By John Harvey, Peter Alexander and Sarah Crowley* of
Photo: CAIA IMAGE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Cutting down the amount of meat we eat helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture. But what about the meat that our pet dogs eat?
Our new study shows that feeding dogs can have a larger negative effect on the environment than the food their owners eat. For a collie or English springer spaniel-sized dog (weighing 20kg), 40 percent of tested dog foods have a higher climate impact than a human vegan diet, and 10 percent exceed emissions from a high-meat human diet.
Dog food comprises a significant part of the global food system. We have calculated that producing ingredients for dog food contributes around 0.9-1.3 percent of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, producing enough food for all dogs could create emissions equivalent to 59-99 percent of those from burning jet fuel in commercial aviation.
The type of animal product used to pr
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