total for the industry to ~$3.4B Funding remains down, but slightly up from early 2025 Get quarterly updates to your inbox: gfi.org/newsletters/

🎓 The future of alternative proteins is being built on campus. We’re excited to announce that the Alt Protein Project—our global network of student leaders driving alternative protein innovation—is now open for applications for its 2026 cohort! Learn more and apply 👇

Speaking of pulses...

🫘 It's #WorldPulsesDay! More than just a side dish, pulses are foundational infrastructure for a resilient food system. In an era defined by supply chain shocks, climate extremes, & economic uncertainty, the benefits of these crops are even more apparent. Read our full ode to pulses: bit.ly/4tnx9HL

Founder of Good Food Institute and global food advocate Bruce Friedrich, talks to Futue of Foods Interviews about his work, his influences, and his new book #MEAT futureoffoodsinterviews.substack.com/p/in-convers... @brucefriedrich.bsky.social @gfi.org @gfieurope.org #cultivatedmeat #altproteins