Our ‘Pet Owner Sustainability Series’ is going to cover many topics, hopefully sparking curiosity and allow us to consider how we can embrace the joys and benefits of our furry friends, in a more sustainable way. Have you ever stopped to consider the environmental impact of owning a pet? We’ve all heard the term carbon footprint and the effects that we as humans have on the planet, but what about your pet’s carbon paw print?
Pet food is the biggest contributor to your pet’s carbon paw print, from the ingredients used, its transport, importation and supply, to its packaging. According to Vet Sustain (a company dedicated to improving the environmental sustainability of veterinary practice and pet ownership), recent studies have shown the ingredients used to make up the contents of pet food amounts to 57% of the total carbon footprint of feeding our pets. Whereas we often see packaging and plastic as an important contributor, it actually only amounts to 12% of it’s carbon footprint. It is also worth remembering that often most pet food packaging is recyclable these days, whether through local schemes or at Pets at Home stores. Therefore, the focus should now be on what it used in our pet foods: are their produced in the UK, what are their environmental impacts, are they made by an eco-conscious company and do they take consideration into the welfare of the food producing animals used? And also how that food is stored, for example, does it need to be frozen?
Protein Sources
There is growing interest around alternative protein sources used in pet food, such as insect protein, cultured meats and algae, however more research is currently needed on their safety, nutritional value and true sustainability. The growth in the availability of insect protein based food, which do seem to have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to other foods on the market, while also providing a novel protein source for pets with food allergies, but there is some debate within the industry as to the ethics of this protein type, especially around the area as to how “sentient” the insect grubs involved in the process are.
We know that animal protein sources, as with human diets, have more of an impact on the environment compared to plant proteins. There are vegetarian and vegan diets on the market, for both dogs and cats. It should be noted that dogs are ‘omnivores’, meaning their body systems are technically adapted to be able to be fed a vegetarian based diet. Whereas cats are ‘obligate carnivores’, meaning they require animal based protein in their diets. Therefore, we would not recommend feeding cats vegan or vegetarian diets they need certain amino acids in their diet which they can only get from animal protein sources.
The increased use of plant proteins may improve the sustainability of dog food. However, currently there is not enough research on the effects of these diets as to whether they meet the nutritional needs of our pets over an extended period of time.
What we do know
- wet food has twice the carbon impact that dry food does
- feeding your pet a raw diet can have up to 47 times more of an impact
- high value meats have a higher impact than animal by-products
- ingredients sourced from far away and from areas of deforestation will have a higher impact
- lower impact meats like chicken, compared to beef, have a lower carbon impact
Not only do we want our pet’s food to be palatable and digestible, but when considering what you feed your pet does the pet food company:
- support and recognise animal welfare in the production of its food
- source sustainable ingredients
- reduce the impacts of pet food packaging
Stay tuned for our next blog in March as part of our ‘Pet Owner Sustainability’ series on Biodiversity.