Overview

• University of Nottingham researchers reported in Frontiers in Nutrition that a life‑cycle assessment of 31 UK dry dog foods found plant‑based options had the lowest environmental impacts.
• Across land use, greenhouse gases, freshwater withdrawal, and soil and water pollution, plant‑based kibbles outperformed meat‑based foods.
• Beef and lamb formulations carried the highest footprints, with a 20 kg dog fed beef‑based kibble for nine years estimated to require about 57 football fields of cropland versus 1.4 fields for a plant‑based diet.
• Per 1,000 kilocalories, beef diets used about 102 m² of land and emitted roughly 31.5 kg CO₂e compared with 2.7 m² and 2.8 kg for plant‑based, based on life‑cycle datasets adjusted for ingredients, energy density, and moisture.
• The British Veterinary Association’s Justine Shotton warned that nutrient balance is critical and advised seeking veterinary guidance despite the authors’ previous work reporting comparable nutrients at the point of purchase.