The authors reviewed existing studies and found that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised.”

Pacific Conservation Biology published “Bad Dog? The environmental effects of owned dogs” on Wednesday. Philip W. Bateman, an associate professor at Curtin University’s School of Molecular & Life Sciences, and Lauren N. Gilson, an academic researcher, ecologist, and conservationist, also of Curtin University, Australia, authored the research.

According to the research article, domesticated dogs kill and disturb “multiple species” directly, but their “mere presence” – even while leashed – also disturbs birds and mammals. Furthermore, their scent and excreta continue to disturb wildlife after the dog has moved on.

This excreta can also transfer zoonoses to wildlife, pollute waterways, and negatively impact plant growth. Dogs that physically enter rivers and streams may also pollute waterways directly due to the chemicals found in wash-off flea and parasite treatments.

Finally, the sheer number of “owned” dogs worldwide – approximately 900 million animals – contributes to the pet food industry’s extensive resource consumption and carbon emissions. The authors highlight the need for increased education around responsible owner behavior.

Read more: Plant-Based Diets For Dogs And Cats – What Does The Research Say?

The pet food industry, meat, and cultivated protein

As more people become aware of the significant negative impact the meat industry has on the environment, the pet food sector has also come under increased scrutiny. Producing animal-based food for dogs and cats makes up 30 percent of the meat industry’s environmental impact and releases millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

“The dog food industry should be included in any nation’s sustainability action due to its considerable environmental footprint,” write Bateman and Gilson in their research.

However, alternatives to traditional, animal-based pet food are increasingly competitive and available. The vegan pet food market could nearly double in value over the next decade, while cultivated pet food gained EU approval earlier this month. In February, a “world first” dog food featuring both plant-based ingredients and cultivated meat went on sale in the UK.

Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

The market was valued at USD $10.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach approximately $19.7 billion by 2034, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 6.7 percent.

According to Market.us News, consumers are increasingly aware of the animal welfare, environmental, and health issues surrounding traditional meat-based pet food, in addition to the many potential benefits of feeding companion animals plant-based options instead.

Market.us News noted that “conventional” vegan food holds 63.2 percent of the market, while dry food holds 56.2 percent, and that supermarkets contribute 48.2 percent to distribution. This indicates that consumers prefer familiar, convenient, and widely available options.

Furthermore, dogs account for 72.3 percent of the vegan pet food market, indicating that plant-based diets for canines are more accepted and better established. Several studies indicate that well-planned meat-free diets can be optimal for dogs, and last year, the British Veterinary Association ended its longstanding opposition to meat-free canine diets.

“It is commendable that the BVA has finally ended its unscientific opposition to (nutritionally-sound) vegan dog diets,” said Andrew Knight, veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare, at the time. “It is now up to international veterinary associations to follow suit.”

Read more: The Environmental Impact Of Dog And Cat Food: What You Need To Know

Vegan diets, pet food, and the meat industry

Plant-based and cultivated meat-based foods are increasingly familiar for dogs, but Knight and other experts also say that these options are safe for cats, too. In 2024, plant-based brand Wild Earth launched “Unicorn Pate,” its first nutritionally complete wet cat food product.

While cats are obligate carnivores, complete foods like Unicorn Pate are fortified with all of the vitamins and minerals that cats need to thrive, including taurine. Also last year, Omni and Meatly announced a “world first” cultivated cat food, described as a “major milestone.”

Traditional pet food is a co-product of the meat industry, which means that it supports factory farming and all of the animal cruelty, environmental damage, and pollution it causes. Producing food for cats and dogs notably contributes up to 30 percent of the meat industry’s total environmental impact, releasing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Cats from four separate households in Oregon and Washington have been infected with H5N1 since February. All had eaten raw poultry products made by Wild Coast Pet Foods. Two cats in one Oregon home and one cat in Washington had to be euthanized as a result

The US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert for the voluntary recall of Wild Coast’s frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula on March 1. The alert warned people to look out for particular symptoms in their animals if they had fed them the recalled products. These include fever, lethargy, low appetite, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, and neurological signs like tremors, stiff body movements, seizure, lack of coordination, or blindness.

Read more: US Zoos Are Reporting Animal Deaths From Bird Flu

The US has seen almost 100 cases of cats becoming sick or dying from bird flu since 2022. At least a dozen died after drinking raw milk from infected cows on a dairy farm. It may be possible for cats to transmit the virus to humans.

Source of contamination unclear

All meat produced for human consumption must be inspected and deemed safe by the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). But a lot of meat produced for companion animals gets processed in other facilities without the same safety checks in place.

However, meat from poultry farms where outbreaks of bird flu had occurred are prohibited from being put in any food products. Investigations are ongoing as to how contaminated meat has made it into food for companion animals.

In November 2024, a US company selling raw milk for human consumption had to recall products after they were found to contain bird flu.

Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?

This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.

Veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare Andrew Knight noted that while publications such as The Times have recently covered the various benefits of feeding dogs a healthy, climate-friendly diet, very few acknowledge that plant-based foods are safe for cats as well.

In July last year, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) ended its longstanding opposition to vegan diets for dogs, providing they are “nutritionally sound.” However, the BVA still states that “It is not possible to form a complete vegan or vegetarian diet for cats.”

“While the articles were spot-on about the environmental benefits, they missed a key point: vegan diets can be safe for cats too,” said Knight on LinkedIn. “The BVA position is incorrect, the latest scientific evidence […] shows that properly formulated vegan diets can meet cats’ nutritional needs. It was not too long ago BVA dropped this opposition to vegan dogs.”

In particular, Knight cited a 2023 study that found “no overwhelming evidence” of adverse effects and highlighted that “beneficial findings” were consistent across several studies. Knight himself carried out a study that found cats tend to be healthier on a plant-based diet compared to an animal-based one. The study described this trend as “clear and consistent.”

Cats and other companion animals should be fed nutritionally complete diets suitable for their age, species, and any other requirements. Sustainable Pet Food has more information on this here and suggests finding reputable producers working with veterinary nutritionists.

Read more: Lewis Hamilton Says Bulldog Roscoe Is A ‘Different Dog’ Since Going Plant-Based

The environmental impact of feeding animals other animals

Around 25 percent of meat-based calories consumed in the US are eaten by companion animals. Cats and dogs contribute 25 to 30 percent of the meat industry’s total environmental impact, releasing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

In January, Knight analyzed the potential impacts of transitioning the world’s dogs onto nutritious plant-based diets. He found it could save the equivalent of 5.7 billion tonnes of CO2 per year and free up an area of land larger than Mexico from animal farming.

On Tuesday of this week, Knight published a new study calling for a plant-based food system to tackle the worsening climate crisis and minimize further global warming.

“Climate change threatens much of life on Earth – including ourselves,” said Knight in a statement sent to Plant Based News. “Animal agriculture is a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a major cause of deforestation and freshwater use. Yet – compared to smaller emitters, such as the transportation sector – it has received shockingly little attention. Emissions from animal agriculture are so large that we cannot effectively slow climate change and environmental degradation by ignoring them. We simply must transition our societies towards more sustainable, plant-based diets.”

Knight has called for people to include companion animals in their Veganuary efforts.

Read more: Plant-Based Diets For Dogs And Cats – What Does The Research Say?

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: ‘World First’ Cat Food Made With Cultivated Chicken Is Here

Unicorn Pate combines lentils, potatoes, peas, carrots, marine microalgae, and cranberries, and is fortified with all of the vitamins and minerals that cats need. It exceeds the nutritional standards dictated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

While cats are obligate carnivores, Wild Earth’s vegan cat food notably includes the essential amino acid taurine, which is vital for feline health and historically only found in animal-derived proteins. Even meat-based cat food is fortified with additional taurine.

“Our team is incredibly proud to launch a new category leader that we hope will catalyze change in the entire Pet Food industry,” said Wild Earth CEO Ryan Bethencourt. “Nutritionally complete Vegan Cat food has been a long time coming and we’re very thankful to be able to launch a whole new category of products.”

Wild Earth has been making plant-based food for companion animals since 2017, and appeared on SharkTank in 2019 where the company secured investment from Mark Cuban. In 2021, the company closed a significant USD $23 million funding round.

Read more: Pets Choice Acquires Vegan Dog Food Brand HOWND

Nutritionally sound vegan food ‘may be healthier overall’ for cats

In a blog post, Wild Earth described the existing pet food category as “outdated,” and said that its new vegan cat food product marks another step towards cruelty-free and sustainable food “for all.” The brand also noted that a growing body of data supports plant-based diets for cats, with several particularly notable positive health outcomes.

For example, a study published in the journal Plos One last year found a 14.9 percent medication reduction, a 54.7 percent reduction in progression onto therapeutic diets, a 22.8 percent reduction in severe illness, and a 7.3 reduction in veterinary visits in plant-based cats who were fed appropriate nutrients.

Emphasizing the importance of nutritional completeness in any companion animal’s diet, lead study author Andrew Knight wrote: “The pooled evidence to date from our study, and from others in this field, indicate that cats fed nutritionally sound vegan diets may be healthier overall, than those fed meat-based diets.”

Read more: Further Foods Could Receive ‘Imminent’ FDA Approval For Cultivated Meat Dog Food

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: ‘World First’ Cat Food Made With Cultivated Chicken Is Here

Regulatory approval from the FDA would mean feeding trials for the new product could begin, bringing cultivated chicken-based Noochies! one step closer to retail in the US.

Further Foods said in a press release that it believes no other company is currently in dialogue with regulators about feeding trials for a cultivated chicken dog treat. The CULT Food Science subsidiary also said that it expects to resolve the necessary feeding trials later this month, and should receive a response from the FDA within 45 days of submission.

“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Further Foods and Noochies! on this very exciting feeding trial,” said vet nutritionist Dr. Sarah Dodd. “Cultivated meat is an area I am personally exceptionally excited about, for both its nutritional potential for animals and for its positive impact on the environment.”

A plant-based iteration of Further Foods’ Noochies! is already available throughout the US and Canada. This range features a patented high-protein nutritional yeast “Bmmune” – treats’ one and only ingredient – which has been fermented and freeze dried.

Cultivated meat is not plant-based, as it’s real meat grown from real animal cells in a bioreactor. Cultivated meat isn’t considered vegan because of this, as well as the fact that it requires the use of an animal in its production. But many vegans support the industry as a possible route out of animal agriculture. (Find out all you need to know about cultivated meat here). Both the plant-based and cultivated companion animal food industries are rapidly growing in popularity.

Read more: Pets Choice Acquires Vegan Dog Food Brand HOWND

FDA approval could ‘change the landscape’ of the sector

Just last week, Meatly became the first brand in the UK and Europe with approval for its cultivated chicken-based food for animals. The company worked with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Department for Environment & Food Affairs (DEFRA), and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for 18 months before they were granted regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, Friends & Family Pet Food Co. (FnF) will launch its cultivated fish-based treats for cats in Singapore and San Francisco by early 2025.

Traditionally, the “pet” food industry has a significant negative impact on the environment and farmed animals, and some people question the nutritional benefits of mainstream products made from offcuts and diseased animals. (Think “poultry industry sludge.”)

In contrast, cultivated meat has a variety of environmental, and ethical benefits for people with animal companions, including comparable nutritional density to traditional meat. However, CULT Food Science CEO Michael Scott noted that “the regulatory pathways have yet to be successfully navigated” when it comes to cellular agriculture.

“We are seeking to be a first mover in changing that,” added Scott. “We believe that the implications of a successful trial could change the landscape of pet food as a whole.”

Read more: Cultivated Meat Is Cleared for Sale In The US

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: Cultured Meat Brand Aims To Spare 27 Million Animals After Raising Nearly $100M

Meatly, which produces slaughter-free chicken meat for dogs and cats, has been granted regulatory approval for its product. The company has been working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Department for Environment & Food Affairs (DEFRA), and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for 18 months to gain approval. This is the first time a European country has ever granted such approval to cultivated meat. The authorities have now confirmed that Meatly can sell its product to “pet” food manufacturers.

“We’re delighted to have worked proactively alongside the UK’s regulators to showcase that Meatly chicken is safe and healthy for pets,” Meatly’s CEO and founder, Owen Ensor, said in a statement. “Pet parents are crying out for a better way to feed their cats and dogs meat – we’re so excited to meet this demand. We can now continue our mission to give consumers an easy choice – ensuring we can feed our beloved pets the real meat they need and crave, in a way that is kinder to our planet and other animals.”

Read more: Cultivated Meat Is Cleared for Sale In The US – Here’s What That Means for Consumers

What is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat – also known as cultured, cell-based, or lab-grown meat – refers to real meat made without slaughtering animals. 

To make the meat, producers extract a small amount of cells from a living animal, egg, feather, or similar, and place them in bioreactors alongside a solution containing nutrients like amino acids, sugars, and vitamins. Over time, the cells multiply and turn into muscle tissue, which can be harvested and processed into a meat product. As cultivated meat is real meat, and often requires the use of an animal and animal products in its production, it is not considered vegan. Many vegans, however, support the industry as a possible route out of traditional animal agriculture. 

A growing number of cultivated meat companies are also minimizing their use of animals. To make its product, Meatly says that it takes cells from a fertilized chicken egg once, and doesn’t require the use of any other animal products in production. The brand doesn’t use fetal bovine serum (which is derived from the blood of a cow fetus) as a growth medium, for example, which many companies have traditionally relied on. 

More ethical companion animal food

There is growing demand for more ethical vegan “pet” food across the UK. As well as cultivated meat, there has been a boom in vegan dog and cat food from companies such as Omni (which has also collaborated with Meatly to produce cultivated cat food) and Benevo. 

A number of studies have shown that well-planned plant-based diets can be both safe and healthy for dogs and cats. Many meat-based “pet” foods tend to be made with low quality meat, and have been linked to health problems in companion animals. For those who want to don’t want their companion animals to be plant-based, cultivated meat could provide a healthier and more ethical alternative.

Read more: Is ‘Hybrid Meat’ The Key To Consumer Acceptance Of Cultivated Animal Products?

This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.

The product is a collaboration between “pet” food specialists Omni and cultivated meat brand Meatly. This is Omni’s first venture into the cultivated space, as it previously sold purely plant-based food for cats and dogs. 

The 150g tins of cultivated chicken cat food will cost £1 each. They are not available to buy yet, and still need regulatory approval from the government before they arrive in shops. According to the brand, Pets at Home looks set to be its first stockist once approval is granted, which could be in the next three months. 

“It is incredibly exciting to see the first ever cans of cultivated pet food fly off the production line. This is a major milestone for cultivated meat globally and shows that we are ready to sell product,” said Owen Ensor, Co-founder and CEO of Meatly, in a statement. He added that “cultivated meat gives pet parents an easy choice – high quality, tasty, nutritious, and sustainable pet food.”

What is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat, also known as cultured meat, lab-grown meat, or cell-based meat, is a form of meat produced by culturing animal cells in a controlled environment, without the need to raise and slaughter animals. It involves taking a small sample of animal cells and providing them with the necessary conditions to grow and multiply. These cells can differentiate into muscle and fat cells, mimicking the composition of traditional meat.

It’s important to note that cultivated meat is not vegan, however, as it is real animal meat that involves the use of an animal to some degree. The cells must usually be extracted from animals, meaning it still involves animal use in its production. 

According to Meatly, the cells to make the cat food were extracted from a chicken egg. The company also did not use fetal bovine serum or animal products in its production. Fetal bovine serum, which made from the blood of cow fetuses extracted from an animal during pregnancy, has traditionally been used in the cultivated meat industry to make the product grow effectively. Many companies are moving away from it, however.

Could cultivated meat end animal farming?

While vegans wouldn’t usually eat cultivated meat, it’s still widely supported by many following the lifestyle. This is because it could provide a viable way to move the world away from traditional animal agriculture, which slaughters trillions of individuals each year. Currently the cultivated meat market is in its early stages, only available at a select few places in the US and Singapore. If this new product were to gain approval, it would be the first cultivated meat product sold in Europe, and the first cultivated pet food on the market anywhere in the world.

Demand for pet food is growing, and Meatly says that 22 percent of the meat consumed in the UK is eaten by companion animals. Cultivated food could help many households reduce their contribution to the hugely unsustainable and unethical meat industry. 

There are also a wide range of plant-based pet food products already available, and studies have shown that well-planned vegan diets are both safe and healthy for cats and dogs. 

More like this:

• Cultured Meat To Be Served At US Restaurants Following Historic Sign-Off
• Cultured Meat Brand Aims To Spare 27 Million Animals After Raising Nearly $100M
• Jeff Bezos Just Pledged $60 Million To Improve Plant-Based Meats

This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.

The study, published in the Plos One scientific journal, states that nine percent of animal-based food is consumed by cats and dogs. That’s around seven billion animals annually, not including fish and other marine life. 

It found that if all the dogs in the world moved to a plant-based diet, this would save more greenhouse gas emissions than those produced by the UK alone. While if all cats went vegan, it would cut back on more emissions than those produced by New Zealand. 

Veterinary academic Professor Andrew Knight, who was behind the study, emphasized the importance of looking at the diets of our companion animals, as well as our own. “We’ve long known that plant-based diets are better for the planet but have not seriously considered the impacts of pet food,” Prof Knight said. And “studies of feeding behavior have demonstrated that average dogs and cats enjoy vegan pet foods as much as those made from meat.”

The study advocates for plant-based dog and cat food, with diets requiring less land and water usage. This could instead be used for creating greener spaces, rewilding the land and allowing ecosystems to recover. The study suggests that the land mass saved by dogs going vegan would be larger than Mexico. With the water supply being more than all the renewable freshwater in Denmark. This in turn could feed more than 450 million extra people (larger than the population of the EU).

Can cats and dogs go vegan?

Long-standing beliefs about companion animals needing meat-based diets have been challenged by a number of recent studies. One piece of research on dogs released last year stated that plant-based diets could actually benefit their health, as long as they’re fed specially formulated food that’s nutritionally sound. Fewer dogs on a vegan diet were put on non-routine medication and took fewer trips to the vets compared to the meat-eating dogs studied. A similar study on cats published last month found that plant-based cats tended to be healthier than those who ate meat. Authors stated that meat-free cat foods needed to be formulated with the right nutrients, including taurine.

According to Knight: “Pet owners who care about the environment or their animals’ health should consider nutritionally-sound vegan pet food. However, to safeguard health, it is important that people feed only commercial diets labelled as nutritionally complete, produced by reputable companies with good standards.”

Dogs and cats typically have a much higher concentration of animal sources in their diets compared to humans. But many companies are opting for plant-based ingredients, supplemented with amino acids, vitamins and minerals to provide pets with a healthy alternative diet. Interest in plant-based products for companion animals has been steadily increasing over the years, with producers reporting big increases in sales.

Last year, UK brand OMNI released figures showing that it had a 600 percent surge in sales over six months. According to data from an assessment from Climate Partners, an average sized dog on an Omni diet would have a 73 percent lower carbon footprint than a dog on a traditional meat-based diet.

The British Veterinary Association does not recommend vegan or vegetarian diets for cats. It previously had a similar stance for dogs (though it acknowledged meat-free diets were theoretically possible for them), but it recently confirmed it would be reviewing its stance on vegan diets for dogs in light of recent research.

Where do we go from here?

Many vegans are already choosing to feed their dogs and cats vegan diets over ethical concerns. And this new research may also sway environmentally minded humans with companion animals. Knight concluded that “it is clear that substantial proportions of the impacts of the livestock sector globally, are due to conventional meat-based dog and cat food. The impacts of pet food should not be discounted, when considering environmental impacts of diets. Conversely, great benefits for environmental sustainability can be realized through the use of nutritionally-sound vegan diets for dogs and cats, as well as for people.”

Knight emphasized the importance of more data and studies into this, believing that due to slightly older data, his results might underestimate the real environmental benefits of vegan diets for dogs and cats. Watch this space, and we might just find out that the benefits of vegan diets for cats and dogs are even greater than we think.  

This article was written by Tamsin Wressell on the PBN Website.

The study was commissioned by plant-based pet food brand Omni, and was published in the peer-reviewed journal Archives of Clinical and Biomedical Research.

It looked at 100 dogs over the course of 12 months. People with dogs registered with Omni were asked to fill out surveys on their dog’s health and appetites. 

It found that 90 percent of dogs who had previously suffered from GI issues had better stool consistency when they switched to a plant-based diet. It also found that 70 percent of those with dandruff saw an improvement in the condition.

What’s more, a number of people reported less anxiety in their companion animals. Around a quarter saw signs of their dogs’ aggression decrease. And over half said that their dog’s fur appeared to be more glossy.

The study’s authors said that, while promising, the results should be confirmed by more extensive studies with more animals. Relying on self-report data was also a study limitation.

Can dogs be vegan?

Whether or not we should feed dogs plant-based diets is a hugely contentious issue. This often rests on the widespread belief that they are carnivores. (This is not the case; domestic dogs, like humans, are omnivores).

However, a growing body of science indicates that vegan pet food is not only acceptable, but preferable to conventional dog food in many cases.

Earlier this year, the largest study ever conducted on dog diets found that plant-based eating was both healthier and safer.

The study, published in the Guardian, looked at the health of more than 2,500 companion dogs. It found that those following vegan diets had fewer health problems than those who ate conventional meat food.

Plant-based dogs also had fewer vet visits. 

Further, only a third of vegan dogs required non-routine medication, compared to almost half of meat-eaters.

What’s the issue with conventional dog food?

Commercial meat-based dog food comes with a host of health risks. It’s often made with meat deemed unfit for human consumption. This includes the “4Ds,” referring to meat from dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals.

Plastic and other trash has also been found in meaty dog food, in addition to traces of euthanasia.

This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.

It’s one of life’s daily frustrations: your oat milk latte costs more than the dairy version. Your soy-based meatballs are £2 more expensive than the beef ones. Your cashew-based camembert is three times the price of the cow’s cheese equivalent! And now that plant-based dog food is a thing, we’re experiencing déjà vu – how is it that taking out an ingredient makes something more expensive?  

You’re right, it makes no sense. Rearing animals for food – housing them, feeding them, giving them medical care, transporting them and, of course, slaughtering them – is far more expensive than simply growing plants for you and your dog to eat directly. So who’s paying for all those additional costs? Well, actually… it’s still you. 

The hidden cost of cheap meat

Meat, dairy, and eggs are cheap because they’re heavily subsidized by the government. Government subsidies are financial grants funded by public tax money (yes, yours!) and given to certain industries to lower production costs. Today, billions of pounds of public money is spent subsidizing animal agriculture. 

According to the UK government department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as much as 90 percent of the annual profit of livestock farmers comes from subsidies, compared to only 10 percent of the annual profit of fruit farmers. We Shih Tzu not: your taxes are being used to keep the most unsustainable, unethical, and unhealthy industries afloat, leaving plant-based producers to fend for themselves – and forcing up their prices.

What’s more, the meat-based pet food industry is supporting the false economy of animal agriculture. If it is to make a profit, while selling its main products at low prices, the animal farming industry also needs to sell its by-products (the bits of meat that humans won’t eat) in dog and cat food. In fact, “rendering” these by-products to make pet food is a significant income strand for intensive farming. The National Renderers Association (NRA) in the US reveals that “the sustainability of animal agriculture depends on a reasonable and practical use of the by-products generated.” 

Woah there… “depends on”? 

So, animal farming couldn’t exist without the pet food industry? Well, the NRA admits that the meat that humans won’t eat – like bones, fat, blood, feathers, and internal organs – “is a large volume of by-product that would quickly overtake landfills if not rendered.” Rendering and selling this by-product in meat-based dog food keeps animal agriculture sustainable and it’s yet another factor helping to keep meat cheap.

Of course, it’s not just the meat that’s cheap. Supermarket monopolies have pushed down the price of milk below the cost of the production, not great for farmers but even more disturbing when we think about the high price paid by cows. The average price of a dozen eggs is less than £1 despite rising costs in feed, energy, labor, and packaging. The UK also allows meat and dairy to be sold at 0 percent VAT and many have argued that a “meat tax” should be introduced to discourage people from buying unhealthy, high-carbon-emission animal products. 

An opportunity for pawsitive change

That’s because the most obvious way to shift government funding to plant-based farming (thus lowering the price of vegan alternatives) is to get people to buy less meat, dairy, and eggs and to buy more plant-based fodder – for humans and dogs. In 2018, UK farmers received around £3.5 billion in EU agricultural subsidies, of which roughly £700 million was used to subsidize factory farming. But now that we’ve left the European Union, the UK is free to design its own farming policy. 

Policymakers are already considering a “public money for public goods” approach, which means farmers would be paid to provide wildlife habitat, welfare improvements, and a more nutritious food supply, including more organic plant-based foods. If we want these kinds of policies to become more than a doggy dream, we need to make conscious choices about where we spend our money. We need to buy out of the fake, unsustainable economy of “cheap” animal products. 

But £3 for a can of dog food? In the middle of an economic crisis? You must be barking! 

We know: it’s a vicious cycle. While plant-based options continue to be more expensive, and during today’s cost-of-living crisis, there’s less incentive and less ability to choose them over cheaper meat, egg, and dairy-based food. Especially when it comes to feeding our dogs, who tend to be less fussy about what they nosh and often need a lot of food. Yet farming animals for pet food is destroying the environment and, with 73 percent of farmed animals in the UK kept in factory farms, cruelly exploiting our four-legged friends. 

The price of manufacturing ‘novel’ food

Another reason why we’ll see plant-based dog food become more affordable as it becomes more mainstream is to do with manufacturing. A boring but practical answer to why “vegan” pet food is more expensive is because it’s still a relatively new concept. That means there are only a few manufacturers which have the skills, equipment, and cleaning processes to create meat-free dog food. 

So while plant-based pet food remains an “anomaly,” companies like THE PACK, Hownd, and Petaluma are charged extra to have additional staff working on their “special” products. Machines need to be carefully washed down before being used to avoid contamination of the “vegan” food and, with every production run, extra workers need to be present to ensure quality control and safety.

Can you put a price on health?

So aside from not wanting to subsidize a cruel and environmentally damaging industry, is there any other motivation to pay more for vegan pet food? 

You bet – what about the health of our dogs? 

You’re paying for quality. Most cheap, commercial meat-based food has a low percentage of actual meat content, padded out with poor-quality cereals, and the meat that is included is more often than not the rubbishy by-products that humans won’t eat. 

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with giving offal or strange bits of animal to dogs, most of us would like some transparency about what we’re feeding. Furthermore, chemical toxins in the environment build up (bioaccumulate) in animals the higher we move up the food chain, meaning that when our pets eat other animals they also consume the nasties that those animals ate. 

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that processed meat consumption is linked to cancer in humans (and that red meat likely is, too). The organization urged us to reduce the amount of meat we eat – surely we should also be concerned for our dogs? That’s not all: rancid fats are often present in commercial meat-based diets, a leading source of free radical production in dogs. These free radicals, unstable atoms that can damage cells, have been linked to arthritis. 

Now compare this toxic meaty cocktail with the ingredients in a vegan dog food like THE PACK: fresh papaya for healthy digestion, vitamin-rich kale, whole lupin beans for gut health, pea protein for strength, butternut squash for fiber, broccoli for calcium… the list goes on. In every spoonful, you can see visible veg, pulses, and fruits, rather than an overcooked grey mush. 

Petaluma’s plant-based kibble similarly contains chickpeas, peanut butter, turmeric, oats, sweet potato, barley, flaxseeds, marine microalgae, and ginger. When you pay extra for this kind of delicious plant-based food, you’re investing in all the nutrients your dog needs without the nasties. So, in the long term, you may end up spending less money on vet bills.

Extra benefits

Finally, when you invest in environmentally conscious vegan pet brands, you’re generally also paying for their sustainable mission, including their eco packaging. THE PACK is a pending B Corp and uses 100 percent recyclable paper, even down to the anti-tamper tape, while all Hownd’s packaging is recyclable, including its polypropylene dog bowls. Petaluma is a certified B Corp, meaning it places sustainability at the forefront. This also includes offsetting 100 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions and donating 1 percent of all revenue to non-profits fighting the climate crisis and food insecurity.

Of course, this is all academic if you have a limited budget to spend on dog food. We get it. But even if you can’t afford to feed plant-based food for every meal, there are huge benefits to investing in it as an occasional treat or mixing just half a can with your dog’s regular daily dinner.

Even doing Meat-Free Mondays with your dog means less dollars going to animal farming and more demand for vegan alternatives. Every pawsitive move towards putting plant-based food on a level playing field with meat counts, whether it’s a Chihuahua-sized step or a Great Dane’s stride! 

Are we asking the right questions?

Instead of questioning why plant-based dog food is so expensive, we need to start asking, loudly: “Why is meat-based dog food so cheap?” As dog guardians and advocates for animals and the planet, we need to demand more transparency from the meat industry. We should know exactly what we’re paying for and how we’re paying it.

At a time when every penny counts, the real scandal isn’t the high price of vegan pet food but the hidden costs of those “cheap” brands offering meaty dog food: the price we pay via our taxes, the price paid by animals in factory farms, the price paid by our pets’ health (and by us in veterinary bills) and, last but not least, the price paid by our struggling planet.

Use code 40OFFPBN for an exclusive 40 percent off your purchase with THE PACK. For more information about THE PACK, visit its website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. 

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* This is paid-for content; funds from this article help Plant Based News continue to provide millions of people around the world with free content they know and love. We only work with brands we support and use ourselves.

This article was written by Alice Oven on the PBN Website.

Imagine all the 76 million pet dogs and 58 million pet cats in the United States of America, all eating meat around twice a day. If those pets had their own country, it would rank fifth in terms of global meat consumption. Now add the 12.5 million dogs and 12 million cats in the UK. Then the 54 million dogs and 58 million cats in China, and so on. That’s a lot of meat being gobbled down by hungry pets, and we all know that increasing meat consumption is giving our planet severe indigestion.

In 2017, research revealed that roughly a quarter of calories from all animal meat consumed in the United States are now eaten by pets. Given our love for furry companions in the UK too, and across Europe and increasingly Asia, the picture is likely to be similar. But don’t dogs and cats just eat “by-products,” the rubbish bits of meat that humans don’t want? Surely we’re just using up leftovers that would otherwise go to waste?  

Not necessarily. Today, more and more of us want to feed our pets premium “human-grade” or raw meat diets. That means cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals are being bred and killed specifically for dog food: in the US, as many as 30 percent of intensively farmed animals. Yet most of us have largely ignored the increasing environmental impact of our pets’ high-protein “ancestral” raw meat diets. After all, how much difference can pet food really make?

Turns out, quite a lot.

The problem with meat-based pet food

Animal agriculture is thought to be responsible for at least 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, meaning meaty dog foods are now a major player in the climate crisis. In 2020, research from the University of Edinburgh showed that the pet food industry produces almost three percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from farming. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the same amount of CO2 produced by a sixth of all global flights.

In fact, feeding dogs and cats in America alone has been calculated to be as environmentally damaging as pumping the exhaust of nearly 14 million cars into the atmosphere for one year. 

And that’s just greenhouse gases. We also need to consider the environmental impacts from the additional land, water, fossil fuels, phosphates, and biocides needed to feed and farm the animals that go into our pet’s “gourmet, human-grade” meaty chunks. 

That Edinburgh research tells us that making meat-based food for cats and dogs uses up a land mass twice the size of the UK, every year.

If we don’t significantly reduce the amount of meat we’re eating and feeding, researchers calculate that the livestock industry could account for up to 49 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions allowable under the 2°C and 1.5°C targets by 2030. Without dietary change, we’ll need to make substantial reductions in other areas such as manufacturing, housing, and transportation to meet climate goals, far beyond what is realistic. 

An outdated food system

Aside from the environmental damage, we’re seeing increasing evidence that our existing food system is broken. Brexit has significantly impacted the profitability of our meat industry; duty-free access to the European market is lost, and new customs regulations have caused significant delays for meat imports, particularly lamb.

Bird flu is also spreading across the globe, meaning we’re about to see reductions in supplies of poultry. The meat and eggs that are available may lose their “high-welfare” or “free-range” labeling, since thousands of chickens are being locked inside for months to prevent the spread of infection (this issue is currently impacting every egg supplier in the UK).

All this means that the empty shelves we saw in supermarkets during the global pandemic are likely a predictor of the future rather than a nightmare of the past. Today the meat industry faces additional economic pressures from the war against Ukraine and the rising cost of living. In a world of increasing food insecurity and rising energy prices, why rely on a fragile system based on animal exploitation when we don’t need to? 

Are cheaper ‘by-product’ dog foods the answer?

But what if you’re buying pet food made from the by-products of the meat industry? What’s the harm in using up this “waste” meat? Quite aside from health and safety concerns of feeding our beloved dogs and cats animal parts that we wouldn’t wish to eat ourselves, using up by-products in this way helps keep intensive animal farming operations running. 

According to the National Renderers Association, animal agriculture as we know it (i.e., factory farming) could not exist without the pet food industry. The amount of meat considered inedible by humans – such as bones, fat, blood, feathers, and internal organs – “is a large volume of by-product that would quickly overtake landfills if not rendered,” the organization says. “The sustainability of animal agriculture depends on a reasonable and practical use of the byproducts generated.”

Ultimately, pet food meat, leather, and other animal by-products are essential for the animal farming industry to remain profitable. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, beef, veal, and pork by-products account for up to 19 percent of the industry’s total value. Selling these by-products helps keep meat cheap and allows the animal farming industry to survive and thrive.

When we purchase food made up of “leftover” meat, we’re perpetuating a cruel, broken food system. Why would anybody who cares about animals want to do that? 

Pet food as a public health threat

If by-products are bad, raw meat is worse. According to the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, raw meat pet food can introduce harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, and even parasites, into our pets and into our homes. An FDA study has shown that raw meat-based pet food is more likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria than other types of pet food.

This isn’t just bad news on a micro-level. A research paper last year warned that “the trend for feeding dogs raw food may be fueling the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” The raw foods analyzed in the study included beef, goose, duck, salmon, turkey, chicken, and lamb. More than half the foods tested positive for a type of bacteria called Enterococcus. Further, more than 40 percent of these enterococci were resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. And, most alarmingly, nearly a quarter were resistant to linezolid, a drug considered to be a “last-resort antibiotic.” That means it is used only when other drugs have failed to treat an infection – put simply, if that fails too, we’re f*cked. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to humankind’s future on this planet.

So not only does raw meat have the potential to make our pets sick, studies show it could also seriously compromise our own immune systems, raising the risk of a broader public health crisis in humans. 

Is fish-based pet food any better?

Many pet parents assume salmon or other seafood is a healthier and more sustainable choice for their animals. But what about the antibiotics and hormones used to grow farmed fish, and the way those toxic chemicals can seep into the ocean?

Then there’s the impact of using fish caught in the wild. Demand from pet food companies is starving wild marine animals of their dinner and disrupting ecosystems. The more seafood we feed to our dogs and cats, the closer we inch towards fishless oceans.

Earlier this year, a chilling study was published revealing that some brands of fish-based pet food in Singapore contained endangered shark species, listed vaguely as “ocean fish.” Roughly a third of the 144 pet food samples tested contained shark DNA, including the silky shark, sicklefin weasel shark, Caribbean sharpnose shark, sand tiger shark, and whitetip reef, all listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. 

That these sharks ended up in pet food is disturbing on a number of levels: from a conservation point of view (shark populations have declined more than 70 percent in the past 50 years); because the meat is likely a byproduct of the cruel shark fin trade; and because it shows that when it comes to meat-based pet food, pet parents simply don’t know what they’re really buying. 

Even though many of us are worried about the future of our planet and its wildlife, most of us are still feeding our pets meat, day in, day out. But it doesn’t have to be this way! At least not for dogs who, as omnivores, can thrive on a meat-free, plant-based diet. 

That’s why new pet food companies like THE PACK are offering sustainable meals that protect the planet without compromising on taste. Created in consultation with scientists, animal nutritionists, and food-technologists, THE PACK’s No-Fishy Dishy complete wet food is loaded with umami flavors that simulate the taste of fish. Each can contains healthy, identifiable ingredients like pea protein, lupin beans, papaya, blueberries, and butternut squash – and no sharks lurk at the bottom!

How to enhance your dog’s diet

So where do you start? Simply adding more plant-based ingredients into your dog’s diet in place of meat is a fantastic first step. Many pet parents are already reducing the amount of meat and dairy they consume themselves, and there’s no reason why your dog can’t also be a “flexitarian”! 

Swapping meat-based treats for veggie ones, for instance, can make a huge difference. Plant-sourced alternatives to meat require far fewer natural resources and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions. A third of all calories from the crops we grow are fed to farmed animals, with only 12 percent of those calories being “recycled” by humans when we eat meat, eggs, and dairy. That’s an enormous waste!

Put it this way: if we stop growing plants to feed farm animals and instead grow pulses, fruits, and vegetables for humans and pets, we could feed an extra 350 million people (and a whole lot of dogs too).

If we want to feed our dogs sustainable pet food, that food needs to be as low as possible on the food chain. Going straight to the calorie source – plants – improves health at the same time as reducing environmental damage. According to the calculations of animal nutritionists, if you are vegan yourself and you switch your 70-pound retriever to a plant-based diet, together you could save 2,200 gallons of water, about 60 square feet of rainforest, about 90 pounds of grain, and two farmed animals’ lives – every day.

Even if your dog is a flexitarian and their meat consumption is cut by half or even less, that’s still a lot of land, water, and animal lives spared. Many of THE PACK’s customers are pet parents who wish to feed plant-based food a few days a week, or as a substitute for one meat-based meal a day. Those people, and their dogs, are still making a big difference. To better quantify this, THE PACK conducted a lifecycle analysis (farm to pet) to work out the CO2 emissions generated by its plant-based food compared to meat-based equivalents. In terms of ingredients, the company discovered that a can of beef-based dog food is to blame for over 17 times more CO2 than its No-Moo Ragu! 

As a result, the company says that every time someone purchases a can of plant-based dog food instead of beef, they save the equivalent of 3.28kg CO2. That’s the same as driving 16.4 kilometers in a new car, or using 32.8 liters of water.

Even for so-called “low-emission” meat-based pet food, like fish and chicken, the results were significant. The ingredients in THE PACK’s No-Fishy Dishy and No-Cluck Casserole created less than a sixth of the amount of CO2 than their animal-based counterparts. 

Food dogs love

Damien Clarkson and Judy Nadel, co-founders of THE PACK, don’t want pet parents to feel like they have to pick between their dog and the planet. Who would? Their products make sure that dogs can enjoy their food just as much as before, all the while lowering their environmental pawprint.

“As pet parents ourselves we are obsessed with creating food our dogs love, nothing gives us greater pleasure than dogs chowing down and enjoying our food,” they said in a statement. “We are part of a new era of innovation in pet food meaning dog parents don’t have to compromise.”

“Now you can choose products like THE PACK and give your loved companion enjoyment from their food and in doing so you will be tackling the climate crisis through choosing planet friendly meals.”

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Over the next 50 years, if we continue to do little to nothing to reverse the climate crisis, we’ll struggle to find enough resources to feed ourselves. We may face more pandemics as antibiotic resistance worsens, fed by trends like raw pet food. As the climate emergency progresses and pressure for natural resources escalates, how will we afford to keep our pets healthy?

Let’s not put ourselves in a position where we need to answer that question. Instead, by feeding our dogs plants instead of meat, we can help create a safe future for them, for us, and for the world.

Plant Based News has teamed up with THE PACK to offer 20 percent off its meaty, plant-based wet food for dogs. Simply use the code PBN20 when you check out at www.thepackpet.com

* This is paid-for content; funds from this article help Plant Based News continue to provide millions of people around the world with free content they know and love. We only work with brands we support and use ourselves.

This article was written by Alice Oven on the PBN Website.

Take OMNI, which has seen its vegan pet food fly off shelves in the last six months, with sales soaring by 600 percent. 

The UK-based start-up, founded in 2020, has sold nearly 90,000 vegan meals for dogs since September 2021, OMNI revealed in a press release.

The environmental implications of these sales are far-reaching, given meat production’s role in the climate crisis. OMNI estimates that it has saved 112,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions so far – equating to 590 return flights from London to New York.

Sustainability benefits are just one factor drawing consumers in. A report released today by The Vegan Society looked at the snowballing vegan animal care market. 

One survey included in the report found that nearly half (45 percent) of people living with dogs were interested in feeding their companion animal(s) vegan food, with nutrition and ethics being focal points.

Further, one in four (24 percent) of survey participants living with dogs reported purchasing vegan pet food in the past. 

A booming industry

This shift in consumer attitude has not gone unnoticed by investors. With a projected market value of US$15 million by 2028, a surging number of entrepreneurs are dipping their toes in the vegan pet food scene. 

OMNI, for example, pocketed $1.5 million (£1.1 million) last year in its first-ever funding round. 

One of its investors, Shio Capital, expanded on its support of the start-up. “It is clear the alternative protein space is not just limited to human consumption,” Shio Capital said in a statement. “As the vegan pet food space continues to gain traction among pet owners and pets, we view OMNI as being well positioned to lead this change.”

OMNI isn’t alone in the cruelty-free pet food movement. London-based food-tech company THE PACK closed a pre-seed investment round of its own last year, attracting financial support from a host of high-profile figures. 

English footballer Chris Smalling, former Liverpool and Hull footballer Kevin Stewart, and vegan celebrity chefs Henry Firth and Ian Theasby of BOSH! all chipped in to support THE PACK’s mission of disrupting the meat-based pet food system. 

Co-founder of THE PACK, Damien Clarkson, elaborated on this vision in a statement.

“We’re on a mission to encourage pet parents to start thinking of the climate crisis when making purchasing decisions for their dogs and it starts with what we plate up ourselves and our pups,” Clarkson explained. 

“We are all living through an ecological crisis and a seismic shift in the pet-food industry can make a positive contribution to tackling the climate crisis.”

To read more about plant-based diets for dogs, see here

This article was written by Jemima Webber on the PBN Website.

If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it’s likely that you’ve felt some guilt when purchasing meat-based pet food for your dog, especially when most of us are feeding that meat every day – morning and night. For many of us, it doesn’t sit right with our ethical beliefs; for others, it contradicts our desire to do right by the planet. 

At the same time, we’re in the midst of a health crisis when it comes to our pets. Rising cancer cases and growing rates of obesity are jeopardizing the long, active lives we all want our dogs to enjoy. And a growing number of veterinarians and animal nutritionists are telling us that a key culprit is high-fat, high-protein, meat-based dog food.

The current food system for dogs is broken. Sadly it’s estimated that one in four pet dogs will develop cancer. What’s more, as many as 51 percent of dogs in the UK overweight or obese. Overweight dogs are at risk of developing diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, kidney disease, and cancer. Research has found that those extra pounds can reduce a dog’s lifespan by 20 percent: an obese dog is likely to live up to two and half years less than a dog at a healthy weight.

Yet alternatives exist. A new generation of pet food companies are offering 100 percent plant-based dog food that offers all the nutrients your dog needs to thrive, minus the guilt, minus the obesity risks, and minus the unknown additives that may be making our pets sick. 

We believe it’s natural for dogs to eat meat: but is it really healthy?

If you look under any social media post about plant-based dog food, you’re likely to see a long list of comments asserting that it’s unnatural to deprive “carnivorous” dogs of the meat they need to survive. Yet domestic dogs are actually omnivores, just like us: they have evolved over thousands of years to digest the starches in plant-based foods and receive all the nutrients they need without meat. Later in this article we explain exactly how the biology of dogs has evolved beyond their wolf ancestors.

One of the biggest myths of modern pet food marketing is that it’s healthy to be feeding our four-legged friends the natural diet of a miniature wolf.  Phrases like “feed your dog’s inner wolf!” and words like “ancestral,” “biologically appropriate,” and “raw” persuade us that our Spaniels and French Bulldogs share the basic needs of fierce wild canids and would thrive on the same diet of meaty animal carcasses. This simply isn’t true.

A domestic dog has different nutritional needs to a wolf

Dogs actually began to evolve from gray wolves between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago; not only do today’s domestic dogs look different to wolves, their internal biology is different too. Researchers have found specific genetic “mutations” that allow dogs to digest and use starches found in plants within their bodies much more efficiently than wolves. These new genetic traits allowed even early dogs to thrive on a diet rich in plants, meaning our modern dogs are no longer strict carnivores: they have important genetic mutations that have adapted them to an omnivorous diet.

What’s more, gray wolves cover long distances in pursuit of prey and defending their pack from predators. Dogs’ wild ancestors would spend most of their day burning up calories by hunting down small mammals to eat, thus needing fatty, protein-dense meals of raw animal meat to refuel. This scenario bears little resemblance to how our relatively lazy domestic dogs receive their food.

A recent report showed that over 39 percent of dogs (that’s over 3.7 million) only get up to half an hour’s daily walk. Yet these dogs still receive at least two meals a day, placed at their paws without any physical exertion. Even when they’re walked for an hour a day, our Cavapoos and Collies don’t need all those meaty calories because they’re not living the naturally active lives of wolves.

There’s no advantage to giving dogs protein they don’t require (they can’t store the excess) and we’ve already seen that all that additional meaty fat is just making our dogs fat.  High-meat diets are generally high-calorie diets, and calories count most when it comes to lifestyle causes of weight gain. That means that we need to dramatically rethink the kind of food that we’re feeding our pets if we want them to live long, active lives. Veggie dog food contains lower fat levels and more dietary fiber, which helps your dog maintain a healthier weight. 

 The dreaded C-word

Discovering cancer in our dog is every dog owner’s worst fear but, scarily, this is now the leading cause of death in dogs. A growing number of vets are linking high cancer rates to meat-based pet foods, with dogs suffering from the subtle, long-term damage of bioaccumulation. Chemical toxins in the environment build up (bioaccumulate) in animals the higher we move up the food chain. Put simply, when our pets eat other animals, they also consume the toxins those animals ate.

Furthermore, rancid fats, often present in commercial meat-based diets, are a leading source of free radical production in dogs. These free radicals, unstable atoms that can damage cells, have been linked to the development of cancer and arthritis. Plant-based food is free of rancid fats, instead providing antioxidant, cancer-fighting ingredients like blueberries, kale, hemp and sunflower seeds, seaweed, and broccoli.

These plant-based foods deliver nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and selenium, proven to build immunity and build healthy joints. Just ask Lewis Hamilton: he famously switched his bulldog Roscoe to a vegan diet after his dog’s arthritis worsened. On a plant-based regime, Roscoe’s swollen paws healed up and his joint pain appeared to ease. This is just one of many first-hand accounts of the positive impacts of removing meat from the dog bowl.  

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that processed and/or red meat consumption is linked to cancer in humans, urging us to reduce the amount of meat we eat. Although there’s less research on the animal side, certain cancers have been explicitly linked with high-meat dog foods.

On the flipside, a scientific study of 300 vegetarian dogs found that no dog who had been “vegan” for more than five years had cancer. All this suggests that if we take the meat out of dog food, we reduce the risk of that dreaded C-word. It’s that simple.

The hidden “extras” in commercial meat-based food

Researchers and testimonials from plant-based dog owners list a wealth of potential health benefits of feeding plant-based dog food, including fighting allergies, building immunity, and making sure your hound lives to a long, healthy old age. A 2016 study summarizes the evidence supporting the health and safety of plant-based pet food But what it all boils down to is this: by taking the meat out of pet food, you’re also taking out a lot of nasty stuff. 

Commercial meaty pet food is often made with the less appealing parts of the animal that humans can’t or don’t want to eat, like bones, fat, blood and feathers. These by-products are rendered: melted down into a meaty gruel before being dehydrated and made into kibble or mushed up with cereal and grains in cans. With rendered meat-based food you can’t see what you’re getting so all sorts of nasties can sneak in. Just Google “pet food recalls” if you want a sleepless night… 

What about raw meat feeding? According to the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, American Veterinary Medical Association and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, raw meat pet food can introduce bad bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella and even parasites into our pets and our homes. And while the high levels of fat might make your dog’s coat shiny, they also come with obesity risks.

With plant-based food, you know exactly what you’re feeding your pet, and those ingredients won’t come with a side order of salmonella.

We believe it’s “nice” for dogs to eat meat: but wouldn’t they prefer a more varied diet?

The stereotype of a dog happily gnawing on a bone is just one of many marketing images that create a subconscious message: my dog loves meat, and he or she will be sad and deprived without it. But is your dog really less happy eating plant-based food?

Not according to the science. A recent article surveyed 2,308 owners to find out how their dogs behaved towards their food: were their tails wagging as much? Did they dash up to their bowl? Were they barking with excitement? How fast did they eat? Taking all these things into account, the researchers found “no consistent evidence of a difference between vegan diets and either conventional or raw meat diets.”

Dogs don’t crave specific foods such as chicken or beef: they crave the nutrients within them. If we can deliver those nutrients without animal meat, our dogs should love their new plant-based food just as much as their old diet. 

New plant-based startups are leading a revolution in plant-based pet food, creating food that’s tastier and more satiating than ever. And most excitingly, they’re offering a much-needed variety of tastes and textures beyond bland, meat-based kibble. After all, the images of juicy beef, fresh pink salmon or tender chicken breasts on conventional pet food packages generally have very little to do with the hard, brown kibbles or grayish mush inside.

When we consider that most dogs are eating the same meat-based meal, day in, day out – as well as meat-based treats – it’s clear that something needs to change. After all, would you want to eat the same food, every day for the rest of your life? Not only is it soul-destroying, but pet nutritionists agree that having variety is important in creating a healthy gut microbiome.

Secret sauce

How can we insist that “dogs crave real meat” when we’re feeding them animals that have been cooked and processed far beyond recognition? Why would our pets even want to eat this bland food? Well, many pet food manufacturers add a “secret sauce”: animal fat sprayed onto the food, or meat by-products treated with heat, enzymes and acids to form concentrated meat flavors.

These flavorings taste really good to pets but that doesn’t mean that they’re healthy or nutritious. After all, humans have also developed tastes for unhealthy, fatty, sugary foods but that’s not to say we should be eating them every day.

Of course, taste preference is unique to the individual: it’s unlikely that the humans you know enjoy all the same foods, so why should the dogs? We’d also get pretty bored eating the same food for every meal, day in, day out. The range of plant-based options available – from THE PACK’s “No-Moo Ragu” to HOWND’s fresh blueberry and coconut porridge – mean that you can feed your dog a variety of different flavors and textures, finding those they like best and mixing up mealtimes to keep it interesting.

We believe misinformation that feeding plant-based diets is breaking the law (not true!)

The shift to plant-based feeding hasn’t been helped by negative publicity around vegan diets after misinformed suggestions that feeding plant-based diets could be in breach of the UK’s Animal Welfare Act. This is simply not true: the Animal Welfare Act states that owners must feed a “suitable diet” meeting their dog’s nutritional needs. Absolutely nowhere are vegan or vegetarian diets mentioned as unsuitable.

To suggest that dogs, who are omnivores not obligate carnivores, need meat to be healthy, is unscientific. As veterinarian and animal welfare expert Professor Andrew Knight puts it, “The claim is that animals on vegan diets will necessarily become ill and it’s somehow cruel to maintain them, is contrary to the scientific evidence in this field and is ignorant.”

Do vegan dogs get enough protein? 

If you’re vegan, you’re probably all too familiar with the question, “but where do you get your protein?” It will come as no surprise that “vegan” dogs are often subjected to the same cross-examination. In fact, because of the common misconception that dogs are obligate carnivores, the idea of a plant-based pup is even harder to stomach. So what’s the deal with dogs and protein?

According to current nutritional guidelines for dogs in Europe, the minimum amount of protein required for canine growth is 18 percent of daily food consumption. With dry kibble, you’ll see on the labels that protein makes up 18-25 percent of nutritional composition in most complete dog foods. With wet food, it will appear less due to the additional moisture content: once you remove that, the protein percentage is often even higher.

Protein molecules are molecular “strings” made up of 20 common amino acids. When dogs eat protein, their digestive system breaks down these strings into their amino acid building blocks, which are then used by your dog’s body to make lots of different proteins: the ones needed at any particular moment to build muscle, produce hormones or fight infection. If their diet contains enough of these amino acid building blocks, dogs can make half of the 20 amino acids on their own (including Taurine).

However, there are 10 amino acids that they can’t create, which means they must be eaten. A dog food must contain all of them in adequate levels to meet the official nutritional standards which allow the food to be labeled “complete”.

Is it just meat products that contain these ten essential amino acids? Of course not. High-quality plant protein sources, just like you find in complete vegan dog food, can also contain all ten. This isn’t just theory: last year, a study in a reputed veterinary journal compared the nutritional soundness of 19 meat-based and ten plant-based pet foods. What did it find? That plant-based diets were superior to meat-based diets.

The sheer number of healthy plant-based dogs today is testament to the science. You might have heard of Bramble, a Collie who once held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest living dog at 27 years of age. Like her owner, Bramble lived on a strict meat-free diet of rice, lentils, organic vegetables and that firm vegan favorite,”nooch”. So not only can dogs survive on plant-based food, time after time, they’ve been shown to thrive without meat. 

The future of dog food

One dog guardian has seen her 15-month Vizla, Keaton, doing just that: not just thriving health-wise, but delighting in his “vegan” meals. Happy owner Sharon tells us, “He can’t get enough quickly enough, and he has the same keenness three days later, which is impressive. Now all I have to do is teach him table manners…” 

Sharon has been feeding THE PACK, one of the leading companies in this emerging space. The London-based startup is on a mission to create the world’s most nutritious plant-based dog food that dogs love to eat. Healthy products that don’t compromise on taste is the mantra of THE PACK, which launched the world’s first plant-based meat-alternative wet food for dogs late last year.  No more invisible nasties: open a can of THE PACK and you see exactly what you’re getting: visible lupin beans, chunks of butternut squash and other ingredients, easily identifiable as real food. 

Founders Damien Clarkson and Judy Nadel are pet parents who were shocked by the extent of the health crisis in dogs. Clarkson and Nadel teamed up with world-leading experts in pet food nutrition, veterinarians and scientists, and set about building a company to transform pet health for the better.

It’s just one of a number of emerging pet food companies worldwide which are revolutionizing the industry with nutritious, delicious, ethical dog food that’s more than a match for meat-based alternatives. When creating their innovative range of wet-dog food, Clarkson explains, “We set our animal nutritionists the challenge of matching the protein levels of meat products with a plant-based wet food. This process took a lot of time, but together with world-leading experts we were able to bring a high-protein wet food to the market.” 

Palatability is also something Clarkson and Nadel are obsessed with. Nadel explains: “Dogs deserve to enjoy their food! We are constantly working with experts in dog palatability to innovate on taste and create products that dogs deserve and love.” She added that the response to THE PACK’s first products available through their website www.thepackpet.com  has been amazing: “We have had so many pet parents sharing videos and images with us of their dogs loving the food. We’re even getting raw feeders as customers, who love our products for variety in their dogs’ diets.” If advocates of raw meat food are seeing the benefits of plant-based feeding, we’re on the cusp of real change.

When we consider the health benefits of a plant-based dog diet and all the exciting new options available, it seems crazy to keep feeding our dogs meat. If we can safely nourish our dogs in a way that doesn’t harm another animal, while at the same time enhancing their health and happiness, why wouldn’t we?

New meat-free dog food alternatives are popping up every day, helping us to expand our circles of compassion to give all animals a better life, not just pets. Because in the end, the purchase of each can of dog food represents a choice about how a cow, chicken, pig, or fish lives and dies.

For those of us who have removed animal products from our own diets, game-changing new start-ups are proving that there’s no reason at all to keep feeding them to our dogs – and every reason to stop.

PBN has teamed up with THE PACK to offer 20 percent off your first purchase of its meaty, plant-based wet food for dogs. Simply use the code PBN20 when you check out at www.thepackpet.com

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This article was written by Alice Oven on the PBN Website.

Putting her money where her mouth is, the nine-time Grammy nominee has become an investor and advisor of Bond Pet Foods. The start-up uses precision fermentation to create nutritionally complete, plant-based food for dogs.

Since its inception in 2017, Bond has relied on ingredients like peanut butter, pea protein, and oats. Now, the start-up is edging its way into the cultured meat scene too; Bond says it’s the producer of the “world’s first” cultured chicken protein for pet food.

The product resembles conventional meat in taste, appearance, and nutrition. But, Bond assures that its team created it without harming any animals.

To achieve this, the company says it “gently pricked” a hen named Inga, who is now living out her retirement in Kansas. Researchers extracted the genetic coding of various chicken proteins from Inga’s sample. They then combined these with a strain of food-grade yeast in a fermentation tank.

“Just like those big vessels at your local brew pub,” Bond writes on its website. The team later dries the meat proteins and blends them into pet food. The end result reportedly contains “all of the essential amino acids that dogs and cats require for optimal health.”

Bond expects the cultured pet food to arrive on the market in the second half of 2023.

The ‘future’ of pet food

Sia’s collaboration with Bond will see the musical artist weighing in on the company’s social and digital marketing strategies. Namely, to help introduce the public to Bond and its approach, and to open up a conversation about pet nutrition.

“As a devout animal and environmental advocate, I’m inspired by Bond Pet Foods’ mission and believe their company is the future for sustainably led protein in pet food,” Sia said in a statement.

“If America’s dogs and cats were their own country, their consumption of meat products alone would rank fifth in the world. I am eager to lend my voice and support to a brand that’s re-imagining a cruelty-free future for all animals.”

Co-founder and CEO of Bond, Rich Kelleman, says the team is honored by Sia’s involvement.

“We’re honored to welcome Sia and her deep passion for animals into the Bond family,” Kelleman commented. “We believe her voice and creativity will help us further educate and excite the world about a new, better, more sustainable way to feed our pets.”

Sia swipes at the meat industry

The Chandelier singer spoke more about the implications of meat consumption last week in an article for Fortune.

Humankind slaughters an estimated 200 million farm animals every day for food, Sia notes in her article. Meanwhile, nearly one-third of the planet’s fresh water and over half of arable land is used for livestock, she says.

Further, 70 percent of all antibiotics in the US are given not to humans, but to animals “in increasingly concentrated farm operations.” This further “fuels the rise of antibiotic resistance,” Sia adds.

“For an animal lover, statistics like these can be mind-numbing and leave one feeling hopeless,” she wrote. It’s part of the reason that the performer co-narrated the impactful Dominion documentary in 2018.

“And yet,” Sia adds, “as is often the case in life, hopelessness can sow the seeds of revolution.”

A “slew of new entrepreneurs,” including her own investee Bond, are leading the charge, she says.

The songwriter – who refers to herself as vegetarian but announced in 2014 that she was vegan – encouraged readers to support these “transformative companies.”

“I encourage you … to be open to a new way of thinking about how our food is sourced and made, and together pave the way for options that are exponentially more humane, healthy, and sustainable,” Sia urged.

“Imagine, real meat without slaughter. Without antibiotics, without hormones, without bulldozing rain forests. Without consuming all our precious land, water, and energy to make the staples that have served as the mainstay of our diets for generations.”

This article was written by Jemima Webber on the PBN Website.