Institute for Future Food Systems

What Institute for Future Food Systems does

The Institute for Future Food Systems (IFFS) is a nonprofit research and knowledge mobilization organization that aggregates and presents peer-reviewed evidence on global food systems. The organization synthesizes scientific research across six interconnected topic areas: Health & Nutrition, Environment & Food Security, Economics, Policy, Pandemics, and Misinformation & Disinformation. IFFS serves policymakers, NGOs and institutions, researchers and academics, and the general public as a free public good, distributing all research through its website (iffs.earth) without paywalls or access fees.

IFFS's core outputs are "Top Facts" research reports covering Food & Economics, Food & Environment, Food & Health, and the Overall Food System, alongside longer-form living reports such as the Regenerative Ranching vs. Rewilding analysis, which draws on over 100 peer-reviewed studies. Distribution is multi-channel, leveraging the website library, an email newsletter, and social media platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Threads). The organization is led by Executive Director and co-founder Nital Jethalal — with prior experience at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Industry Canada — alongside Nicholas Carter (Environmental Scientist, formerly at Game Changers Institute and Project Drawdown) and Tushar Mehta (Health & Nutrition Science Team Lead, emergency physician), with the broader organization described as largely volunteer-driven.

IFFS operates as a donation-funded nonprofit. American contributions are processed through partner A Well-Fed World, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit, enabling tax-deductible giving in the United States, and the organization is in the process of securing Canadian charitable status to broaden its donor perimeter. Revenue figures are not disclosed; the organization does not charge for access to its research outputs. Its go-to-market motion is community-led: mobilizing evidence-based content through networks, institutions, and decision-makers rather than commercial sales, with public-policy advocacy, coalition building, and research dissemination as the primary use cases across its target segments.

Name

Institute for Future Food Systems

Legal name

Institute for Future Food Systems

Website

https://iffs.earth

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for Future Food Systems is a nonprofit research and knowledge mobilization organization that aggregates peer-reviewed evidence on food systems across six topics to inform policymakers, NGOs, researchers, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Systems Research & Advocacy

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food systems research
• Sustainability research
• Food policy advocacy
• Nutrition research
• Environmental research

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: IFFS is a largely volunteer-driven organization funded through donations. American contributions are processed securely through their partner A Well-Fed World, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, ensuring gifts are tax-deductible in the U.S. They are in the process of securing Canadian charitable status.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IFFS is a nonprofit research and knowledge-mobilization organization that aggregates peer-reviewed evidence on food systems and publishes it as free "Top Facts" reports and "Living Reports" across six topic areas (Health & Nutrition, Environment & Food Security, Economics, Policy, Pandemics, and Misinformation & Disinformation). It synthesizes scientific research, statistics, and evidence to inform policymakers, institutions, researchers, and the general public about food-system transformation.

Product overview

Institute for Future Food Systems (IFFS) is a research and knowledge mobilization organization that aggregates and presents peer-reviewed evidence on food systems. Rather than a traditional software product, IFFS offers a portfolio of curated 'Top Facts' research reports covering Food & Economics, Food & Environment, Food & Health, and Overall Food System topics, plus comprehensive living reports such as the Regenerative Ranching vs. Rewilding analysis. These resources synthesize statistics and scientific findings to inform policy, practice, and public understanding of food system transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Top Facts: Food & Economics

Quantifiable outcome

• The Food Systems Economic Commission estimates hidden costs of current food systems at $15 trillion annually (12% of global GDP in 2020)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Project Drawdown: Project Drawdown curates peer-reviewed climate solutions research and translates it for policymakers; IFFS's Environmental Scientist Nicholas Carter was previously a Research Fellow there, evidencing close organizational and methodological overlap in evidence-based climate advocacy.
• IPES-Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems): IPES-Food is an independent panel of experts producing integrated reports on sustainable food systems for policymakers — a near-perfect peer to IFFS in mission, methodology (peer-reviewed synthesis), and target audience.
• A Well-Fed World: A Well-Fed World is a 501(c)(3) that IFFS's Health & Nutrition lead is a board member of, and which serves as IFFS's fiscal sponsor for U.S. donations — both organizations share plant-forward food-systems advocacy and operate in overlapping networks.
• The Good Food Institute (GFI): GFI is a nonprofit focused on accelerating alternative-protein and plant-based food systems, producing research, policy briefs, and corporate engagement — a direct peer in evidence-based food-systems transformation advocacy.
• Food Tank: Food Tank is a nonprofit think tank focused on food systems reform that produces research, articles, and events to inform policymakers and the public — directly comparable to IFFS as a similarly sized advocacy and research mobilization organization in the food-systems space.

Broad incumbents

• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization): The UN's food and agriculture agency producing authoritative global statistics, policy frameworks, and research on food systems — the broadest incumbent whose evidence base IFFS draws on and competes with for policymaker attention.
• EAT: EAT is a science-based nonprofit that connects research to policy and business action on food-system transformation; comparable to IFFS but with significantly greater institutional backing and global convening power.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI produces large-scale, peer-reviewed research on climate, food, forests, water, and cities with global policy reach — a much larger incumbent that overlaps with IFFS's evidence-based food-and-environment agenda.
• Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU): FOLU is a global coalition of research, business, and civil society organizations working on food-system transformation; comparable in integrated framing but with substantially broader institutional backing than IFFS.

Emerging players

• Center for Biological Diversity: A nonprofit advocacy organization that uses science-based litigation and policy advocacy to protect biodiversity, including food-system-related issues like industrial agriculture and land use — comparable in evidence-to-advocacy model though focused on biodiversity litigation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iffs-earth
• Instagraminstagram.com/iffs.earth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for Future Food Systems