The Giving What We Can Podcast

#7 - Bruce Friedrich: Why plant based meat is a scalable solution to feed the world

We were lucky enough to sit down with Bruce Friedrich, the founder and CEO of the Good Food Institute (GFI) which is pioneering open access science, policy and corporate engagement to make plant based meat taste as good and cost less than it's traditional counterparts as part of a solution to feed future populations and reduce the impacts on climate, health and poverty.
This was an inspiring interview and we are really grateful for Bruce sharing his time with us, and for the work that he has spearheaded at GFI.You can donate to GFI and support all their excellent work via Giving What We Can: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/charities/good-food-institute
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GFI?
👉 You can find out about GFI and keep up with Alt Proteins at gfi.org/newsletters (includes our monthly highlights).
👉 GFI has jobs open in the U.S., Europe, APAC, India, Israel, and Brazil - you can check out gfi.org/careers to see what’s available.
CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to Bruce and GFI
02:40 - The scale of impact of animal agriculture
07:05 - How did Bruce get to where he is now?
11:55 - How did Bruce decide to transition into the alt protein space and how has the industry developed in last last decade?
16:44 - The core pillars of GFI and what they do (science, policy, corporate engagement)
21:45 - How are the major meat companies dealing with the transition to alt protein?
23:34 - GFI's consumer research, and some insights from research
29:58 - Bruce's estimate on when cultivated meat will be available in grocery stores
31:05 - The potential role of China and economic benefits to subsidising technology
34:21 - Is there anything Bruce is concerned that could stop the growth of alt proteins?
36:29 - The problems with regenerative agriculture
39:37 - What's the path for good plant based cheese options?
44:40 - What can people watching this do?
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-char...
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
 
BE OUR FRIEND:
💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsl...
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Member Story: John Yan

John Yan, who lives in NYC was kind enough to let us interview him about his experiences with Giving What We Can and taking a public giving pledge.
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - How did you first learn about GWWC?
00:40 - What motivated you to take the GWWC pledge?
01:06 - What has giving effectively brought to your life?
01:34 - Do you have any advice for someone considering taking the pledge?
02:01 - The GWWC community
02:29 - Making it more normal to give!
 
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
 
BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan
🤳 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@givingwhatwecan

Member Story: Catherine Low

We really enjoyed chatting to Catherine about her experiences with effective giving and Giving What We Can.
Thank you Catherine for giving up your time to speak to us!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - How did you discover GWWC?
00:51 - What motivated you to take the GWWC pledge?
03:11 - What does giving effectively bring to your life?
04:23 - Do you have any advice for someone considering taking the pledge?
05:44 - Being a part of a community
 
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
 
BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan
🤳 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@givingwhatwecan

Newsletter Summary: June 2022

🌏 Check out the rest of this month's newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/blog/june-newsletter-2022
💌 Sign up for our newsletter here: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter/
 
👇 Links for items mentioned in the podcast:
🔸 Giving What We Can's NEW website: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
🔸 Our meet ups: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/events/
🔸 High Impact Professionals workplace and professional directory https://www.highimpactprofessionals.org/groups
🔸 Happier Lives Institute and StrongMinds, webinar Disrupting Charitable Giving, on the value of investing in mental health https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gugzjz0E2UA
🔸 Lead Exposure Elimination Project is hiring for a few different roles http://leadelimination.org/jobs/
🔸 Good Food Institute Europe recently addressed UK parliamentarians https://gfieurope.org/blog/gfi-calls-for-uk-to-become-world-leader-in-cultivated-meat-at-parliamentary-event/
🔸 Do we need a better understanding of 'progress'?https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220615-do-we-need-a-better-understanding-of-progress
Script & Production: Grace Adams
Video Editor: Marco Shimabukuro
Host: Luke Freeman
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-char...
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
BE OUR FRIEND:
💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsl...
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Member Story: Akhil Bansal

We're reviving our series of member stories!
Hear from Dr. Akhil Bansal about why he joined us, what motivates him to give and an interesting way he shares giving with his friends!
We are so pleased that we've been able to interview some of our members about their experiences with effective giving. Big thank you to Akhil and our other community members.
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - How did you first learn about GWWC?
01:04 - What motivated you to take the GWWC pledge?
02:00 - How are you giving now?
02:27 - Do you have any advice about pledging or effective giving?
03:07 - Giving weekend!
 
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
 
BE OUR FRIEND:
💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan
🤳 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@givingwhatwecan

Lesson: You can save someone’s life. Here’s how.

Imagine what it would feel like to save someone's life. By donating to highly effective charities working on global health & development, you don't have to just imagine — you can actually go save someone's life.
In fact, you can save many lives.
In this short lesson we cover the following ideas:  Global health & development is neglected, We can make progress on global health & development efforts, How you can improve global health & development, Why bother donating if the problem is so big?
 
Script & Production: Julian Hazell
Editor: Marco Shimabukuro
Host: Luke Freeman

Lesson: How you can help protect the future of humanity

Safeguarding the future of humanity from existential risks is one of the most important challenges we currently face. In this episode, we talk about what some key existential risks are, why preventing these risks is so important, and what you can do to help.
 
Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPNsFvU4RZU

Lesson: How does change happen? The power of social proof in behaviour change & successful movement growth

Want to change the world? It starts with each of us leading by example. In this episode, we look at the role of social proof & norms in building a better world.
Full article & references:
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2020/12/social-change-happens-one-person-at-a-time-so-start-multiplying-your-impact/

Member Story: Rickey Fukazawa

Rickey shares why she took The Giving What We Can Pledge in 2019, what she'd say to people on the fence, and why she gives now instead of later. Read her story: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2021/07/member-profile-rickey-fukazawa/

Effective Giving Day 2021: Q&A Europe / UK

For our Effective Giving Day 2021 Europe / UK event, we hosted a Q&A covering questions such as:
- Why has GiveWell chosen to prioritise cash transfers over the graduation approach?- With an increase in high net worth donors interested in effective giving, what is the role of smaller donors?- How do you (Charity Entrepreneurship) attract more talents and entrepreneurship into the charity sector?Why is political lobby not discussed as an effective use of time and resources?
You will have the opportunity to ask questions in a Q&A with a panel of experts in the field of effective giving, including:
- Johannes Ackva (Researcher, Founders Pledge)- Karolina Sarek (Director of Programs, Charity Entrepreneurship)- Michael Plant (Founder, Happier Lives Institute)- Taylor Smith (Philanthropy Advisor, GiveWell)- Luke Freeman (Executive Director, Giving What We Can)
To watch the main Effective Giving Day presentation visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR7bnod7ADA 
To get the links to everything we mentioned go to: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2021/11/effective-giving-day-2021/