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According to a study that hopes to promote plant-based diets for pets, a vegan diet for cats and dogs may be as healthy as a meat diet.
This research comes from Andrew Knight, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Winchester. Knight said that in terms of certain health outcomes, plant-based diets may be better or even better than meat pet foods, even though synthetic nutrients are necessary to complete the diet.
In the United Kingdom, where the University of Winchester is located, pet owners who fail to feed their pets with a “appropriate diet” may be fined more than $27,500 or imprisoned under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act. The bill does not stipulate that vegetarian or vegetarian meals are inappropriate.
Justine Shotton, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “We do not recommend feeding dogs a vegan diet, because the wrong nutritional balance is much easier than the correct one, which can lead to dietary deficiency and the risk of related diseases.”, Tell Hill.
Veterinary experts say that pets need a balanced diet and may have very specific nutritional needs, and a vegan diet is unlikely to meet these needs. However, Knight’s research results show that plant-based pet foods are nutritionally equivalent to products containing meat.
“Dogs, cats and other species have nutritional needs. They do not need meat or any other specific ingredients. They need a set of nutrients, as long as they are provided to them in a delicious enough diet, they will have the motivation to eat it and be easy to digest. , We want to see them thrive. This is what the evidence seems to indicate,” Knight told the Guardian.
According to Hill, although dogs are omnivores, cats are carnivores, and their diets require specific proteins, including taurine.
According to the Washington Post, 180 million pets in American households eat beef, lamb, poultry or pork for almost every meal, because the greenhouse gas emissions from animal husbandry account for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles estimate that dogs and cats have up to 30% of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the United States. According to the “Washington Post”, if American pets form their own country, their meat consumption will rank fifth in the world.
According to a survey by Petco, many pet food companies have begun to develop insect-based alternatives for dogs and cats, and 55% of customers like the idea of ​​using sustainable alternative protein ingredients in pet food.
Illinois recently became the fifth state to ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats from breeders, even though they are allowed to host adoption events for cats and dogs from animal shelters and rescue organizations. The bill aims to end feedlots that provide feedlots for most companion animals sold in stores.
Shepard Price has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas and lives in St. Louis. They have been in journalism for more than four years.