Good Food Institute: Top Climate Nonprofit Spotlight

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Giving Green classifies the Good Food Institute (GFI) as one of our top nonprofits for addressing climate change. We have recommended GFI since 2022. 

Livestock farming is the largest source of emissions in the food system and is expected to continue growing in the coming decades. We think shifting demand from conventional, emissions-intensive livestock products to alternative proteins, such as plant-based, fermented, and cultivated meat, is one of the most promising pathways to reduce emissions from agriculture and land use. GFI promotes alternatives to conventional livestock products worldwide through research, policy advocacy, and corporate engagement. We think GFI's efforts to improve the taste and price of alternative proteins could accelerate the protein transition.

We recommend GFI because of its successful track record, breadth of expertise, and strategic approach. We think GFI plays a unique and important role in promoting alternative proteins and that its work could reduce demand for conventional meat. We also believe GFI has substantial room to grow in its three programmatic areas and across its worldwide regional affiliate offices. Since alternative protein production is still in its early stages, we plan to continue to monitor alternative protein development and look forward to following GFI’s efforts in this space.

For more information, see our Nonprofit Evaluation report, a summary below, and our broader strategy report on reducing food system emissions.

Last updated in November 2025. GFI has 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities. As Giving Green is itself a charitable, tax-exempt organization, we are only offering an opinion on the charitable activities of GFI’s 501(c)(3) arm, and not on GFI’s 501(c)(4) entity. This is a non-partisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.