Science Says Meat Based Dog Food is Destroying our Planet

According to a first-of-its-kind scientific study and several major follow up articles, feeding your dog a meat-based diet overwhelmingly contributes to environmental degradation. Here are some of the highlights:

"In the US, there are more than 163 million dogs and cats that consume, as a significant portion of their diet, animal products and therefore potentially constitute a considerable dietary footprint. Here, the energy and animal-derived product consumption of these pets in the US is evaluated for the first time, as are the environmental impacts from the animal products fed to them, including feces production..." - Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats, PLOS Journal

"The environmental impact of meat production is well-known. It "requires more energy, land and water and has greater environmental consequences in terms of erosion, pesticides and waste," according to researchers." -"Your pet is ruining the planet, says UCLA study" - SF Gate

"When it comes to environmental effects, meat-eating takes the cake. A 2014 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that producing a kilogram of chicken results in about 3.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide, while a kilogram of pork comes with 24 kilograms of carbon dioxide. The same amount of beef, however, can be responsible for up to 1,000 kilograms of CO2 — a worrisome figure given that this greenhouse gas is largely responsible for the significant warming of the Earth’s climate. That’s not even counting the livestock’s water usage footprint, which dwarfs that of agricultural crops."

-"Scientists tally the environmental impact of feeding meat to our cats and dogs. It’s huge." - LA Times

"Okin did the research and crunched the numbers and concluded that meat consumption by dogs and cats creates the equivalent of about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year; around the same climate impact as a year's worth of driving from 13.6 million cars." -

"Cats, dogs responsible for up to 30% of meat environmental impact in US" - TreeHugger

Well, that's depressing...

The good news?

Dogs are omnivores and can absolutely thrive on a complete and balanced vegan diet (like v-dog food). Check out some of the links below for details and science on this plant-saving, healthy lifestyle for your pup!

3 Studies on Vegan Dogs

Thousands of Vegan Dogs Thriving + Miracle Stories