Do dogs actually need meat?

Do dogs actually need meat?

No, dogs are biologically omnivores and have thrived off plant-based food for thousands of years alongside their human companions. Early dogs and their humans evolved and adapted together. They even shared similar foods, the dogs noshing on the humans’ leftovers: mostly beans and grains at the bottom of the stew pot or stale bread crusts, meat being a rare luxury back then.

Today our pet dogs not only look different to wolves, but their inner biology is different too. Inside their bodies, dogs make 30 times more amylase than wolves, an enzyme that helps them to digest the starches in plants. Dogs can also make maltase, another enzyme needed for starch digestion, only found in herbivores and omnivores.

Is plant-based food healthy for dogs?

Year of scientific research has shown that humans benefit hugely from plant-based diets, giving us stronger hearts, lowering our risk of chronic health diseases. Humans and dogs have comparable biology, so it is no leap to expect that vegan dog food would have similar benefits  – and meaty dog food similar risks - for our four-legged friends.

Veterinarian Andrew Knight’s website is packed with evidence showing that plant-based diets are the healthiest food for dogs. He links to research that shows vegan dog food can:

Can dogs live longer on a vegan diet?

What is clear is that the meat heavy diet most dogs eat isn’t working. Cancer rates are sky high, with 1 in 3 dogs getting cancer and 51% of dogs are overweight.

A scientific study of 300 vegetarian dogs found that no dog who had been ‘vegan’ for more than five years had cancer. All this suggests that if we take the meat out of dog food, we reduce the risk of cancer. It’s that simple.

Why did you decide to launch vegan dog food?

We previously created a plant-based and innovation-focused community Vevolution, with this company, we were bringing together some of the world’s brightest entrepreneurs and thinkers through events and podcasts. We started to think what our next step would be and we decided we it was hugely important to work on something that could create widespread systemic change. Which in this case, helps dogs live healthier lives and us all collective tackle the climate crisis. Having witnessed the innovation that had taken place in the human food we wanted to bring the same science-led approach that puts taste at the forefront of our products.

How do you source ingredients for your products?

Our ingredients are carefully selected by our team of pet food development experts and animal nutritionists to offer exceptional levels of nutrition and digestibility. The majority of our ingredients are also organic.

Do plant-based meals for dogs still need added nutrients?

All dog food made in a professional production facility is supplemented with a mix of minerals and vitamins. At THE PACK, we use a carefully crafted vegan pre-mix to add to our vegan dog food to ensure that every meal is nutritionally complete and tailored to adults dogs nutriton.

How do you determine what flavours and smells dogs like?

We work with food-technologist and animal behaviourists with decades of experience in knowing what stimulates dogs to want to eat a meal.
We know that some smells and fats are especially attractive to dogs and we make sure these are included in our vegan dog food meals.

What is your best selling product?

On The Vegan Kind Supermarket, the most popular is our No Cluck Casserole but there is a lot of love out there for our No Moo Ragu and No Fishy Dishy products too.

Do you have plans to launch a dry food range?

Definitely keep your eyes peeled for this and of course you will be able to get it at The Vegan Kind Supermarket.

Is plant-based dog food more sustainable?

Definitely! We did an environmental impact assessment of our products here at THE PACK and found that our No Moo Ragu product food produces 5.52 times less CO2e than a can of Beef dog food produces.
Also, in winter 2020, ground-breaking research from the University of Edinburgh found that the pet food industry produces almost 3% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from farming. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the same amount of CO2 produced by a sixth of global flights.

If dogs could talk, what would they say about The Pack? 😃

It is paws down delicious and our favourite dog food ever and when are you bringing out more products? 😃