Dogs Are Humans’ Best Friends: Could We Reduce Their Carbon Footprint?

Forbes Innovation Sustainability Dogs Are Humans’ Best Friends: Could We Reduce Their Carbon Footprint? Nives Dolsak and Aseem Prakash Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. We write on environmental issues, climate politics and NGOs. Following Apr 9, 2023, 02:41pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dog treats for sale.

(Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Universal Images Group via Getty Images Dogs are humans’ best friends. Their companionship, love, and devotion are valued across cultures. Almost all American pet owners (95%) view pets as family members—up from 88% in 2007.

Pet ownership is rising across the world, driven by factors such as the rise of the middle class. The top three countries for dog ownership are located on different continents: the U. S.

(76. 8 million), Brazil (52. 2 million), and China (27.

4 million). Cats are also popular house pets with the same countries in the top three: the U. S.

(58. 4 million), China (53. 1 million), and Brazil (22.

1 million). American Pet Products Survey reports that 70% of American households have at least one pet. By some accounts , “companion animals enrich the lives of their owners in numerous ways, such as increasing physical activity, lowering blood pressure, and reducing risks of certain heart diseases.

Pet ownership has also been associated with psychological benefits, including increased self-esteem in children, reduced risk of depression, and increased social engagement and cohesion. ” Indeed, COVID-19, which drastically curtailed social interactions, substantially increased pet ownership. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that 23 million American households, that is, about “one in five households acquired a cat or dog since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

” Climate Implications of Pet Ownership The rising pet population poses unique challenges. Studies link urban pets, especially cats, to the loss of wildlife. Scholars note issues such as the fecal load, the use of plastic bags to clean up dog poop, and the landfill implications of pet toys.

Others express concerns about the environmental impact of cat litter made of bentonite clay , which requires strip mining, and strongly recommend organic options. Many people lavish attention and resources on their pets. This is particularly true for the 18-25 cohort which also tends to be pro-climate .

When asked about items/services they buy for their pets , respondents note specialized or prescription food (44%), birthday presents (39%), birthday cakes (34%), Christmas/holiday presents (34%), clothing and costumes (32%), and high-end pet food (28%). A recent article in The Economist notes that in Latin America, households traditionally fed table scraps to their dogs. But increasingly, they purchase food from stores.

Consequently, dogs now get about 40% of their calories from store-purchased food. The article reports that “(p)et owners are buying posher nibbles. Euromonitor estimates that dog-food sales in Mexico have grown by 25% in real terms since 2013.

” This trend is visible in other regions as well. The article quotes a shop owner in Finland who states that his pet shop “not only sells a huge range of prepared pet foods, including ice cream for dogs, . .

. it also has two large freezers of fresh meat. The assistants say that a growing number of dog owners add this meat to prepared food, believing it to be more natural and healthy.

” MORE FOR YOU The Inside Story Of Papa John’s Toxic Culture The Four Seasons At Jimbaran Bay Understands That People Make A Place Exclusive Q&A – 2023 Masters Champion Jon Rahm – Plus Surprise Bonus How big is the pet food ecological footprint? Globally, if household pets were a country, they would rank 5th in meat consumption behind China, the US, Brazil, and Russia. A recent book suggested that a dog’s carbon footprint is comparable to that of an SUV (for a contra view, see this ). On average, the ecological footprint of a Japanese dog equals the dietary footprint of a Japanese citizen.

In China , the ecological footprint of dogs equals that of 70 to 245 million Chinese citizens. In the U. S.

, the annual carbon footprint of pet animal products is about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (or annual emissions of 14. 2 million gasoline-powered cars). For perspective, as the New York Times reports, the annual emissions from the Alaska’s Willow Project would equal to about 2 million gasoline-powered cars.

How to reduce carbon footprint? Household pets are an important aspect of human existence and play a critical role in our life. They are a part of the family and define who we are. Hence, the climate challenge is to find ways to support pet ownership but lower their carbon footprint.

Changing diets is perhaps the most obvious first. Cats are “obligate carnivores” that must eat meat. But dogs do not need meat in every meal.

Some studies show that vegan diets are probably more healthy for dogs than meat ones. Perhaps this is where changes can begin. Some suggest that owners feed their pets more nutrients than needed.

Consequently, the pet food industry responding to consumer demand rather than nutritional requirements provides products that are meat rich. As with humans, vegetarian pet food has a lower carbon footprint than a meat-infused diet. But even in the latter that individuals purchase from stores, there are differences.

Dry foods generate fewer carbon emissions than wet food, because “ 90% of the calories in the wet diets came from animal ingredients, compared with 45% in the dry diets . ” These differences have a huge overall impact. In the context of Brazil , a study concluded that the annual carbon footprint of a dog weighing 10kg depends on food: 828kg of emissions for dry food but 6,541kg for a wet diet.

For reference, the annual carbon footprint of a Brazilian is 6,690kg of carbon emissions. In sum, climate change has an important overconsumption dimension. As a result, climate action will require changes in public policies and individual lifestyles.

There is already a debate on moral imperative to reduce flying and modify human dietary choices. Perhaps, we need to extend this discussion to the carbon footprint of the foods we provide to our pets. Nives Dolsak and Aseem Prakash Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.