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A message from our Founder and CEO, Lorena Mucke
Dear Supporters,
The world is experiencing serious environmental and health problems, many of which are directly related to the current food system, while the Western Diet continues to expand worldwide. In addition, agricultural workers and
farmed animals are subjected to conditions that should have no room in a civilized society.
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Our organization is essential in educating and empowering current and future consumers to help transform our food system into a healthier, more sustainable, and more ...
lorena
Outreach
An independent researcher analyzed our 2022 Living Lab data and concluded that we achieved a nearly 50% efficacy rate, meaning that ~ 50% of our viewers make positive changes in their diet.
PEOPLE
27,924
College (Ages 18+)
4,846
Community (Ages 12+)
396,587
Secondary (Ages 12-18)
We reached 429,357 individuals around the world.
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Middle and high school students make up the vast majority of our audience, clearly demonstrating the need for food education in school settings.
COUNTRIES
Our curriculum was used in 15 countries across 5 continents, and we are just getting started.
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We offered our educational presentations globally in English, Spanish, and German.
Outreach
Education
We offered educational presentations that focus on our food system’s impact on human health, the environment, and society. Our curriculum is catered to age-specific groups, including middle school, high school, colleges, and community groups, and comes with supporting materials, including lesson plans, activities, discussion prompts, quizzes, and our Next-Steps Toolkit.
Our Curriculum Department updates our presentations regularly with the latest scientific information. They also develop new presentations based on the needs of our audiences and the lack of education in certain subject areas. Check our presentations page for a list of our current offerings.
In 2022, we saw the desire of faculty and community groups to empower their students and members to live healthier, more sustainable lives. More than half of our booking requests were for Healthful Eating and The Environment and Modern Agriculture.
Education
New Partnerships
2022 brought about wonderful opportunities to join forces with organizations around the world with like-minded missions. We have partnered with these and other influential organizations to ensure that our presentations have the most up-to-date information and can reach the most individuals for the greatest impact. Through collaboration, we are able to empower students and community members worldwide with the knowledge to enact real change.
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WhatIsCultivatedMeat.com
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Cultivated meat has been making the headlines lately, especially with the FDA's conclusion that Upside Foods' cultivated chicken is safe to eat.
We at the Educated Choices Program believe that consumers have the right to full transparency and accessible, up-to-date, unbiased information that follows the science so that they can make informed decisions. With this in mind, our organization had the vision to create WhatIsCultivatedMeat.com. This comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge base explores the science of cellular agriculture and cultivated meat anticipating the imminent entrance of this new food technology into the US consumer market and beyond.
This initiative has positioned our organization as the consummate education program in the plant-forward and cultivated meat arena. We have been invited to participate in summits and conferences worldwide, sharing the value of education and our high efficacy.
Media
Media and Speaking Engagements
As the alternative protein industry continues to grow, so does our role in it. We have a unique opportunity as an academic organization to not only educate students and community members by way of our food choice education presentations but also to share valuable insights with others in the plant-forward movement. We have seized this opportunity by forming strategic partnerships with shows and summits worldwide in the areas of plant-based foods and food technology.
In 2022, ECP served as a media sponsor for:
In addition to being seen as a source for food system education through our presentations and WhatisCultivatedMeat.com website, we are also a valued contributor to panel discussions surrounding the attitudes towards, motivators for, and perceived obstacles for dietary change. This is due to our Living Lab work and resulting data. We were invited to speak at two shows this year and received positive feedback and invitations back for 2023 after both appearances:
Finances
Offering our presentations digitally has allowed us to reduce and streamline our operational costs, reducing our 2022 projected budget while maintaining growth. All donations directly support our mission. Below is a spending breakdown by program area:
We earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency, which is the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar (Candid). We also have the highest rating (4 stars) on Charity Navigator, denoting that we exceed or meet best practices and industry Standards.
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In 2022 we also launched a new monthly donor program “ECP Champions.” This program allows us to honor our most dedicated supporters with insider insights on their impact, early updates on our plans and initiatives, and exclusive discounts from our mission-minded sponsors. In the first month of introducing our program, we saw a 200% increase in monthly supporters.
Finances
Press & Awards
The success, efficacy, and expansion of our program has garnered more attention and praise this year. We were honored to receive several new awards and be highlighted in an article by Forbes.
How Sustainability May Alter the Food Chain
Consumers are generally unaware how the food choices they make are affecting the environment but when they learn, they act differently. An organization called the Educated Choices Program runs food information programs for students and consumers. Educated Choices’ follow-up studies show that a majority of people who participate in their programs report that they’ve reduced or eliminated meat in their diet.
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