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The Good Food Institute Europe (Belgium)

GFI-E

The Good Food Institute Europe is a nonprofit think tank promoting plant-based and cultivated meat.

Lobbying Activity

GFI Europe urges faster EU approvals for fermentation proteins

30 Sept 2025
Topic — A proposal to simplify EU food safety rules and boost agricultural competitiveness.
Message — GFI Europe requests clear regulatory status for fermentation products and harmonized DNA limits. They also propose regulatory sandboxes to accelerate market access for biotech startups.1
Why — Streamlining these rules would prevent innovative food biotechnology companies from relocating outside Europe.23
Impact — Traditional meat producers face competition from alternative proteins that are significantly more efficient.4
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Response to European Innovation Act

30 Sept 2025

The Good Food Institute Europe welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions call for evidence on the European Innovation Act. Please find our detailed feedback in the attached document.
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GFI Europe urges EU to boost food biotechnology funding

23 Jun 2025
Topic — Revision of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy to promote a circular and competitive economy.
Message — The EU should increase public research funding and establish efficient regulatory pathways for innovation. They advocate for integrating food biotechnology into the next research framework to support proteins.12
Why — This would lower development costs for startups and maintain the EU's global competitiveness.34
Impact — Conventional livestock farmers lose market share as microbial proteins replace demand for traditional beef.5
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Meeting with João Cotrim De Figueiredo (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Jun 2025 · Food biotechnology

Meeting with Ann-Sofie Ronnlund (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

6 Jun 2025 · Life sciences

GFI Europe Urges EU to Prioritize Sustainable Food Biotechnology

5 Jun 2025
Topic — The EU Biotech Act aims to accelerate the transition of laboratory innovations into the marketplace.
Message — GFI Europe calls for food biotechnology to be treated as a strategic pillar. They demand an ambitious industrial strategy involving increased public funding and improved infrastructure.12
Why — This strategy would secure more funding and faster market access for protein companies.3
Impact — International competitors like the US and China may lose their advantage in attracting European biotech innovators.45
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Response to EU Life sciences strategy

4 Apr 2025

GFI Europe welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commission's call for evidence on the strategy for European life sciences. We acknowledge that a strong life sciences sector is essential for the EU to maintain its leadership in industrial biotechnology, particularly in the food sector. To unlock the full potential of this sector, the EU must increase public R&I and infrastructure funding while establishing an efficient regulatory pathway to accelerate the market entry and scaling of food innovations. This submission outlines key challenges and recommendations to advance alternative proteins, enhance industrial competitiveness, and strengthen Europes leadership in life sciences.
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Response to EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy

6 Mar 2025

GFI Europe welcomes the opportunity to submit a contribution to the call for evidence on the EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy. We support the conclusions of the reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi which emphasised the need for an integrated single market - free of restrictions and institutional barriers - to strengthen the EUs competitiveness. GFI Europe supports actions aimed at reducing regulatory and bureaucratic barriers which affect the access of startups and scaleups to the single market. The attached note summarises our position in further detail.
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Meeting with Morten Løkkegaard (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

6 Mar 2025 · Biotech

GFI Europe urges EU to block national alternative protein bans

31 Jan 2025
Topic — The consultation seeks to remove regulatory barriers and promote cross-border services and goods.
Message — The group demands a stop to unilateral national bans on products awaiting EU-wide approval. They also seek harmonised labelling rules to prevent Member State discrepancies from hindering trade.123
Why — This would reduce compliance costs and market barriers for European alternative protein producers.4
Impact — Consumers lose out as national restrictions limit choice and undermine confidence in the single market.5
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Meeting with Tilly Metz (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Oct 2024 · Plant-based proteins

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Oct 2024 · Biotech Act and economic potential of cultivated meat

Meeting with Anna Strolenberg (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Oct 2024 · Protein diversification

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič)

25 Oct 2023 · Land use

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

29 Mar 2023 · Alternative proteins

Meeting with Tilly Metz (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

9 Mar 2023 · Protein Strategy INI

Meeting with Tom Vandenkendelaere (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

28 Feb 2023 · EU Protein Strategy, alternative proteins

Meeting with Karolina Herbout-Borczak (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

13 Sept 2022 · Meeting with The Good Food Institute Europe to discuss alternative protein.

Response to Sustainable food system – setting up an EU framework

26 Oct 2021

The Good Food Institute Europe welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the roadmap of the European Commission’s new initiative for Sustainable EU Food Systems. We appreciate the Commission’s thoughtful approach of considering different policy options outlined in the roadmap. Making the food we eat more sustainable is at the heart of the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy which explicitly recognises the transformative potential of alternative proteins — including plant-based, microbial, algae and other meat substitutes — to make our food system more sustainable, healthy, and secure. Recognising the enormous challenge to transform the European food system and bring it in line with the European Green Deal, we support policy option 4 outlined in the roadmap — a new comprehensive framework legislation on the sustainability of the Union food system — as the potentially most transformative approach. Regardless of which of the policy options the Commission will pursue, with regard to the different indicative elements outlined in the roadmap the Commission ought to take the following principles into account that are further explained in the attached document: 1) Taking a holistic view of environmental sustainability, and 2) Creating a truly level playing field for all food categories without exemptions. We are happy to provide more detailed recommendations in the attached document.
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Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

4 Oct 2021 · Sustainable food systems

Meeting with Annukka Ojala (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Karolina Herbout-Borczak (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

28 Sept 2021 · VTC Meeting - Exchange of views on how to make our food system more sustainable in line with the Farm to Fork ambition

Meeting with Annukka Ojala (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

21 Apr 2021 · VC meeting - Alternative Proteins in F2F

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

21 Apr 2021 · Discussion on cultivated meat

Response to Revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products

16 Feb 2021

The Good Food Institute Europe welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products. We particularly appreciate the Commission’s recognition that EU marketing standards should remain coherent with changing consumer needs and preferences as food production methods evolve over time. We also applaud the Commission for identifying that standards need to complement the Farm to Fork’s ambition to make European food “the global standard for sustainability”. As the Commission has acknowledged, a societal shift towards a more plant-based diet is key to reducing the environmental impact of our food system. It is positive to see that consumers are leading the way in this shift. Demand for plant-based food has soared over the last decade in Europe. The European plant-based meat and dairy sectors have experienced double digit growth year on year, and growth is expected to nearly double again over the next five years. This shift has in large part been driven by consumers becoming increasingly conscious of the impact of their diets, with growing numbers actively seeking to reduce their consumption of animal products. This shift has also been driven by advancements which have greatly improved the plant-based offerings available to consumers. Until recently, plant-based meat and dairy had often been simplistic offerings such as tofu and black bean burgers that don’t replicate the flavour, texture and overall experience of eating animal-based products. Technological progress has resulted in a new capability to break down meat into its component parts – proteins, fats, minerals – and replicate those qualities using plant-based ingredients. This approach has demonstrated it can satisfy consumer demand for animal protein, without the huge external costs associated with conventional animal agriculture. This next generation of plant-based meat is reaching new people. Research shows that, globally, 90% of plant-based meat consumers are not vegetarian or vegan. According to European market research, 83% of self-proclaimed ‘meat reducers’ consume plant-based meat. The marketing of plant-based products is an important factor in facilitating this shift. Everyday names like "burger", "sausage" and “yoghurt” help people to know what to expect in terms of the taste, texture, preparation and appearance of plant-based food, thereby allowing appeal to the widest possible segment of consumer groups. Whatsmore, surveys show that such labelling practices are supported by the majority of European consumers. In order to reflect evolving consumer patterns and expectations, and prevent the fragmentation of the internal market for plant-based food, the EU should modernise, clarify and simplify its marketing standards (Policy Option 3). In so doing, the EU should: ● Ensure its standards do not discriminate against plant-based foods in ways that undermine consumer information and choice. ● Specifically authorise marketing practices – including the use of familiar denominations – for plant-based food that seek to, or would have the effect of, better informing the consumer of the nature and use of the product. ● Ensure plant-based products are not disproportionately prohibited from evoking concepts associated with conventional meat or dairy categories – while ensuring full transparency to consumers about the compositional nature of their food. For further information or a detailed discussion of the points raised, please do not hesitate to reach out to Elena Walden, Policy Manager at the Good Food Institute Europe, at elenaw@gfi.org. The Good Food Institute Europe is an international NGO helping to build a more sustainable, healthy and just food system by transforming meat production. We believe that making meat from plants and cultivating it from animal cells is fundamental to addressing climate change, improving public health and reducing animal suffering. GFI is powered by philanthropy.
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Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

27 Jan 2021 · Discussion on plant based diets

Response to Farm to Fork Strategy

15 Mar 2020

We welcome the roadmap for the Farm-to-Fork (F2F) Strategy for Sustainable Food and applaud the European Commission’s efforts to create a more healthy and sustainable food system. As the Commission has acknowledged, Europe needs a dietary shift away from conventional meat produced through industrial animal agriculture. For that shift to succeed at the scale we need and with the urgency we face, Europe should make the development of plant-based and cultivated (cell-cultured) meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood a priority. These products are better for the environment, public health, and animal welfare than their animal-based counterparts. The EU should heavily invest in research and innovation to make them equally delicious, price-competitive, and convenient for consumers. Plant-based and cultivated meat are crucial components to create a healthy and sustainable food system and deliver on the objectives of the F2F strategy by: - Mitigating climate change: Plant-based meat products create 30-90% less greenhouse gas emissions than their conventional meat counterparts. Shifting to more plant-based meat would thus help Europe to fulfil its obligations under the Paris Agreement. -Fighting Biodiversity loss: Plant-based and cultivated meat products require just a fraction of the crops that are needed for conventional meat production. Relieving pressure on forests and other habitats that are under threat of destruction for growing animal feed crops would preserve or even increase biodiversity. - Limiting antimicrobial resistance: Plant-based meat requires no antibiotics and therefore does not drive the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In these weeks in March 2020, Europe and the world are gripped by the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that is threatening public health and disrupting the everyday lives of hundreds of millions of citizens. Experts believe that this Coronavirus likely originated in animal markets in China. In the past, farm animal diseases, such as avian influenza, have repeatedly threatened the food supply. And food safety scandals, such as the Fipronil incident in 2017, have undermined the public trust in the safety of animal products and the institutions tasked to protect the public. It is thus crucial for Europe to become a leader in developing the next generation of safe and sustainable food technology that will allow us to move away from animal-based food. This is why in August 2019, we sent a letter to then-President Juncker – signed by more than 20 organisations from civil society, academia, and industry – urging the Commission to make alternative proteins a cornerstone of Horizon Europe, the EU’s next multi-annual research funding framework. We are pleased by the Commission’s response, acknowledging the unsustainability of animal-based diets in the context of a growing world population and the important role research and innovation can play in developing plant-based and cultivated food products as alternatives to animal-based food. Now is the time to go further. Until recently, meat replacements have been often been simplistic offerings such as tofu and black bean burgers that don’t satisfactorily replicate the organoleptic experience of animal-based products. Recent technological advancements and a greater understanding of the biological components of food have resulted in a new capability to biomimic simple animal-based products. This is a step-change and opens up a range of new possibilities. We thus urge the Commission to include strong provisions in the Farm-to-Fork Strategy that spell out the need for innovation and the development of plant-based and cultivated (cell-cultured) meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood. Progress in the development of these products is necessary to deliver nutritious, safe, and affordable alternatives to conventionally produced animal-based food.
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