The Carbon Pawprint of Pet Food: Understanding Your Dog's Environmental Impact

The pet food industry is booming. The global market reached $128.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $179.5 billion by 2032.^[1] With nearly one billion dogs and cats now living in more than half of all global households,^[2] their combined environmental footprint has become impossible to ignore. While we've made strides in understanding how human food choices affect the planet, the environmental impact of what we feed our four-legged family members has remained largely overlooked—until now.

The Growing Scale of Pet Food's Environmental Impact

Recent research reveals the true magnitude of pet food's carbon pawprint, and the numbers are staggering. Global dry pet food production alone generates between 56 and 151 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions each year, accounting for 1.1% to 2.9% of all global agricultural emissions.^[3] To put this in perspective, if pet food production were a country, it would rank as the 60th highest emitter globally—on par with nations like Mozambique or the Philippines.^[3]

Land and Water Requirements

The environmental costs extend far beyond greenhouse gases. Pet food production requires 41 to 58 million hectares of agricultural land annually—an area roughly twice the size of the United Kingdom.^[3] This land use represents 0.8% to 1.2% of all global agricultural land. Additionally, the industry consumes between 5 and 11 cubic kilometers of freshwater each year, equivalent to 0.2% to 0.4% of agriculture's total water extraction.^[3]

Source: Alexander et al., 2020^[3]

How Much Meat Do Our Pets Actually Consume?

The meat consumption patterns of companion animals tell a striking story. Globally, dogs and cats consume approximately 9% of all farmed animals, with this figure rising dramatically to 20% in the United States.^[2] If American dogs and cats formed their own country, their meat consumption would rank fifth in the world, behind only Russia, Brazil, the United States, and China.^[4]

Research from UCLA found that American cats and dogs are responsible for 25% to 30% of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the United States.^[4] The nation's 163 million cats and dogs consume about 19% as many calories as the entire American population—equivalent to all the calories consumed by the population of France in a year.^[4] Their meat consumption generates approximately 64 million tons of carbon dioxide and methane annually, equivalent to the emissions from driving 13.6 million cars for a year.^[4]

The Premium Pet Food Paradox

The environmental stakes are rising as pet "humanization" drives demand for premium, human-grade ingredients. This trend means pets are increasingly consuming muscle meat and cuts that could feed people, rather than animal byproducts.^[5] While premium foods may seem like a way to show love for our pets, they often contain protein levels that far exceed dogs' actual nutritional requirements, creating unnecessary environmental burden without corresponding health benefits.^[2]

Breaking Down the Environmental Impact by Diet Type

Not all pet foods are created equal when it comes to environmental impact. Recent life cycle assessments reveal dramatic differences based on ingredient selection and format.

Wet vs. Dry Food

Format matters significantly. A comprehensive 2022 study in Scientific Reports found that wet diets have substantially higher environmental impacts than dry diets across all metrics measured.^[6] In fact, wet food generates almost eight times more carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions than kibble.^[2] This difference stems largely from higher moisture content requiring more resources for production and transportation, combined with typically higher meat inclusion rates.

The Protein Source Makes All the Difference

The type of protein in your dog's food has an outsized impact on its environmental footprint. Research consistently shows that animal proteins carry significantly higher environmental costs than plant proteins. For example, producing 100 grams of pea protein generates just 0.4 kg of CO2 equivalent, while the same amount of protein from beef generates 35.0 kg—nearly 90 times more.^[6] Even comparing the highest-impact pea farm (0.8 kg CO2eq) with the lowest-impact beef farm (9.0 kg CO2eq) reveals an order of magnitude difference in environmental impact.^[6]

The Plant-Based Alternative: Real Solutions Backed by Science

For years, concerns about nutritional adequacy held back consideration of plant-based dog food. That's changed. By early 2025, twelve studies have examined the health effects of vegan or vegetarian diets for dogs, with eleven supporting their use.^[7] Dogs are omnivores with the physiological capacity to digest and derive nutrition from plant-based ingredients, and modern formulation science ensures they receive all essential nutrients.

Quantifying the Benefits

The environmental advantages of plant-based dog food are substantial and well-documented. A 2024 life cycle assessment found that vegan wet dog food reduced environmental impacts compared to meat-based alternatives by 37% for climate change, 50% for acidification, and 18% for smog.^[8] Over a dog's 15-year lifespan, vegan wet food produces 443 kg of CO2 equivalent compared to significantly higher emissions from conventional meat-based options.^[8]

A groundbreaking 2025 study analyzing 31 commercially available UK dog foods found even more dramatic differences when examining dry foods. Plant-based diets required just 2.73 square meters of land per 1,000 kilocalories, compared to 102.15 square meters for beef-based and 111.47 square meters for lamb-based diets.^[9] To illustrate: feeding a 20 kg Labrador retriever a beef-based diet for nine years of adult life would require land equivalent to 57 football fields, while a plant-based diet would require just 1.4 fields.^[9]

Source: Brociek et al., 2025^[9]

Global Impact of a Shift to Plant-Based

Research published in PLOS ONE in 2023 calculated the potential global benefits of transitioning companion animals to nutritionally sound plant-based diets. If implemented worldwide, such a transition would free up land larger than the combined area of Saudi Arabia and Mexico for dogs, or Japan and Germany for cats.^[10] The study found that a global shift to vegan dog food alone would eliminate greenhouse gas emissions greater than the total annual emissions from the United Kingdom and New Zealand combined.^[7]

Ingredient Selection: The 70% Factor

Multiple life cycle assessments have reached the same conclusion: ingredient selection accounts for approximately 70% of pet food's total environmental impact, far outweighing the effects of processing, packaging, or distribution.^[2] A 2024 Brazilian study confirmed that at least 70% of pet food's environmental footprint comes from raw material selection.^[7] This finding is crucial because it identifies exactly where intervention can have the greatest impact.

This research definitively shows that debates about packaging sustainability, while important, are secondary to the fundamental choice of what ingredients go into the bowl. For pet parents concerned about environmental impact, the protein source in their dog's food represents the single most impactful decision they can make.

The Byproduct Myth: Setting the Record Straight

A common argument suggests that pet food mainly uses animal byproducts that would otherwise go to waste, thus having minimal additional environmental impact. Recent research challenges this assumption. While it's true that pet food historically utilized parts humans wouldn't eat, the industry's demand has evolved significantly.

A 2025 analysis found that byproduct-based ingredients actually require more carcasses per unit of pet food produced than muscle meat, because a smaller proportion of each carcass yields byproducts.^[11] This means demand for animal byproducts from the pet food industry increases the total number of livestock animals raised and slaughtered, rather than simply utilizing inevitable waste. The economic value that pet food manufacturers place on these byproducts creates additional demand pressure on livestock production systems.

What Pet Parents Can Do: Practical Steps Forward

Understanding the environmental impact of pet food is the first step. Here are evidence-based actions you can take:

1. Consider Plant-Based Complete and Balanced Nutrition

Look for dog foods that meet AAFCO standards and are formulated by veterinary nutritionists to provide complete, balanced nutrition from plant-based ingredients. Learn more about plant-based nutrition for dogs and what makes a formula truly complete.

2. Choose Dry Over Wet When Possible

Dry food formats consistently show lower environmental impacts across all protein sources. If your dog prefers or requires wet food, consider using it as a topper on kibble rather than as the sole meal.

3. Feed Appropriate Portions

Studies show that 59% of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese.^[2] Overfeeding increases environmental impact while harming your dog's health. Follow feeding guidelines based on your dog's ideal weight and activity level.

4. Look Beyond Marketing Claims

Premium pricing doesn't necessarily mean better nutrition or lower environmental impact. Focus on formulations that meet your dog's actual nutritional needs rather than those that mimic human dining trends.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line: Every Bowl Matters

The environmental impact of pet food is significant, growing, and no longer something we can overlook. With the pet food market projected to reach $179.5 billion by 2032^[1] and pet populations continuing to rise globally, the decisions we make about what goes in our dogs' bowls have real consequences for the planet.

The good news? We now have both the science and the solutions. Plant-based dog food represents a proven, practical way to dramatically reduce your dog's carbon pawprint while providing excellent nutrition. The data is clear: switching to plant-based options can reduce climate impact by 37%, acidification by 50%, and land use by over 97% compared to conventional meat-based alternatives.^[8][9]

As the research compiled here demonstrates, ingredient selection accounts for 70% of pet food's environmental impact.^[2] That means the power to make a difference sits squarely in our hands every time we refill our dog's bowl. At Petaluma, we're committed to making that choice easier—providing complete, balanced, veterinarian-formulated nutrition that's better for dogs and the planet they'll inherit from us.

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