10 minute read
The Carbon Pawprint of Pets and What can we do About it?
By M.Sc. Kevin Truyts and M.Sc. Stuart W. Burdett, DSM Nutritional Products
Sustainability in pet food has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly as sustainable feed alternatives earn more share of the market. Climate change is happening fast, and in order to combat it we should reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) drastically. Broad governmental regulations, innovation and technology, carbon tax programs and other incentives will help steer us towards these highly needed reductions as we work to keep global warming within the +1.5°C as agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement. We as humans can have our own impact by making more sustainable consumer choices. But we should also do that for our beloved pets. In 2020 there were 471 million dogs and 370 million cats worldwide and numbers are continuing to grow year after year. During the Covid-19 pandemic, pet ownership grew even faster as people felt more isolated and as a result, sought out companionship. In 2020, in the US for example, pet ownership increased by 4%, a doubling versus 2019 (1).
What is the carbon pawprint of pets and pet food?
The biggest contributor to this “pawprint” is pet food. A US report from 2017 revealed that all food consumed by the US dog and cat population represents a release of 64 Mtons CO2eq per year. If you look at dietary energy consumption of US dogs and cats it represents 62 million Americans which is approximately 20% of the US population (2). In a new study by the School of Geosciences (University of Edinburgh) from 2020, global dry pet food production – so wet pet food production not taken into account – is associated with 56-151 Mtons CO2 eq per year (1.1 - 2.9% of global agricultural emissions), 41-58 Mha agricultural land use (0.8-1.2% of global agricultural land use) and 5-11km³ freshwater use (0.2-0.4% of water extraction of agriculture). Twice the land area of the UK would be needed to produce the yearly global volume of dry dog and cat food (3). But as global wet pet food production was not taken into account, this is an underestimation. Furthermore, with increasing demand for human-grade meats, pet food is estimated to be responsible for a quarter of the environmental impacts of meat production in terms of water, fossil, phosphates and pesticides.
How can we reduce the footprint of pet food?
There are many obvious ways in which pet food companies can and are continuing to reduce their environmental impact. Industry wide efforts have focused on all aspects of pet food spanning from, recyclable product packaging to the reduction of overfeeding, food waste and the use of alternative, sustainable protein sources. In the case of pets, tackling the impact of food is the most substantial and easily attainable way to reduce emissions. Utilization of alternative protein sources has been growing in the pet industry, producing nutritionally identical proteins without the environmental, animal and safety downsides. Unfortunately, current pet food trends encourage owners to feed their pets much of the same food that humans eat, high-quality “human grade” meat, organic produce and to reduce their reliance on ingredients such as grains and animal by-products (ABPs). While this approach is emotionally appealing, it is not necessary for pet’s health, nor is it environmentally sustainable. In fact, ABPs and the process of rendering diverts billions of pounds of food waste from landfills; reclaims water by not using it to wash animal leftovers into waste streams; and by using these animal parts (in nature, the preferred and most nutritious parts for wild cats and canines) to make protein ingredients for pet food, less protein needs to be grown and processed (4). Therefore, it remains imperative that along with the increased awareness around the use of sustainable products and practices, manufacturers continue to do their part to educate consumers on sustainability and animal nutrition.
How does DSM contribute to further improve the sustainability of pet food?
DSM has been pioneering solutions to tackle these challenges and reduce emissions from animals for many years, especially with respect to animal proteins. DSM has committed to its own internal company targets, including Science-Based Targets Initiative commitments to cut both our absolute emissions and our product carbon intensities. As part of that work, we launched the “We Make It Possible” strategic initiative last year- which further increases our focus on how we can positively contribute to sustainable animal production by developing and applying innovative feed additives that help to reduce the environmental impact of animal protein production.
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to improving pet food sustainability is the lack of specific, reliable measurement. Many of the criticisms of pet food are based on estimates and global averages like the ones listed above. It is very difficult to track improvements (or the lack thereof) if we don’t measure their impact or don’t even know what baseline we are starting from. To that end, DSM has developed,
*Data from DSM Environment Product Declarations, 2021 ** Value of CO2 saving assuming a Carbon Credit or tax of €50 per tonne of CO2
Figure 1: CO2 savings and potential € value (carbon tax) per 10T feed additive*
(DSM vs main alternative, 2021)
together with Blonk Consultants, (a leading Life Cycle Analysis/LCA company) a new service called Sustell™ to calculate up to 19 different sustainability impacts related to animal protein production and advise on potential improvement opportunities. Sustell™ provides farm-level foot printing analysis for all major animal protein sources, enabling new and better data for all purchasers of animal proteins. DSM and Blonk continue to update the databases as part of the Global Feed LCA Institute and add new modules to Sustell™ that will be of use to the pet food industry. For example, DSM have calculated that on average, of the 819 kg of CO2 generated per ton of dog food produced, around 50% is from animal protein whilst 50% is from vegetables. For cats, where 790 kilograms of CO2 is generated per ton of feed, this rises to 70% from animal proteins, with only 30 % from vegetables. As part of that work, we have developed Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) with footprint data for our major products to share with our customers, so they can confidently include climate change data and other 15 environmental footprints for our products in their feed and pet food.
By ensuring pets are able to process their food efficiently, extracting the maximum nutritional value from it, we can reduce the amount they need to eat, whilst also allowing for the use of different raw materials with lower environmental footprints. Through our expertise in micronutrition, DSM can tailor feeds to the unique age, species, and health requirements of the animal, making sure they receive the optimal quantities of vitamins and minerals. An increase in feed efficiency of just 5% reduces both the footprint of keeping an animal and the healthcare costs, passing on the benefit to owners.
As so much pet food is made from animal proteins, reducing the emissions profile of animal agriculture would have a knock-on effect on the footprint of pet food, as would reducing the amount of land needed to feed each animal. DSM has been leading on the creation of solutions which directly and indirectly reduce the emissions profile of animal agriculture, therefore directly increasing pet food sustainability. This transition to a lower carbon future for animal proteins can be facilitated by supplying nutritional ingredients such as vitamins with industry leading performance, improving the efficiency of animal production systems while reducing the carbon footprint of these feed additives and those within which they are utilised.
Figure 2: CO2 savings and potential € value (carbon tax) of a more sustainable vitamin source for a 100k T feed producer*
*Examples of CO2 savings based on average vitamin levels used in 100k T feed (DSM Premix Carbon Calculator) **Value of CO2 saving assuming a Carbon Credit or Tax of €50 per tonne CO2
The innovative nutritional solutions targeting these emissions include Balancius, Vevovitall and a number of feed enzymes and additives. By increasing gut efficiency in poultry, Balancius has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 9 million tonnes annually, on the basis of estimates produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization – the equivalent of taking 3.7 million cars off the road. Vevovitall on the other hand, through modulations of the microbiota in the gut and lowering the urinary pH, can reduce the ammonia emissions on the farm by 22%. ProAct improves the digestibility of proteins, thereby reducing nitrogen emissions to the environment by up to 17%. It also enables the use of more diverse raw feed materials, reducing the reliance on soy and thereby helping to cut deforestation for soy cultivation. If ProAct were to be used globally in broiler diets, deforestation could be reduced by 3.1 million hectares a year.
When using by-products from beef or dairy, the large percentage of GHG emissions, especially from methane produced by the rumen fermentation, contributed by cows and steers has a significant impact on the industry’s overall footprint—a single cow can produce 3 tonnes of methane per year. With this in mind, DSM’s scientists produced Bovaer, a novel feed additive that suppresses the enzyme triggering methane production in the cow’s rumen – that has the ability to reduce methane emission from cattle by 30-90% and is also effective in other ruminants such as sheep, another main pet food ingredient.
In 2018, DSM and Evonik joined forces in the joint-venture called Veramaris, which makes a highly sustainable, novel EPA and DHA omega-3 source from algae for the pet food industry made from marine microalgae oil, without needing to use fish oil. This protects animal health, whilst also reducing strain on our struggling fish stocks, making supplies of human food more secure. As a result, 1 kg of Veramaris® Algal Oil replaces 60 kg of wild catch fish!
In 2022 DSM further reorganized their business groups and positioned the DSM Pet business under the Food & Beverage business group, focusing on Taste, Texture and Health. Expanding the portfolio of products and innovation to help boost process efficiencies, reduce food loss and waste and lower the environmental impact of production and consumption – while also enhancing food’s nutritional profile. As a part of this ongoing development in specialty proteins that are produced within planetary boundaries, DSM’s recent acquisition of Vestkorn Milling, a supplier of pea- and bean-derived proteins, starches and dietary fibres, will complement and further accelerate this growth. These efforts are part of DSM’s commitment to reach 150 million people with plant-based protein foods by 2030, in alignment with our recently announced series of quantifiable food system commitments.
Conclusion
It is evident that only in close collaboration across the whole pet food value chain, can the pet food industry start to measure and significantly reduce its environmental footprints and become an increasingly environmentally friendly industry. DSM hopes to encourage manufacturers and suppliers of pet food to think about our common goals on sustainability (ref. UN Sustainable Development Goals) and to consider what we can do to make these goals a reality. It won’t be easy, but by working together and applying our technologies, products and services at hand we can make it possible!
References
1. Euromonitor International: Pet care: Quaterly Statement Q4 2020
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4. Okin GS. ‘Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats’. PLoS ONE 12(8), 2017 Alexander P. ‘The global environmental paw print of pet food’. Global Environmental Change 65 (2020) 102153 Donna Berry. ‘It’s a necessity:’ finding more sustainable ingredient sources for pet food and treats. April 27, 2021.
