Dog owners trying to ensure their best friends have a well-balanced, nutritional diet could have a problem.
Wet, raw and meat-rich foods made for dogs are adding a signifiant amount of excess emissions to Britain’s carbon footprint. Output linked to prerequisite ingredients is often substantially more damaging than recipes for dry feeds.
Scientists at Edinburgh and Exeter universities used ingredient and nutrient labelling information to calculate the overall carbon produced by almost 1,000 commercially available dog foods, focusing on emissions generated through production.
Based on this calculation, if all dogs in the world were fed in the same way as those in Britain the greenhouse gases released would be comparable to half of all jet fuel burnt through commercial aviation.
There were also vast differences between the different types of food. For example, the highest impact – those labelled as ‘prime meat’ or similar – were up to 65 times more damaging to the atmosphere than the lowest rated options.
In comparison, dry alternatives – not marketed as ‘grain free’ – had substantially less impact, as did those that used nutritious carcass parts that would not be considered appropriate for human consumption. Although some plant-based brands were also linked to a substantial drop in carbon emissions, the researchers warned not enough of these were tested to produce reliable results.
As a veterinary surgeon working on environmental sustainability, I regularly see owners torn between ideals of dogs as meat‑eating ‘wolves’ and their wish to reduce environmental harm,’ said John Harvey, at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. ‘Our research shows just how large and variable the climate impact of dog food really is.
‘It’s important for owners to know that choosing grain-free, wet or raw foods can result in higher impacts compared to standard dry kibble foods,’ he continued. ‘The pet food industry should make sure meat cuts used are of the types not typically eaten by humans, and that labelling is clear. These steps can help us have healthy, well-fed dogs with a smaller pawprint on the planet.’
Image: Milli / Unsplash
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