Pet Food Is a Climate Bomb
We’re hurtling through the sixth mass extinction. Climate targets are evaporating. Governments are playing dress-up with sustainability pledges. But the conversation rarely lands where it needs to: the food bowl of your companion animal.
A new study published in Pacific Conservation Biology has laid it out in plain terms. The environmental impact of dogs - yes, your beloved companion - is “far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised.”
It’s not just about the flesh in their food (we’ll get to that). The study’s authors, Philip W. Bateman and Lauren N. Gilson of Curtin University, point to something even more sobering: dogs kill and disturb wildlife directly, even just by existing. Their scent lingers. Their excreta pollutes waterways and transmits zoonoses. Even leashed, even silent, even still, dogs displace animals and degrade habitats.
And then there’s the rest.
Globally, there are around 1 billion cats and dogs. That’s 900 million hungry mouths, most of them being filled with the flesh of other animals - animals bred, confined, and slaughtered solely to be processed into companion animal feed. The industry responsible for feeding cats and dogs now consumes at least 20% of all farmed land animals. In the U.S., pet food accounts for up to 30% of the environmental impact of livestock farming.
You can’t claim to care about the climate while pretending this is a side issue. Pet food isn’t a bystander in the environmental crisis. It’s a main character.
The Byproduct Lie
“But it’s just byproducts!” people say, as if that makes it acceptable.
Let’s be clear. “Byproducts” aren’t waste - they’re profit. They’re factored into slaughterhouse business models. In the cow industry, they make up over 11% of total profits. In pig slaughter, it’s 7.5%. This isn’t about cleaning up scraps. It’s about turning every part of a body into cash. And your dog’s food is part of that chain.
Feeding pets “byproducts” doesn’t reduce animal exploitation. It increases demand. The more companion animals we feed this way, the more animals have to be killed. It’s not ethical. It’s not efficient. It’s just more exploitation disguised as convenience.
A Full-Blown Climate Liability
Animal agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions - responsible for at least 14.5% of global emissions, probably much more. The pet food industry is a massive contributor, but somehow escapes scrutiny.
It shouldn’t.
Feeding a single large dog a flesh-based diet has a bigger carbon footprint than the average person in Japan. Multiply that by hundreds of millions of dogs and cats, and you’ve got a climate disaster that no one’s talking about.
And it’s not slowing down. Companion animal populations are exploding - fueled by falling birth rates, rising incomes, and a booming pet industry. Every new mouth increases emissions, land use, and water consumption. This isn’t fringe. This is structural.
This isn’t about blame. It’s about truth. If you’re rejecting animal use in your own life, but still pouring it into your companion’s bowl, there’s a contradiction staring you in the face.
It’s time to face it.
We Know Better. We Can Do Better.
The good news? We don’t have to keep doing this.
Plant-based pet food exists. It’s complete. It’s safe. It’s proven. Dogs can thrive on it - cats can too, with properly formulated diets including essentials like taurine and other nutrients. Even the British Veterinary Association has dropped its outdated opposition.
And the benefits? Enormous.
If the world’s dogs were fed a plantbased diet, we could save more emissions than the entire UK produces annually. We could feed 450 million people with the freed-up food energy. We could spare 6 billion land animals every single year.
Add cats to the equation, and you’re talking about over 7 billion animals saved annually.
This is what a tipping point looks like.
The Industry Is Already Shifting
The vegan pet food market was worth $10.3 billion in 2024 and is on track to nearly double by 2034. Cultivated flesh for companion animals was approved in the EU. Plant-based and precision-fermented proteins are already on the shelves. This isn’t theory - it’s happening.
Because once you realise what flesh-based pet food really is - an industrialised animal-killing, climate-wrecking operation in disguise - you can’t unsee it.
And more importantly, you can’t keep supporting it.
Still Think It’s a Personal Choice?
Feeding your companion animals flesh isn’t neutral. It’s not private. It’s not harmless. It props up factory farming. It fuels climate collapse. It competes with food systems already strained by inequality and overconsumption.
And no, “just feed them less” isn’t the solution. The problem isn’t portion size - it’s the system.
So, What Now?
1. Switch to plant-based: Transition your companion animals to nutritionally complete vegan food. Start with 50% if you're unsure. Build from there.
2. Adopt, don’t shop: Every animal bought sustains demand. Rescued animals need homes. Choose adoption.
3. Speak up: Talk about it. Share the data. Confront the silence. This is a climate issue, an animal issue, and a justice issue.
4. Support alternatives: Cultivated, fermented, and plant-based brands are changing the game. Back them.
5. Stop pretending: If you believe in ending animal exploitation, you can’t ignore the role of pet food.
No More Excuses
We have the research. We have the food. We have the infrastructure. What we’re lacking is courage - and honesty.
The climate is collapsing. The slaughter industry is bleeding every revenue stream dry - including your companion’s diet. You want to help? Start by rethinking what you’re pouring into that bowl.
Because that’s not a personal choice. That’s a planetary one.
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