- Tweeter
republish
Many people decide to reduce or eliminate their consumption of meat, by becoming vegetarians, vegans or vegans. According to a recent study, some owners would not be against the idea of imposing such diets on their pets, dogs and cats in particular.
Changing your diet to move towards a more plant-based diet means eliminating meat, fish or any food of animal origin. This decision can be motivated by various factors: medical reasons, environmental beliefs or for animal welfare issues.
While vegetarian or vegan diets have been on the rise for a decade, some people have decided to introduce this type of food for their pets.
A recent study published by the University of Guelph in Canada shows that a third of Americans who have animals could consider putting them on a vegan or vegan diet, to move towards a more environmentally friendly approach.
Reducing our consumption of meat, a necessity ?
In 2017, 323 million tonnes of meat were consumed worldwide, estimates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). A figure on the rise for the past ten years. In 2014, the livestock sector accounted for 15.5% of CO2 emissions worldwide, making this sector one of the most polluting.
Our meat consumption will continue to increase as the world's population increases, says the FAO, which recommends adapting to climate change. Eating less meat may be one solution.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) considers that modifying our diets, such as partially or completely eliminating meat, can be an adaptation measure to climate change in order to mitigate potential damage that this has on our planet. Diets favoring plant foods have less negative impact on the environment because their production emits less CO2.
It is with this observation and the increase in the number of vegetarians and vegans in the world that the manufacturers of animal feed have seized this new market, with meals based on vegetable proteins.
Towards more natural croquettes
The study by the University of Guelph is one of the first to address the issue of meat consumption by pet owners to understand the diets they are putting in place for their own pets. In the United States, for example, 56% of the population has pets and, among them, at least 20 million are vegetarians or vegans and would not be against the idea of adapting such a diet for their animals.
On a larger scale, more than half of the world's population claims to have an animal, this is what emerges from a survey conducted by GFK in 2015. At the top of the list of the most popular pets: dogs and cats. However, these animals largely eat food of animal origin.
In another study by the University of California at Los Angeles , Dr. Gregory Okin recalls that we must be aware of the ecological impact that pets can have on the planet, because a meat-based diet, whether for humans or animals, requires more energy, water and soil than a diet based on plant foods.
Cats and dogs therefore represent large consumers of meat and that is why companies have launched new ranges of animal food in recent years: organic and vegetarian kibbles with vegan food supplements.
Doctor Guillaume Germain is a veterinarian in Paris. For him, it is a fashion effect: “ In the long term, it cannot be beneficial for their health. Animals may be subject to deficiencies. But for the moment, there aren't really any studies that have been carried out to be able to prove it scientifically . ”
Food seen as " unnatural "
One of the questions raised by the University of Guelph study is that of respecting one's beliefs. Should we impose them on our pets or not? This is a subject raised on numerous websites, such as Vegan Pratique , and the Facebook group "Vegetarian Cats and Dogs" which today has more than 6,600 members. The fact of no longer eating meat, but of continuing to feed it to animals can be seen as a paradox.
By nature, the dog is omnivorous and the cat is carnivorous, and both have nutrient needs that are not necessarily found in plant-based foods, this is the case for taurine, an essential amino acid for cats. Diets based on plant foods can then be seen as unnatural by some.
An argument refuted by Marie, vegan for five years and who fed several of her cats with a purely vegetable diet to be in agreement with her own convictions.
“ If in the future we have to reduce our consumption of meat, we will have to think about how to feed the animals that we have domesticated. Those who think that vegetable food for animals is unnatural are not totally wrong, but domestication too is already unnatural ”.
For Marie, animal food must develop in order to be more ethical and in line with veganism, but it must be improved in order to fully meet the nutritional needs of animals.
Manon, one of the members of the “Vegan Dogs and Cats” Facebook group, has also been vegan for several years, and so are her two dogs. After two years of a meatless diet, Marie's animal veterinarian confirmed that the health of her dogs was perfectly good and that they were not deficient.
" But even among vegans, this subject is problematic, some people tell me that I mistreat my dogs," specifies Manon before continuing: nothing that we impose on our animals is natural. The important thing for me today is that they are in good health and I am convinced that the meat they are being served is not good ”.
Doctor Vieira, a veterinarian, describes these diets as being " a big mistake " and goes further by saying that it is " physiological mistreatment, because animals risk developing deficiencies ".
One thing is certain, a vegetarian or vegan diet for animals requires in-depth knowledge of their needs, as it does for humans.
If meatless diets have less impact on the environment, can humans impose this on domestic animals for ecological reasons? The researchers behind the study published by the University of Guelph rightly evoke this dilemma faced by vegetarians and vegans: should your own ethics prevail over the nature of the animal or should you continue to feed dogs and cats with meat even when it is against its principles?
A question that still divides among veterinarians, vegetarians and vegans.