Sustainable Pet Food
Andrew Knight
Professor of Animal Welfare, Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom
Food for dogs and cats is dominated by ingredients of animal origin, but growing concerns about animal welfare and the environment are leading to increasing interest in more sustainable options, such as plant-based and culture-based pet food. This study evaluated the arguments for sustainable pet food using the framework of effective altruism (scale, neglect, and manageability) and found strong support for all three criteria.
Globally, in 2018, at least 9% of the land animals bred annually were used to feed dogs and cats, with more being consumed by dogs (13) on average than by average humans (9) per year. Switching to nutritious vegan pet food worldwide could save approximately seven billion land animals and many billions of marine animals from slaughter, while freeing up enough food energy to feed 519 million people. The transition to vegan food for dogs alone could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 times the UK's annual production and free up land larger than Mexico. Despite these benefits, sustainable pet food receives little funding, attention, or talent. However, the problem is indeed solvable: 13-18% of pet owners would consider a vegan diet if their concerns were met. Assuming just one dog or cat per owner, this would enable at least 70 million dogs and 86 million cats worldwide to switch, with actual numbers likely being many times higher. In short, sustainable animal feed is a largely overlooked but very effective way to reduce the consumption of farm animals, limit environmental damage, and improve food security.
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