I am not appreciative of the solutions vegans propose, while I am wholeheartedly united with their quest to end animal cruelty. But I just don’t think that making dog and cat food vegan is humane in any respect.

Cats need prey, Dogs prefer it, but as omnivores, they can do just fine on plant diets, for a short term. Studies cited in this article tracked iron or onset of anemia for 16 weeks and found no adverse effects. I agree. I think most humans can radically change their diet for 3 or 4 months and not notice any problems, after initial adjustment, but eating from a limited range of food, for omnivores like ourselves and our dogs, is not a long-term species-appropriate diet.

Couple comments to a couple dog food manufacturers whose products I support, albeit cautiously for the new vegan treats with the first ingredient oat flour. I hope they focus much less on grains as they release new products.

Here is the thing > we are at the end of peak agriculture just as much as we are at the end of peak animal factory farming. Just switching those pets with similar digestive tracts to plant-sourced protein is not a long-term sustainable solution, as what LAND is newly becoming arable, for dogfood crops when most of the farm land is already in danger of becoming dessert as I type?

A Life-centric world searching for whole Earth solutions and more machines, more refined nutrition, and more petrochemical fuel tending barely surviving soil is not the optimal answer.

It may be a first pivot, though, and I support the effort.

Click the image to read the original post on LinkedIn

For more on my Dog’s love of Broccoli and the changing state of our food supply, click this image….