Pet ownership has never gone out of style. In fact, as remote or hybrid work structures have become more popular resulting in more time spent at home, many people have gotten themselves a furry, fluffy, or feathery companion. In fact, the pet food market was valued at USD 126.6b in 2024 and is expected to grow by over 5% per year until 2032. Woah. That’s a lot of food and a lot of ingredients being sourced to make it. Let’s dig in and find out what kind of factors influence the sustainability of pet food.

WHAT TO BE WISE ON

You’ve probably heard of ecological footprint. Well, an ecological paw print (EPP) is based on the same principles of measurement and determines how much biologically productive land is used for companion animals’ food consumption. Cute right? Helpful too. EPP takes into account the typical ingredients in pet food, and compares the sourcing and production of those ingredients across categories like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use, land use, and more. The type of ingredient and protein used in pet food, coupled with the type of pet and their required dietary needs will play a huge role in the EPP of your pet food purchase.

THE FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Dogs vs. Cats

Pet ownership is increasing, as are the environmental impacts per pet. DYK? In the U.S. animal meat consumption by dogs and cats alone is responsible for up to 80 million tons of methane and nitrous oxide. Wowza. However, pet food consumption and its corresponding impact can vary based on where our little friends are located and where their food is being sourced. For example, in a study comparing GHG output across dogs and cats eating dry pet food in China, Japan, and the Netherlands showed that dietary EPP, GHG emissions, and energy consumption per capita for companion cats are less than the GHG output from the EPP of dogs across those locations. The biggest environmental impact of feeding a cat or a dog was the largest in China, followed by Japan, and then the Netherlands. 

On a global scale, however, annual production of dry pet food is associated with 56-151 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2), 41-58 metric hectares of agricultural land-use, and 5-11 cubic kilometers of freshwater use. These impacts are equivalent to an environmental footprint of around twice the size of land area in the UK.

Market vs. Premium 

​​EPP will fluctuate between a pet food containing large amounts of high-value cuts of meat, known as “premium”, versus another of the same mass that is mostly animal byproducts (ABPs), known as “market”. When market and premium pet foods were compared on a per kg basis across environmental factors like GHG emissions, land use, and freshwater use, it shed light (shed - see what we did there?) on a few key findings.

GHGs

When it comes to market pet food, lamb is the biggest GHG driver for dog food, whereas ABP poultry and corn meal were two equal drivers of GHG for cat food. For pet food considered premium, beef is the primary driver of GHGs for both dog food and cat food.

Agricultural Land

When agricultural land use is considered, lamb is also the main driver for market dog food. In market cat food, corn meal is the main driver. Beef is the top driver across premium dog and cat food, though it’s important to note that beef has twice the impact in dog food versus cat food (~11 meters squared of agricultural land per kg of premium cat food versus ~20 meters squared per kg of premium dog food). Additionally, within premium dog food ingredients alone, beef also has twice the impact of lamb.

Freshwater Extraction

When looking at the ways in which pet food impacts how water is extracted from a natural source, there’s less of a stark difference between dog food and cat food, or premium and market. In market options, corn in some form - whether meal or maize - is the top driver in both cat and dog food. Premium cat and dog food on the other hand, is driven by a somewhat equal combination of poultry, rice, and beef.

Rendered vs. Virgin

Rendered ingredients significantly influence sustainability. Raw animal leftovers from food production – everything from organs and innards to bone, feathers, and blood – are valuable byproducts that can be rendered into protein, fat, and minerals for pet food. Skeevy, we know, but it drastically reduces waste as well as the need for virgin material (aka animal parts). Because of the heat applied during rendering, it also reduces hazards like food pathogens. A win for the humans too!

Rendered products are valuable to pet food industries because of their high protein content, amino acid levels, mineral availability, and relatively low cost in relation to their nutrient value, but rendering has also been shown to be an important GHG avoidance technology. Through the rendering process, wastes that are rich in carbon and nitrogen are recycled into usable material that averts the release of carbon dioxide and other GHGs that would otherwise be released into the air through the normal decomposition process. In fact, more than 17 million tons of CO2 emissions are avoided every year by rendering animal byproducts. If these emissions were released as CO2 instead of recaptured in things like pet food, the EPA estimates that would be the same as adding 3.6 million cars to the nation’s roads.

Certifications

When we’re in a bind or overwhelmed by greenwashy-messaging, certifications can help us make choices that keep the environment and social good in mind. Here are some certifications to look out for on pet food.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic certification (which means that farmers and businesses have met strict standards for the growing, processing and handling of their products. If you see the USDA organic seal, the product is certified organic and has 95 percent or more organic content.

Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certifies meat products and animal ingredients to encourage livestock agriculture industry players to improve animal welfare standards. To become “GAP-certified,” animal ingredient suppliers and farms are audited by third-parties based on their compliance with the organization’s standards for animal welfare.

Companies with the Pet Sustainability Coalition accreditation have been evaluated on their social and environmental impact initiatives through a third-party assessment and must have achieved a minimum score.

B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on a variety of factors, including supply chain practices and input materials. To achieve certification, a company must demonstrate high social and environmental performance, make a legal commitment to be accountable to all stakeholders, and exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.  

A FEW TAKEAWAYS

Rising demand for pet food is part of a broader discussion about food system sustainability, but a few key items to keep in mind are that while pets require nutritional value and caloric input from meat-based diets, those diets, just like in human, also require more energy and water, and, therefore, have far greater environmental impacts than plant-based diets. However, reclaiming and recycling rendered meat for use in pet food is a major way to reduce impact across all categories, so to reduce your impact stick with market pet food options. When it comes to specific ingredients, beef is the biggest environmental culprit. Unless your pet requires otherwise, try to stick to poultry and lamb.

COMMON QUESTIONS WE GET

s plant-based or animal-derived pet food better?

Dogs and cats both require a number of nutrients that come from animal-based diets, such as B vitamins, phosphorus, and calcium, so choosing an option that’s better for the overall health of your pet is paramount. If going meat-based, try to stick to products that incorporate animal byproducts. In addition to reducing waste and GHGs, if no byproducts are used in pet food at all, a higher amount of food suitable for human consumption would have to be used - meaning more crop land, water, fertilizer, etc. This would likely lead to increased costs of food, disproportionately affecting those with limited income, and would also cause byproducts to go towards less sustainable end-of-life disposal options.

How can I reduce the environmental impact of my pet food purchase?

Well, since beef is such a main driver across various environmental impact categories, try to swap for options that utilize less land- and water-intensive animal proteins. If possible, reduce purchases of “premium” pet food by opting for “market” options every other month. Finally, shop by your values. If GHGs are your bugaboo, definitely opt for market pet food options. If gobbling up productive agricultural land keeps you up at night, look for pet food with things like poultry and rice. If you’re a freshwater lover, there’s not a huge variance in impact - so choose your pet’s favorite!

Cat or Dog?

We can’t help you with that one :)