Event description

Join Bruce Friedrich, founder and president of the Good Food Institute, at The Commonwealth Club of California for a conversation inspired by his new book, Meat.

Drawing on decades of work advancing science, policy, and industry collaboration, Bruce will explore how innovations in plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated meat are expanding the ways we can produce the foods people love while using fewer resources and building a more resilient food system.

Whether you’re curious, skeptical, or already following the field, this conversation offers an opportunity to dig into one of today’s most important food questions—and to ask your own during the audience Q&A.

Join us after the program for a book signing.

GFI community members may use code GFI for $7 off of a General Admission ticket.

Event location

110 The Embarcadaro
San Francisco, California 94105
+ Google Map

Meet the speaker

Bruce friedrich

Bruce Friedrich

PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, GFI

Bruce Friedrich serves as GFI’s chief thought leader and relationship-builder, working in close partnership with GFI’s global teams and food system stakeholders around the world.

Bruce has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Nature Food, Wired, and many other publications. He has represented GFI on the Ezra Klein Show, Making Sense (Sam Harris), TED Radio Hour, New Yorker Radio Hour, PBS News Hour, and a variety of other podcasts and TV programs. Bruce’s TED talk has been viewed almost 2.5 million times and translated into 30 languages.

Nature featured Bruce’s 2026 book Meat as one of its five “best science picks,” and Publishers Weekly selected Meat as one of the 10 best new releases in science, writing: “This packed account makes food science feel like an urgent and essential undertaking.”

The book has also received praise from Nobel Laureate in economics Michael Kremer, primatologist Jane Goodall, science fiction master Kim Stanley Robinson, and CSIS director of global food and water security Caitlin Welsh, who penned the foreword. Says Welsh: “This book explains the imperative to transform our food systems, and lays out a game plan to get us there…. Meat is as important as it is enjoyable.”

Find out more on the book’s website, MeatBook.org.

Bruce graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and also holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, the London School of Economics, and Grinnell College.

Upcoming events

View all events
Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2026/06/sci25049 cultivated seafood webinar graphics header featured
Virtual Event

Developing continuous cell lines for cultivated seafood

Dive into GFI’s new guide for practical solutions to overcoming shared challenges in fish and crustacean cell line development.

An illustration of the globe with two hands reaching towards one another.  third party event featured image.
McCormick Place West Building

Meet GFI at the 2026 NCSL Legislative Summit

GFI is collaborating with two leading organizations advancing food innovation: the Plant Based Foods Association and the Association for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation.

Woman speaking in front of crowd at an event
Virtual Event

Business of Alt Protein: The Science of Charisma for Founders, Leaders, and Professionals

Join charisma expert Olivia Fox Cabane, who will share research-backed techniques for building trust, communicating with confidence, and increasing your influence in high-stakes interactions.

Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2026/07/sci26027 webinar graphics soap aug header featured
Virtual Event

The Science of Alt Protein: Growth factors—Driving cultivated meat cost and scalability

Learn how researchers are developing innovative approaches to reduce growth factor costs and make cultivated meat production more affordable.

An illustration of the world with trees and windmills in the background
The Commonwealth of California

The Future of Meat: Technology, Sustainability, and the Meats of Tomorrow

Bruce Friedrich heads to The Commonwealth Club for a conversation about Meat—and why rethinking how we produce meat could shape the future of food.

An illustration of cultivatd fish fry with french fries for the fish and chips collaborative huddle
Virtual Event

Fish & CHIPS: Collaborative Huddle for Ideation & Problem Solving

Calling all cultivated seafood researchers and innovators! Join us for our next collaborative huddle on September 29th at 11:30 am ET.

An illustration of cultivatd fish fry with french fries for the fish and chips collaborative huddle
Virtual Event

Fish & CHIPS: Collaborative Huddle for Ideation & Problem Solving

Calling all cultivated seafood researchers and innovators! Join us for our next collaborative huddle on September 29th at 10:30 pm ET.