a lot can happen. And it did! Between political conflicts, territorial disputes, exchanges of governments, energy issues, expansion of artificial intelligence, global inflation, and the intensification of the climate crisis, we have reached the mark of 8 billion people on Earth. We are getting closer and closer to the 10 billion the planet must house in 2050, meaning less time and more urgency to achieve climate goals that, although ambitious, are possible.
The scenario may seem discouraging, but it should not paralyze us. On the contrary, it must catalyze in each of us the desire to live in a world with a better quality of life for all. This necessarily involves resignifying the way we have fed ourselves in recent centuries. Our current food system will not be able to supply the entire population if we continue to consume animal protein as we do today.
Plant-based beef steak – Incrível
change to be possible, provided there are alternatives that do not force people to abandon their food preferences, cultural habits, and traditions. Along with other more sustainable practices of producing food, The Good Food Institute understands that alternative proteins must be part of the solutions that will bring to reality the utopia of a just, safe, and sustainable world.
To this end, we have dedicated our work to investing more and more resources in research, training professionals, engaging companies and helping them create products and market strategies, influencing and subsidizing information for governments, guiding the press and social media, sensitizing investors and donors, and achieving organizational sustainability. We invite you to know a little of what we accomplished in 2022, believing that in 2023 we will do much more. Good reading!
If in 2019, when the first plant-based burger was launched in Brazil, the alternative protein market still seemed not widespread and very focused on a narrow audience, in 2022 we saw the Brazilian protagonism establish itself globally. We already have more than 100 companies with highly competitive product portfolios compared to foreign brands, we export to more than 30 countries, and, even though we started long after international companies, we already have the first domestic prototypes of cultivated meat and we have attracted the interest of industry and academia, as well as a committed look from the government. Learn how GFI Brazil has contributed to these advances:
In 2021, JBS and BRF announced investments in cultivated meat, and, in the following year, we have already seen the emergence of two national startups: Sustineri Piscis, focused on fish, and Cellva, dedicated to developing cultivated pork fat. Also in 2022, Cellva created the first hamburger prototypes from cultivated meat and cultivated pork fat.
In the global context, the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has deemed cultivated chicken meat produced by startup UPSIDE Foods safe for human consumption. More testing is still needed before commercial production, but this was a big step for the global industry.
Cultivated chicken – UPSIDE Foods
The plant-based protein scenario, already more mature in Brazil, continues to grow. In the past year, more than 80 launches arrived on the market, a number that indicates that the years of development of the sector translate into the improvement of plant-based products available to the Brazilian consumer. The current level of quality would not be possible without the joint and continuous work of universities and research centers, as well as government incentives and favorable regulatory issues.
Plant-based shreded ribbs – Verdali
Supporting the development of the alternative protein market
Accelerating the Regulatory Framework for alternative proteins
We released the largest website on alternative proteins in Brazil
We produced the 1st free online course about alternative protein in Brazil
Investing in research is key to finding sustainable solutions that enable the development of new foods and that meet consumer demand. It is true that deforestation advances rapidly, destroying our biodiversity to further expand the area of monoculture and pasture. But at the same time, we have numerous opportunities today to generate value for various species native to our biomes, developing ingredients for the alternative protein sector from them.
The Biomes Program was born to finance research with native species of the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, with the aim of serving as inputs for the alternative protein sector. By understanding the potential uses of the native species of these biomes in the sector, we will increase the opportunities for generating incremental income for local producing communities. In addition, the industry will be supplied with national inputs and these species will have more value standing than deforested.
The food production system is a complex and transversal issue for all of us. For this reason, this issue must be addressed in a plural and global way. Production challenges specific to one region have an impact on the rest of the world. Similarly, opportunities explored in one country can mean advances in several others. That is why we prioritized high-impact global actions in 2022.
The inclusion of the topic of alternative proteins in the global regulatory debate has greatly increased since the Codex Alimentarius included, in its discussion agenda of 2021, a reflection on how it should act in the face of innovations in the food sector, including the alternative protein industry.
In 2022, GFI Brasil demonstrated, once again, excellence in its internal processes through several positive results. Among them: zero turn over, selective processes completed with efficiency, and result of 97% in our engagement survey, indicating overall satisfaction.
Eight new members were hired for our team by a virtual and optimized selection process, which made recruitment more agile and effective. Our team currently has 24 members and we are proud to say that we had zero turnover in 2022. We credit this to our differentiated human resources model, which generates a diverse, humane, and equitable work environment that results in a high rate of talent retention and development. Our culture is based on mutual respect, caring for emotional health, and on creating processes that collaborate for the well-being and professional growth of all.
Every year, GFI Brasil plans two moments of meetings for the whole team: a virtual retreat and another in person. After 2 years of pandemic, we had our first face-to-face contact with the team in 2022, at a meeting planned by our Operations team. In addition to bringing the team closer as a whole, the retreat served to integrate the areas, engagement activities, planning and presentation of strategies, objectives, and main achievements of each of the areas.
All the work developed by GFI is offered free of charge to society and we can only do it because we have the support of our family of donors. We maximize the donations we receive by seeking greater efficiency in the use of resources.
Such recognitions reflect our efforts to ensure that our work is done in a strategic, efficient and transparent manner. Annually, GFI Brasil undergoes an audit process, where all our expenses are analyzed by an external consultancy.
Currently, a large part of our resources come from international donors, mostly from the United States. However, we seek to build our network of Brazilian supporters to ensure our financial independence.
Find out how you can be part of this transformative work, click the button below and consider making a donation to GFI Brasil.