Say you were a #Vegetarian or #Vegan wanting to have a pet dog. Dogs are carnivorous… is there any way to feed them meat-free food with the proper supplements or does that not exist (yet)?
@elduvelle
There are dog foods that don't contain animal products. V-dog and Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Vegetarian are two of the most popular.
@elduvelle India has a big vegetarian market, even for dog food. My family had several dogs when I was growing up. Their diet was primarily vegetarian and they didn't develop any nutrition-related issues. Back then the supplement market wasn't as big but products like pedigree have been around for a while for dogs in Indian families who are strictly vegetarian, and here in India a lot of vegetarians don't even eat eggs. Such products maybe be expensive or even hard to get in countries where there aren't that many vegetarians, I suppose?
@elduvelle dogs are actually omnivores, not carnivores, so it’s really not too difficult. A quick google for “vegan dog food” will bring up several tried and true nutritionally complete brands, but it’s also possible to cook regular food for them with adequate planning.
@foon Interesting! Wikipedia says they are in the Carnivorous order - like wolves - but they did evolve the ability to digest vegetables and this site says that some scientists (but not all? 🤔) now consider them omnivorous, and that they can thrive on a plant-based diet.
Well that’s reassuring :)
@annamariaeriksson why not though, as long as they get all the nutrients they need?
Insect-based food is not vegetarian either… I guess one could think about whether the suffering of many insects is more acceptable than the suffering of other kinds of animals but in smaller quantities… but if there was a fully no-meat solution that would be ideal (or lab-grown meat!)
If you ever try it out… I’ll be interested to know how it goes!
(Edit: from your profile I thought you had a dog but I then realized it was a cat, sorry!)
Add comment