We applaud all the new companies looking at alternative protein sources to feed our production animals and our pets. We have chosen not to include insect-based dog food diets in our list of sustainable foods that we recommend for dogs, for the reasons listed below:
Are Insect-Based Diets Hypoallergenic?
For dogs needing an animal protein free diet, the only one that is truly free of all animal proteins, is a vegan dog food diet. Yora insect-based dog food lists chondroitin as one of its ingredients which is sourced primarily from avian cartilage.
That is why dogs with an intolerance to chicken protein (a common intolerance in dogs advised to eat chicken and rice when their intestines are at their most inflammatory); will react to Yora due to the presence of the chondroitin.
Dogs with the most common allergen that we see – an allergy to house dust mites, have shown to react to the chitin in dog food that uses insect-based foods.
Are Insect-Based Diets Truly Palatable?
When we think of the smell of fly larvae, think of what maggots in your bin on a very hot summer’s day smell like…..then yes, the palatability for dogs is good as dogs are drawn to strong smells (even if we find them very offensive!)
It is the owner that has to choose the food however and keep the food in their pockets on walks and this is where plant-based foods with their distinctive herby smells of basil and oregano really top the popularity for owners!
What of the safety of Insect-based vs Plant-based dog foods?
When considering what the fly larvae used in insect-based foods are fed which is not going to be freshly sourced vegetable matter, but rather the waste matter to make it a cost-effective way to produce the insect protein; these waste materials come with the added concerns of mycotoxins and bacteria.
All insect-based protein used in pet food has to undergo stringent ‘detoxification’ prior to being added to the food to ensure that there are no toxicities to dogs and cats that come especially from mycotoxins. These are not present in plant-based foods sourced from fresh ingredients.
Which is more sustainable – insect-based or plant-based pet food?
It was while attending the Glasgow Small Animal Pet Food Symposium in March 2024, that the true cost of insect-based protein was made clear.
Entocycle (now listed on the stock exchange) attended the Symposium to talk about insect-based pet proteins after Sustainable Pet Food Association and raw vet . They are one of the biggest producers of fly larvae protein for the pet food market. What a surprise after they showed us the dangers of the use of meat in pet food accounting for so much global biodiversity loss due to intensive farming….but went on to tell us that the fly larvae intensively farmed by them for their protein, were fed from palm kernels from the palm oil industry!
Just as the use of animal byproducts in pet food encourages the production of more animals to be intensively farmed as a price is put onto every part of the animal; so too will the use of palm kernels encourage yet more extensive palm oil production and even further dangerous biodiversity loss.
What is more cost-effective – Insect Protein or Plant Protein Dog Food?
Considering that the insect-based protein has to undergo ‘purification’ of all bacteria and mycotoxins, as well as be processed to ensure not just safety for pets but also palatability, there is a vast difference in price.
We have chosen raw food company Wilsons based in Scotland as an example fo this price disparity. In 2022, they launched a cold-pressed vegan dog food at the same time as launching a cold-pressed insect-based dog food.
Both foods have almost identical nutritional value as shown from their website, so dogs would be receiving the same nutrients from both foods, but at a cost if choosing insect protein as shown below –
Wilsons insect-based dog food
2755 kcal/kg Analytical Constituents:
Crude protein 26%, crude fat 12%, crude fibre 5.7%, raw ash 8%, moisture 12%, calcium 1.4%, phosphorus 0.9%.
Wilsons vegan dog food
3234 kcal/kg Analytical Constituents:
Crude protein 25%, crude fat 10%, crude fibre 2.8%, raw ash 7.7%, calcium 1.2%, phosphorus 0.74%.
Could our dogs or cats trigger an avian influenza pandemic?
As our memories of the last COVID 19 disappear, the potential for another pandemic looms and pets could play a role in transmitting it
Exposing Butternut Box Dog Food
Did Butternut Box introduce a plant-based fresh dog food option in 2022 simply to gain B-Corp Certification?
Fermented Protein Pet Food – the Future?
Is precision fermentation our future way to feed not only our pets, but ourselves too? Yes it most certainly is!
Cultivated Chicken Dog Food in Pets At Home!
Cell-based meat and vegan ingredients represent the future of pet food. These are the only ingredients that are good for pets, ‘food’ animals and the planet.
Using microbial protein for the very first time in dog treats!
This first-of-its-kind protein is derived from bacteria that have been consumed by humans for centuries in foods such as kimchi, kefir, and sauerkraut
BVA says it is possible to feed dogs plant-based
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has ended its opposition to (nutritionally-sound) vegan diets for dogs
Who is MARS Petcare?
How did they go from producing Snickers, Mars, Bounty bars, Pedigree, Royal Canin and Whiskas to be the fourth largest privately held company in the US?
The Great Protein Debate – Beef or Beans?
Dr Sue Paterson, RCVS President and Senior Vice President of the European Society of Veterinary Dermatologists interviews Dr Arielle Griffiths about Sustainable Pet Foods
University of Liverpool Vegan Dog Food Study
Prof Alex German holds the position of Royal Canin Professor of Small Animal Medicine at the University of Liverpool
The longest, most comprehensive peer-reviewed study so far!
Domestic dogs maintain positive clinical, nutritional, and haematological health outcomes when fed a commercial plant-based diet for a year. Peer reviewed and published in PLOS ONE
Reasons Why Dog Owners Stop Feeding Raw Meat-Based Diets
The latest paper from April 2024 makes an astounding 85 papers against the use of raw feeding in our dogs
UK’s first meat cultivated cat food to launch!
The world’s first cans of cat food made with cultivated chicken to be sold in 2024 at Pets At Home!