As you may know, the environmental impact of the pet food industry is astronomical. We love our pets and treat them like family, as we should, but few of us know that what we choose to feed them can have an important impact on our planet's health. Let’s dig into the problem.
Did you know that meat agriculture is a significant contributor to global climate change? In fact, the industry contributes at least 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Yep, that’s right, just the American market for beef produces 337 billion lb. CO2 emissions per year, that number can be compared to the same amount of CO2 produced by 32.3 million cars. (Hamburger v. Wildlife: The Environmental Cost of Beef).
Here are a few statistics to remember when choosing your pet’s food:
- There are over 500 millions pets in the world.
- Dogs and cats eat up to 20% of their country’s meat and fish each year.
- The environmental impact of animal production when we take into consideration land use, water, and fossil fuel, used to feed dogs and cats is 25–30% of that used to feed humans.
- The proportion of total animal-derived energy consumed by dogs and cats is about 25% which means that their share of the livestock-related methane and nitrous oxide production is about 64 million tons CO2.
- We have found out that non-premium brands tend to have lower animal-derived content whereas premium brands tend to have higher animal-derived content, in fact, we can see that for dogs of all sizes, the average percent of owners who usually feed these meat-rich dog foods is around 38% of dog owners.
Here, at Wilder Harrier, we believe we can offer alternative options for your dog and for your planet. Here are a few solutions we would like to encourage you to consider. We offer excellent protein options, either insect protein dog food or asian carp protein dog food. Both options have lower environmental impacts. We envision a world in which you don’t have to choose between your dog’s health or the planet’s health, and believe that Wilder Harrier can give you options that combine all the nutrients your dog needs with the least harmful impact for our environment.
Insects are extremely more efficient compared to conventional proteins at converting food and water into edible protein. In terms of water use, insects require 2000 times less water than beef to produce the same output of protein. They are also much more efficient at converting feed into protein (about 2 to 4 times better than conventional livestock). In simpler words, they produce much more edible protein with the same amount of resources than other animals. Moreover, black soldier flies actually consume perfectly clean pre-consumer food waste. Grubs are nature’s most efficient composters. Our BSFs actually get all the water they need from the up-cycled food they are fed! By transforming this perfectly good food into protein, they also reduce the greenhouse emissions that would have been emitted by the methane created by its fermentation.
This invasive species was initially bred in captivity in Missouri, but spread throughout US rivers following a monster flood. It is now destroying aquatic ecosystems of several water basins in North America. This species is found near our Great Lakes and threatens other species of fish, plants, and other fauna and flora, destabilizing natural ecosystems. Asian carp MUST be fished and taken out of our lakes and rivers. And do you know what is even better: they are super nutritious and dogs LOVE them!
We urge you to make the right decision when it comes to your dog’s paw print. With your help we have made noticeable positive ecological impacts—our recipes have saved 73,290,271 liters of water SO FAR! We are so proud to say that we have also saved 255,912 KG of fruits and vegetables and 137,404 KG of CO2. You have the power to invest in green alternatives. You and your furry family can join us in the movement and we can’t wait to welcome you. Use the code GREENMOVEMENT for 20% off your next purchase.
