Who We Are
Mission & Impact
The Better Food Foundation’s mission is to create a world where plant-based food is the norm.
Our programs transform the institutional and cultural environments that both guide food choices and shape attitudes about food, leading to large scale and lasting improvements to our food system.
1,815,000
meals impacted/year
900
institutions using plant-based nudges
37%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 888,000 kg of carbon dioxide
34%
reduction in water footprint, or 21,000,000 gallons of water
DefaultVeg
In universities, hospitals, cafes, religious institutions, conferences and events, DefaultVeg has been more effective than any other popular intervention at reducing the amount of animal products served—in pilots and studies, this strategy consistently leads to more than 50 percent of diners choosing plant-based meals. Institutions that have pioneered this impactful strategy in their sectors include New York City Health + Hospitals, Harvard’s Office of Sustainability, Sodexo College Dining Services, and dozens of conferences, catered events, offices and businesses concerned about sustainability, health and inclusivity in their dining.
Organizational History & Impact
Milk-Free Mornings Breaks New Ground
Our first public campaign, Milk-Free Mornings, launched in 2017 and featured prominent “Mommy Bloggers” such as Heather Armstrong (The Dooce). The video and social media campaign promoted plant-based alternatives to dairy products for breakfast—the meal in which the most dairy products are consumed.
Link between Diet and Climate Change Covered in Media
Our campaigns to raise awareness about the links between diet and climate change have resulted in coverage in Bloomberg, The New Food Economy, San Diego Union Tribune, Sustainability X Magazine and Ms. Magazine.
Plant-Based Nudges go Mainstream
DefaultVeg’s work, including successful pilots of the strategy in universities, coffee shops, and NYC’s hospitals, has been covered in CounterCurrents, The Oregonian, the National Catholic Reporter, HEATED, The New York Times, and Foodservice Director.
Led Coalition for Truth in Food Labels
In 2020, BFF built a coalition of more than 50 public health, environmental protection, consumer protection and social justice organizations that signed on to a public letter criticizing One Health Certified, a corporate-funded certification scheme that misled consumers into paying premiums for supposedly higher welfare animal products, while it was actually little more than a marketing ploy for the nation’s largest chicken company, Mountaire Farms. The public letter was reported on by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. In 2021 the campaign achieved a major victory: persuading the supermarket chain Giant Eagle to drop the deceptive certification from its 450 supermarkets.
Funding the Movement for Plant-Based Diets
Since 2016, BFF has raised more than $2.5M for community-based organizations and leaders doing unique and impactful work to advance plant-based diets in their communities. These have included faith-based initiatives like the Jewish Initiative for Animals, Shamayim, CreatureKind, and Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministries.
FlipIt
Launched in 2023, FlipIt pioneers a novel approach to communicating about food. Utilizing dynamic social norms language, connecting diet shifts with community-led initiatives for health, food justice, and economic inclusion, and highlighting the links between diet and cultural identity, FlipIt garnered 4.5 million impressions online in its first year.
City Policy
BFF has supported coalitions for plant-centered food in more than a dozen cities, and helped pass and implement plant-forward food policies in San Diego, Denver, Edinburgh, and Washington D.C.