Robust studies needed over the lifetime of a vegan dog’s diet

With Prof Andrew Knight’s groundbreaking studies released on the 13th April 22 and stating that vegan diets are in fact healthier than meat-based dog food diets, it is all just so positive…..but as it has all happened so fast, it obviously needs time for large companies and associations to accept this new development.

We are so happy that the BVA (British Veterinary Association) has a leader who is dedicated to sustainability as it is well documented that –

Avoiding meat and dairy products is one of the biggest ways to reduce your environmental impact on the planet. Studies suggest that a high-fibre, plant-based diet is also better for your health – so it can be a win-win.

Thankfully, our similarities in opinion lie with large companies producing either ‘raw’ or ‘human-grade’ pet food that are both completely non-sustainable for our future as well as being dangerous for our pet and planet’s health. The meat-based dog food industry at least uses the ‘byproducts’ of the meat industry so is a form of sustainable recycling; but to feed a small dog human-grade meat with every meal, is to give it the same carbon footprint as a full grown man as we do not eat meat with every meal.

We are also all very aware of the enormous dangers of antibiotic resistant E-Coli bacteria in raw meat with this paper released urgently in April 2020 when every country was in lockdown but they had to release it as it was too important.

The use of fish in our pet food has to be removed at all costs as fish is not a natural diet for dog’s or cats (they would never naturally choose to dive into the ocean or lake to catch a fish) and we have to protect our vulnerable oceans from over-fishing. To put a price on small fish that are so urgently needed in the food chain of the ocean by adding them to pet food needs to stop.

Thankfully the PFMA takes a good stance on vegan dog food and states that marine Algae can be used as a sustainable source of important fatty acids and Omega 3’s.

We appreciate too that the BVA President’s stand is in this latest article released 2 months before Prof Andrew Knight’s article states that –

“We need good evidence from large-scale, long-term, robust scientific studies feeding dogs on appropriately supplemented balanced vegan diets for their lifetime, looking at how these diets affect their health, before we can make recommendations as to whether these diets are suitable and safe for the wider pet populations.”

Thankfully those studies have now been released by Prof Andrew Knight and as passionate vets wanting to do the right thing for the health of our pets and the future of our planet and ocean’s health, we are so excited about our own ‘large-scale, long-term, and ongoing scientific studies’ from dedicated and extremely caring people also wanting to the right thing for their pets and the planet.

The changes seen in their pet’s health whilst on a plant-based diet is remarkable and cannot be disputed that it can be quite lifechanging to their health as shown below…..