You are what you eat!

If you keep an eye on social media, you’ll have noticed all the buzz regarding the ecological impact of pet ownership lately.  Many are even going so far as to suggest that the best way to green your lifestyle is to dump your pets.  A little digging reveals all this paranoia regarding our animal friends is due to a new book that hit the market at the end of October.

Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living takes on Fluffy,

Fido, Max, and Molly.  And, as the title suggests, the book claims that one

way we can help lower their ecological pawprint is to serve them up on a

platter with home-grown organic sweet potatoes and squash.  Of course, it

does not urge folk to run out to their local butcher ASAP - they figure we

should wait until their natural dénouement.  But still...  WOW!

The point that is being “driven” home on sites like Twitter compares Fido’s

ecological footprint to that of an SUV.  Robert and Brenda Vale, the New

Zealand researches who wrote the book, base this comparison on the diet of

our furry, finned, and feathered friends.  Articles abound on blogs and news

sites that show how the couple arrived at this conclusion, with just as many

claiming that said conclusion is erroneous.  If you wade through all the hype

and outrage, at the very least they have succeeded at getting people talking.

What we should take away from the Vale’s work - whether the figures are

correct or not - is exactly what this column is focused on...  finding ways to

lower our pets net footprint.

What we choose to feed our pets is as important, if not more so, than any

other choices we make surrounding their care.  Not just for their health,

but for their (and our) ecological impact.  There is no reason we cannot aim

at the same target we aim at for ourselves.  A healthy, hormone-free,

locavore diet.  Sure, it’s not as easy as hitting your local grocery store for a

bag of whatever dry or canned food is being peddled...  but it is BY FAR

the best choice you can make.

A raw diet made up of offerings from local producers and family farms just

makes the most sense.  Aquatic turtles will be better off being fed on leafy

greens, berries, apples, and snails then any commercial pellet.  Cats are

obligate carnivores and should be provided with a diet of locally raised

meats.  Dogs are omnivores and scavengers so can be raised healthfully

feeding off our scrap meats, and compost materials (like eggs, yogurt, and

old produce).  Birds, rodents, and herps are no different.  Each has a species

specific requirement - but all can be met feeding raw foods.

As science progresses, and as consumers are insisting on better options for their animal family members, companies are listening.  So, even if you feel you cannot adequately meet the nutritional needs of your pets by feeding a home prepared raw diet, there are better and better prepared options available.  Of course, you then have to weigh in higher carbon output as factory production warrants... but choosing local is still an option.  In Saskatchewan have a look at Horizon Legacy, which contains locally sourced meats and produce.  In Alberta check out Orijen.  In Manitoba I recommend Pawesome.

It may seem like a daunting task at first.  But the more you read, the more research you do, the better prepared you will be to confidently provide your pets with the very best.

Tobi-Dawne Smith,

President of the Green Party of Saskatchewan

and Editor in Chief of Pure Greenius Magazine.