Conventional Dog Diets Still Dominate, But There’s Interest In Alternatives

There are an estimated 528 million companion dogs worldwide. As this figure continues to grow, so does the demand for dog food — and for the factory-farmed meat that goes into it. Use of this meat is linked to concerns around its environmental and animal welfare impacts.

In response to these concerns, more sustainable diets are emerging on the market, such as vegan or vegetarian foods, or foods made from cultivated meat. While studies have looked at what drives guardians’ dog food choices, there’s limited research into whether guardians are willing to switch to more sustainable diets and what attributes would make these diets acceptable.

To help fill this gap, researchers distributed an online questionnaire between May and December 2020 via social media. They had three main research questions:

1. What do guardians currently feed their dogs and what factors are most important to them when choosing a diet?
2. Among guardians currently feeding meat-based diets, what proportion would be willing to adopt more sustainable alternatives and under what conditions?
3. What sources of information do guardians use when choosing dog diets?

The survey was open to guardians anywhere in the world. To participate, people had to have had their dog for at least one year and play a role in dog food decisions. A total of 2,639 responses were received, of which 2,596 were included in the analysis. Most guardians were female (92%), from the U.K. (72%), and omnivores (40%). The majority had some level of college or university education (80%) and weren’t employed in the companion animal care industry (81%).

Current Feeding Patterns

Just over half (52%) of guardians fed their dogs a conventional meat-based diet, while close to a third (32%) fed a raw meat-based diet — together, 84% of all guardians surveyed. Vegan diets were fed by around 13% of guardians, and vegetarian diets by around 1%. Both cultivated meat-based (0.3%) and insect-based (0.2%) diets were very uncommon. Most guardians purchased food directly from the manufacturer (26%), online (25%), or from pet stores (24%).

The most important factors for guardians in choosing a diet for their dogs were health and nutrition (94.5%), quality (76%), palatability (65%), naturalness (64.5%), and price (41%). Just over a third (36%) said ‘food animal’ considerations were a factor in their decision, with animal welfare topping the list of concerns. Close to a third (32%) selected environmental sustainability.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the vast majority (91%) of guardians feeding a vegan diet were vegans themselves. Male guardians were more likely to feed vegan diets than female guardians, while older guardians were less likely to feed vegan diets than younger guardians. Guardians working in the companion animal care industry were also less likely to feed a vegan diet.

Willingness To Accept Alternative Diets

Among guardians who fed their dogs either a conventional or raw meat-based diet, more than half (57%) said they wouldn’t switch to any of the options presented: cultivated meat, vegetarian, insect-based, vegan, fungi-based, or algae-based.

Among the remainder who would consider switching, the most accepted alternatives were cultivated meat (24%), vegetarian (17%), and insect-based (15.5%). Around 13% were willing to accept a vegan diet. Fungi-based (7%) and algae-based (7%) were the least acceptable alternatives.

The most important factors for guardians in considering alternatives were nutrition (84.5%), health (83%), and quality (74.5%). Palatability (67%) and naturalness (60%) also ranked highly. Price and environmental sustainability were selected by just over half of guardians (55% and 54%, respectively). Interestingly, over a third (39%) highlighted the welfare of animals used as a cell source for cultivated meat as a concern.

Guardians with higher levels of education were more likely to accept alternative diets, as were vegan and vegetarian guardians. Those who fed a raw meat-based diet were less accepting of alternatives, while those with older dogs or dogs on medical diets were more accepting of animal-free diets.

Information Sources

When looking for information on dog diets, guardians most often turned to food labels/packaging (42%), scientific articles or textbooks (38%), company websites (35%), veterinarians (32%), and special interest groups (28%). Vegan guardians were more likely than omnivores to rely on scientific literature, media reports, non-company websites, and books, while omnivores were more likely than vegans to cite veterinary and companion animal industry professionals.

Study Limitations

Some groups, such as females and vegans, were overrepresented in the study. The sample was also biased towards guardians from the U.K. and those with higher levels of education. Taken together, this may limit the applicability of the findings to other groups or populations. It should be noted, however, that vegan guardians were deliberately oversampled to ensure a large enough group for meaningful analysis.

Promoting Sustainable Dog Diets

Overall, the study highlights the continued growth of raw meat-based diets despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting their use and limited endorsement from veterinarians. Their popularity also raises animal welfare concerns as dogs may be at risk from pathogen contamination and nutritional deficiencies. At the same time, guardians feeding raw meat-based diets may be the hardest to encourage to switch to a more sustainable alternative.

Instead, the authors recommend outreach targeting guardians who are more open to sustainable diets. Those who have already reduced or eliminated animal products from their own diets appear to be the most receptive audiences for animal-free dog food specifically, suggesting these groups could be a useful starting point for advocacy efforts.

Messaging around sustainable dog diets can emphasize health and naturalness, which are important to guardians feeding conventional meat-based diets — the diets that the majority of people still feed. Finally, the authors also point to cultivated meat-based food as a promising option because it was the most accepted alternative even among conventional and raw meat feeders.