Pet food: are you willing to feed bugs and larvae to your dog or cat to save the climate?

    Pet food: are you willing to feed bugs and larvae to your dog or cat to save the climate?

    Insect-based diet for your pet? This is the latest trend to safeguard the climate

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Insect-based diet for your pet? This is the latest trend to safeguard the climate





    Reducing the consumption of meat, not wasting water and separating waste are actions that each of us should carry out on a daily basis, but for those who have pets there is much more. The pet food industry has in fact a devastating impact on the planet that worries experts, climate activists as well as the owners of the animals themselves. A University of California Los Angeles study reported shocking data that the pet food industry would produce in a year 64 million tons of carbon dioxide. 

    Un unprecedented impact if you consider that the same amount of gas is emitted in one year by driving over 13 million cars.

    Stopping the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere would be possible by replacing commercial pet foods with one more sustainable alternative for the environment made of insects and larvae that is able to provide our animal with all the nutrients it needs.

    Researchers from the Barclays Sustainable & Thematic Investing team said the insects will make up the food of the future for humans and animals, having a low environmental impact compared to the production of other protein sources. It is no coincidence that these are already consumed in many countries around the world.

    According to veterinarians and experts, grasshoppers, crickets and worms would constitute a fact full meal for dogs and cats since particularly rich in protein, vitamins and fats, although the costs for such a diet are much higher.

    The British agency Futerra that deals with creating sustainable business strategies, in collaboration with the multinational pet food Mars Petcare, has already launched the lovebug, a cat food made from soldier fly larvae.



    In recent years, more and more people have changed their diet, that of their animals and their habits towards one more ethical and sustainable lifestyle for the environment. Despite the doubts and skepticism about this diet, insects and larvae would really help reduce the carbon footprint and protect our ecosystem. But will we really be able to overcome our preconceptions and repulsion for insect-based diets? Also because at the moment insect-based pet food is even more expensive than traditional pet food.

    But what do vets think?

    Justine Shotton, president of the British Veterinary Association, said more research is needed into why there is not enough evidence that an insect-based diet properly replaces the proteins assimilated by the pet's current diet. Dog and cat owners should consult a veterinarian with proper knowledge before giving their pet an insect-based diet, as Shotton points out.

    According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, there are more than 100 insect farms in Europe, while most of the production has been located in the tropics. There are also seven insects authorized by the EU to be bred and used as ingredients for pet food, fed on grasses, palm seeds, fruit and by-products of horticultural crops.

    If we want to save the planet, we should seriously consider the consumption of insects in the future


    Source: PLOS

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