Feed Your Dog, Save the Planet!
Feed your dog, save the planet. It’s possible. Really.
The best way to mitigate the climate crisis is to reduce our individual carbon footprint and the most effective mechanism is through the food we eat, and the food we feed our pets. Most of us rely on food produced by the industrial agriculture complex which uses huge inputs of fossil fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to produce food of questionable nutritional quality that is further degraded by processing. And these are just the direct inputs. The other costs of food production include the packaging, transportation, storage, and distribution of these foods to reach the consumer. When these ‘indirect’ costs are included, industrial agriculture globally accounts for up to 1/3 of all carbon emissions according to an analysis published in Nature in 2012. Excluding ‘indirect’ costs, carbon emissions from crop and livestock related land use alone was 17% in 2018, according to the Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations.
So, what does any of this do with us and what we feed our pets? If we can move our food system from global to local and switch from high input industrial agriculture to ecologically appropriate regenerative agriculture, then we can use our food system to repair and regenerate our health and the health of the earth.
So, what is regenerative agriculture? Regenerative agriculture is a system of principles and practices that seek to rehabilitate, enhance, and work within the local ecosystem by placing a premium on soil and water health and increasing biodiversity. It’s a method of farming that improves the resources it uses, rather than destroying or depleting them. It’s a system that works within the carrying capacity of the environment, does not add external inputs, and builds a self-contained nutrient cycle on the farm. It’s a system that grows soil which in turn sequesters more carbon than it produces AND results in nutrient-dense food that can be distributed locally further reducing the transportation impact of food distribution. Also, regenerative agriculture provides more opportunity for more people to make a living with the land; regenerative farms are small, family-run operations which require little capital start-up, provide monetary returns in a short time, and are resilient to market pricing fluctuations through direct sales to local clients.
By reducing or even swapping dog kibble (a highly processed, nutrient-poor industrial agriculture product) and feeding a more natural, whole, fresh food diet of regeneratively sourced meat, veggies, and fruit, not only will your dog be healthier and more long-lived, but you will also directly affect the climate crisis in positive ways. Start with your dog, then move your own food sourcing to regenerative agriculture for further positive changes.
Where to start? Support pet food companies that use human-grade meat (and veggies) sourced from regenerative farms. Make sure the food is fresh or only lightly processed (frozen, air-dried, dehydrated, or freeze-dried). Buy direct when possible. Alternatively, you can contact regenerative farms like the ones we use, directly and source your own meat and veggies and prepare your own dog food. If you do the latter, then make sure you research how to properly feed your dog for balanced nutrition and consult with your veterinarian about your dog’s diet plan. A good starting point for formulating a fresh food diet for your dog is here.
