Extending Veganuary to Pets: A Call for Change

Each year, millions adopt vegan diets through the Veganuary campaign, with 25 million joining in 2024. Traditionally, pets have been excluded. Professor Andrew Knight now advocates extending Veganuary to include dogs and cats. In The Conversation, Knight cites research indicating health benefits for pets on vegan diets, such as reduced obesity and fewer allergen-triggered conditions. However, he stresses the importance of pet foods being nutritionally sound and produced by reputable companies.

Knight's environmental study reveals significant impacts of pet diets. In high pet ownership countries like the US, pet food accounts for about 20% of land animals killed for food. A shift to vegan diets for pets could save substantial resources, including land and water, and reduce CO2 emissions by 0.57 gigatonnes annually. This could also free up enough food to feed millions of people globally.