Pet owners are becoming more aware of the impact their food choices have on their pets and the environment. People are increasingly adopting vegan diets for themselves and their pets, or at least reducing the amount of meat in their pets’ diets. Some people are still concerned about feeding dogs an exclusively plant-based diet because they believe it will be unhealthy for them. Let’s look at why a plant-based diet is a good choice for your dog and how it can help our planet and the animals that live on it.

Vegan food is healthier for dogs

There is a growing body of evidence that vegan diets are more beneficial for dogs than meat-based ones. Vegan dog food can help reduce allergy symptoms and digestive issues in dogs, whereas meat-based dog food often contains animal byproducts such as bone meal and other low-quality ingredients that can be harmful to your dog’s health. Furthermore, many health issues that affect our pets, such as diabetes, cancer, and kidney disease, have been linked to a high consumption of meat products (the most common source of protein in traditional dog food).

Meat-based pet food has a negative impact on the environment

Meat production significantly contributes to global warming. The way we raise, harvest, and process animals has a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions; according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock accounts for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. This is primarily due to the fact that meat processing plants require a significant amount of energy to operate, and this energy is typically derived from fossil fuels rather than environmentally friendly sources. In addition, cattle consume a lot of grass, which produces large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

What’s more, animal farming requires a substantial amount of land, which contributes to deforestation. Meat production also causes massive amounts of waste runoff into rivers and lakes, polluting the water with phosphorus, nitrogen, and bacteria from manure lagoons, resulting in aquatic degradation.

Meat production contributes to increased animal farming

We’ve all seen the documentaries. We are aware that animal agriculture plays a significant role in pollution, deforestation, and climate change. Then there’s the treatment of animals on factory farms: they’re crammed into tiny spaces with no access to sunlight or fresh air; their feet frequently get caught in metal wire cages; they’re fed drugs to make them grow faster than normal; and they’re often killed in inhumane ways for efficiency reasons.

Some argue that eating meat from humanely raised animals is acceptable—but what exactly does “humanely” mean?

An alternative to meat-based dog food

PawCo’s mission is to provide healthy, balanced, nutritionally complete, and delicious meals for dogs that are not harmful to the environment or our animal friends. Our food contains no animal products, which means it does not contribute to animal farming, deforestation, or health issues that come with meat consumption! Visit mypawco.com/order to place your first order and make a better choice for the earth and our four-legged friends!