The Health Benefits of Plant-Based Diets
Plant-based diets have a range of benefits that will benefit your pup, your own well-being, and the future of the planet.
Not only is meat protein not necessary for healthy canine growth, it’s also a big risk to your dog’s overall health.
Learn more about the benefits of plant-based diets below.
Plant-based diets are very nutritious and provide clean sources of protein for your dog. All sufficient levels of protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and good fats can be derived entirely from plants.
Decreased incidences of cancer, infections and hormonal diseases
Less occurrences of ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, lice and mites)
No more bad breath
Healthier and shinier coat
Controlled allergy symptoms
Supports arthritis and diabetes
Controlled body weight
Promotes digestive health
Increased overall health & vitality
Decreased incidences of cancer, infections & hormonal diseases
Improved energy levels
Less occurences of ectoparasites (fleas, ticks lice and mites)
Healthier & shinier coat
Controlled body weight
Controlled allergy symptoms
Decreased arthritis & diabetes regression
Boosted immune system
Reduced bad breath
On top of these benefits, plant-based diets are allergy-friendly, easily digestible, and anti-inflammatory. Dogs absorb a lot more of the nutrients from plant-based foods than they do from meat, making plant-based palatable, bioavailable and higher in nutritional value.
Interested in vegan treats? Browse our recipes now.
What’s Really In Your Dog’s Food?
The meat in canine foods is deemed inadequate for humans. Food that is not human-grade is allowed to contain low quality ingredients that aren’t suitable for us.
Unfortunately, slaughterhouse waste, animal-by-products, fillers, and corn gluten form the base of most pet food. Animal flesh is contaminated with feces, blood and other bodily fluids, making animal-derived foods the top source for most diseases and underlying conditions. Since animals are stressed before they’re slaughtered, the stress hormones end up in their flesh. Further, most of the animals used for meat-based dog foods are fed antibiotics and medications throughout their life; this all ends up in dog food.
Meat-based diets provide a huge dumping ground for:
4D meat, which is meat from animals that are dead, dying, diseased and/or disabled.
Dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters. Meat-based food contains detectable levels of euthanizing solution.
Old grease containing high concentrations of dangerous free radicals, trans fatty acids, hazardous levels of mercury, PCBs, and other toxins
Sustainable Dog Treats
Many diseases have been linked to meat-based diets, including kidney, liver, heart, neurological, visual, neuromuscular, skin diseases, bleeding disorders, birth defects and infectious diseases. Kidney disease is one of the top three killers of companion animals. It is aggravated by the extra load placed on the kidneys by the high protein content and poor quality of ingredients.
If you wouldn’t eat any of those ingredients or risk eating contaminated food, why would you feed that to your furry best friend? Choose ‘human-grade’ instead of ‘feed-grade’ and you know your pup is eating something you would – and getting all of the essential nutrients they need!
Reduce Your Environmental Pawprint
Animal agriculture is a huge factor to consider when choosing a meat-based diet. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean pollution, dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction. Here are some startling statistics on the damaging impact the animal agriculture industry has on our planet:
Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The animal agriculture industry makes up 51% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Emissions for animal agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.
Reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) & Methane Emission
Livestock accounts for 32,000 million tons annually and cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.
Reduce Water Consumption & Waste
Beef, eggs, cheese, and milk require thousands of gallons of water to produce only a small amount of food.
Reduce Resource Waste
1.4 billion tons of meat from the industry is wasted annually. In addition to this, livestock produces 116,000lbs of waste per second.
Stop Land Destruction
Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land with 2-5 acres of land are used per cow.
General Benefits
One vegan diet saves 1100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30sqft of forested land, 20lbs CO2 equivalent, and the life of one animal per day.
A Plant-Based Diet Has All The Essentials Your Dog Needs
Dogs can do quite well on a carefully designed vegan diet that meets all of their nutritional needs. it is important to feed your dog a ‘complete’ commercial diet to ensure your dog gets a balanced diet. All commercial dog foods described as ‘complete’ are bound under law to provide all of a pet’s dietary requirements.
How To Transition Your Pup To A Plant-Based Diet
The most important factors for transitioning dogs onto a vegan diet are gradual change and persistence.
When transitioning our dogs to any new foods, it is necessary to change the diet gradually. Over the course of 1-2 weeks, slowly decrease the amount of the current food while increasing the amount of the new food. A gradual change allows for an appropriate transition of digestive enzymes and intestinal flora (bacteria), minimising the chance of gastric reactions.
If they eat around the new food at first, this is normal. Having the new food in close proximity to their usual food will help them make the mental association. Adding tasty additives and lightly warming the food may also help. Always offer fresh food and remove any uneaten food from before.
| Old Food | New Food | |
| Day 1 | 90% | 10% |
| Day 2 | 80% | 20% |
| Day 3 | 70% | 30% |
| Day 4 | 60% | 40% |
| Day 5 | 50% | 50% |
| Day 6 | 40% | 60% |
| Day 7 | 30% | 70% |
| Day 8 | 20% | 80% |
| Day 9 | 10% | 90% |
| Day 10 | 0% | 100% |
Why Our Products Have A Short Shelf Life
Quality nutrition is crucial to maintaining quality health.
These nourishing treats aren’t meant to have a long shelf life because they aren’t treated with preservatives or waxes, like conventional treats. While preservatives are safe, foods with preservatives contain ingredients that aren’t good for our dogs.
Unfortunately, the process that makes canned and dry food stable enough to have such a long shelf life is so extreme that most of the natural nutrients are destroyed. Manufactures then add things back in, such as synthetic vitamins and minerals, artificial flavours, sugars, salt, trans and saturated fats, to entice our dogs to eat it.
The optimal nutrition for our dogs can only be achieved through fresh whole-foods including, clean protein, vegetables and other nutrient high foods. A balanced, fresh, whole-food diet contains high-quality ingredients that are high in nutritional value and moisture content. Since fresh food is perishable, it requires frequent preparation and a significant amount of refrigerator/ freezer space.
Find Your Favourite Recipe
Ready to give your dog’s snack drawer a delicious and healthy overhaul? Shop now!
