New research highlights that changing what pets eat could be a major lever in reducing environmental impacts associated with pet ownership. A growing body of studies shows that traditional meat-rich dog and cat foods contribute disproportionately to greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water consumption, compared with diets featuring more plant-based ingredients.
A recent life cycle assessment of 31 commercial dry dog foods by University of Nottingham researchers found that plant-based diets consistently outperformed meat-based alternatives across key sustainability metrics, including carbon emissions, land and freshwater use and nutrient pollution. Over an average nine-year lifespan, feeding a 20 kg dog plant-based food required far less land and emitted a small fraction of the greenhouse gases generated by beef-based diets, according to the study.
Other research suggests that changing a dog’s diet could have a greater climate benefit than altering human diets in some cases, since average dogs consume more animal-derived ingredients per unit of energy than humans do.
Experts say increasing the use of plant-based ingredients or choosing lower-impact protein sources in pet foods offers a practical way to shrink the sector’s ecological “pawprint.” While nutritional adequacy and pet health remain priorities, researchers argue that sustainability-focused dietary choices for pets could play a significant role in broader efforts to mitigate climate change and resource depletion. News as reported
