{"id":2140,"date":"2023-06-12T22:06:36","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T16:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perthescortsdirectory.com.au\/blog\/can-dogs-fare-well-on-plant-based-diets\/"},"modified":"2023-06-12T22:06:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T16:36:36","slug":"can-dogs-fare-well-on-plant-based-diets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perthescortsdirectory.com.au\/blog\/can-dogs-fare-well-on-plant-based-diets\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Dogs Fare Well on Plant-Based Diets?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The British quiz show “QI” once gave contestants a photo of a family with two children, a car, and a dog and asked what they could do to reduce their carbon footprint. You likely answered as everyone does, \u201cGet rid of the automobile!\u201d <\/p>\n

But such obvious answers rarely make good drama, and what everyone misses is that the dog likely creates more greenhouse gas emissions than the car. It does so through its diet, likely high in factory-farmed animal content.<\/p>\n

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\"Adam<\/div>\n

Adam Kontor, Pexels<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Undoing of the Vegetarian?<\/h2>\n

There are about 150 million companion dogs and cats in the U.S. and close to 1 billion worldwide. For most, the conventional pet diet is meat-heavy, as pet foods in the U.S. use 1.83 million tons of meat annually. <\/p>\n

In fact, pets<\/a> eat an estimated one-fourth of all meat in the U.S.<\/em>, the equivalent of the meat eaten by 26 million Americans. As their own nation, pets would constitute the fifth largest country in terms of animal protein consumed. And these trends show no sign of abating, as the number of companion dogs in the U.S. has risen significantly in the last decade or so and is expected to increase from 85 million in 2020 to 100 million in 2030.<\/p>\n

For some vegetarians or vegans\u2014who often dearly love animals\u2014the situation poses a tragic tradeoff between two sacred values: 1) feeding one\u2019s dog or cat an animal-based diet that may be perceived as best promoting their well-being with 2) concerns over animal welfare and environmental degradation threatened by such diets. Basically, they want to feed them a proper diet but may feel terrible about what that entails. <\/p>\n

In 2013<\/a> and 2014<\/a>, I published several articles where I dubbed this the \u201cvegetarian\u2019s dilemma.\u201d To the chagrin of some vegetarians, their household with a companion animal may consume more<\/em> meat than their neighbors who eat meat but have no pets. What logic does this make? <\/p>\n

Since the time of my research, philosopher Josh Milburn has explored the issue in Just Fodder<\/em>: The Ethics<\/a> of Feeding Animals<\/em>, where he uses the term \u201cthe animal lover\u2019s paradox.\u201d In his words, through pet diet, \u201canimal lovers\u2026 typically create more nonhuman animal death and suffering than they would if they did not keep companions.\u201d<\/p>\n

My work found that this dilemma was especially distressing and guilt<\/a>-provoking for those abstaining from meat for ethical reasons, as they would be especially sensitive to nonhuman animal suffering. To paraphrase Milburn, if it\u2019s wrong to support the meat industry in our own diet, how can it be right to support them to feed our companions? And yet, this is what many vegetarians presumably do.<\/p>\n

In my research, I found that for those living with cats, some relief was offered by rationalizing that meat is necessary for their diet. This isn\u2019t quite clear, but the perception is what matters in helping to appease people\u2019s consciences.<\/p>\n

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\"Mart<\/div>\n

Mart Production Pexels<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

My focus here lies with dogs though, as it is even less apparent that they need meat to survive and thrive. What does the research say since my 2013 paper? Can dogs fare well on a plant-based diet, one that has been termed \u201cK9PBN\u201d <\/em>(canine plant-based nutrition<\/a>)? <\/p>\n

Fortunately, evidence has been steadily increasing in the last few years, probably reflecting greater consumer interest<\/a>. There are two general types of studies: 1) those asking dog guardians to indicate what they feed their dog and report health outcomes; and 2) those tracking diet and assessing objective physiological indicators of well-being.<\/p>\n

Self-Report Assessments of Dogs on K9PBN<\/h2>\n