The relative benefits for environmental sustainability of vegan diets for dogs, cats and people

Abstract

Environmental impacts of the livestock sector are proportional to consumption levels. To assess the relative consumption of livestock animals within the diets of dogs, cats and people, this study examined their dietary energy needs within the US in 2020, and globally in 2018. Also studied were US pet food ingredients, and environmental sustainability indicators for plant- and animal-based foods consumed globally. Relative consumptions of average livestock animals were: US: dogs– 17.7%, cats– 2.3%, humans– 80.0%; and globally: dogs– 7.7%, cats– 1.2%, humans– 91.1%. Full transition to nutritionally-sound vegan diets would spare from slaughter the following numbers of terrestrial livestock animals annually (billions): US: dogs– 1.7, cats– 0.2, humans– 7.8, and globally: dogs– 6.0, cats– 0.9, humans– 71.3, as well as billions of aquatic animals in all dietary groups. Very large impact reductions were also associated with land and water use, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), acidifying and eutrophifying gases, and biocide use, in all dietary groups. If implemented globally, nutritionally-sound vegan diets would free up land larger than the following nations: dogs–Saudi Arabia or Mexico, cats–Japan or Germany, humans–Russia–the world’s largest country–combined with India. Such diets would save freshwater volumes greater than all renewable freshwater in the following nations: dogs–Denmark, cats–Jordan, humans–Cuba. Such diets would reduce GHGs by amounts greater than all GHG emissions from following nations: dogs–South Africa or the UK, cats–Israel or New Zealand, humans–India or the entire EU. The numbers of additional people who could be fed using food energy savings associated with vegan diets exceeded the 2018 human populations of the following nations: dogs–the entire European Union, cats–France or the UK, humans–every single nation or collective region on Earth, as defined by the World Bank. All of these estimates are conservative.

Comparison of the fecal microbiota of adult healthy dogs fed a plant-based (vegan) or an animal-based diet

“…This has resulted in pet nutrition trends to closely following popular trends in human nutrition ( Buff et al, 2014 ; Knight and Leitsberger, 2016 ; Dodd et al, 2018 ). Consumption of an entirely plant-based (vegan) diet that avoids consuming any ingredients that come from an animal has increased in popularity in human nutrition because of the potential positive impacts on the environment and overall health ( Berschneider, 2002 ; Michel, 2006 ; Dodd et al, 2018 ; Eisen and Brown, 2022 ; Feigin et al, 2023 ; Knight, 2023 ). As more pet guardians switch to a vegan diet, the potential for moral conflicts has developed when it comes to feeding their pets because most commercial diets are formulated using animal-based ingredients ( Rothgerber, 2013 ; Dodd et al, 2018 ).…”

Extruded diet macronutrient digestibility: plant-based (vegan) vs. animal-based diets in client-owned healthy adult dogs and the impact of guardian compliance during in-home trials

“…As a result, trends in companion animal nutrition often follow trends seen in human nutrition (Case, 2008;Buff et al, 2014;Dodd et al, 2020) . Around the world, the vegan or plant-based lifestyle trend has been increasing among people due to a combination of personal health, animal ethics, and environmental concerns (Laflamme et al, 2008;Santeramo et al, 2018;Knight, 2023). As more pet guardians transition to a vegan diet themselves, the trend is becoming relevant in companion animal nutrition, resulting in guardians seeking plant-based alternative pet food products (Laflamme et al, 2008;Santeramo et al, 2018;Dodd et al, 2020).…”