Consuming pets

Dogs and cats have an adverse impact on the environment, primarily because we feed dogs and cats meat. We produce meat via animal agriculture, which is very bad for the environment (and for animals).Possible alternatives to ‘slaughter-based’ pet foods include pet foods based on cultivated meat or insects, or vegan pet foods. Since these do not rely on animal agriculture, they may be significantly less environmentally damaging.

Vegan pet foods have limited uptake among guardians of dogs and cats, who worry that vegan pet foods may be ‘unnatural’ or unhealthy. Meanwhile, critics charge guardians of animals fed vegan diets with forcing their ideologies on animals.

Recent research suggests that vegan pet foods are just as palatable, and at least as healthy, for dogs and cats as slaughter-based pet foods.

Quantifications of pet food’s impact show that switching dogs and cats to vegan diets globally would drastically reduce the number of animals farmed, and thus the greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and freshwater use of animal agriculture.