Survey: how do pet parents feel about vegan pet food?

The majority of consumers are still meat-eaters, accounting for over half of those questioned in this survey. The remainder were flexitarian (17.9%), vegetarian (12%), vegan (9.2%) or pescatarian (3.1%).

Human dietary preferences

Missing the taste of meat and fish is the main reason why a majority of respondents have not opted for vegan diets. Health fears, based on becoming protein deficient, and cost are also major considerations.

On the other hand, the main reason why consumers had chosen to adopt a vegan lifestyle is animal cruelty, although US vegan pet parents were more likely to opt for this kind of diet due to health concerns.

Vegan for cats and dogs?

Awareness of dietary needs for pets was high, with over 77% understanding the fact that cats and dogs don’t have the same dietary needs.

There was a general feeling that cats are natural carnivores, with only 16.4% of people believing that cats can eat anything.

When it comes to dogs, awareness was much more mixed. 45.6% believe that dogs are carnivores, 42.5% feel they are omnivores, and 2.4% said herbivores. However, most pet parents do not feel confident that they have enough knowledge to judge the impact of a vegan diet on their dog. Although the difference isn’t massive, more US and UK pet owners have greater confidence in their understanding of potential impacts than their French and Canadian counterparts.

Your diet becomes their diet

The overwhelming majority of people taking part in the survey have not fed their dogs a vegan or plant-based diet. Only 20.1% say they have done so. And those are mainly people who are already vegan or vegetarian themselves.

Reasons to go vegan

When asked why they had adopted a 100% vegan diet for dogs, the reasons were varied. 58% believe it’s good for their health, while 41.7% point to the fact that it is good for the planet. 38% of respondents are vegan themselves, and another 30.6% indicate that their decision to opt for a vegan pet diet is due to their dog’s allergies.

The vegan dog food consumer

The highest percentage of pet parents who have tried feeding their dogs a vegan or plant-based diet live in the UK or US and are generally younger people. More Canadian pet owners indicate that their dog is on a 100% vegan diet, compared to the other countries. Canadian and British dogs are more often on flexitarian diets, with higher percentages of pet parents feeding their dogs vegan meals.

Why not do it?

For the group that hasn’t adopted a 100% vegan diet for their dogs, cost plays a very small role. Uncertainty about whether this type of diet is good for a dog’s health is the main reason why 52.7% of pet parents do not switch to a vegan diet for their dog. Other reasons include a belief that their dog would miss meat and fish too much (20.2%) or that without meat or fish, the dog isn’t getting a complete diet (16.2%).

Future vegan adopters

Just under half of the pet owners (45.9%) are willing to put their dogs on a vegan diet. The fact that this would be healthier is the main reason pet parents would be willing to switch, followed by a belief that it would be better for the planet.

Age and location play a significant role in the willingness of pet parents to adopt a vegan pet diet. Older generations and people living in the countryside are less open to feeding their pets that way. Of those who are open to switching, younger people are more likely to be convinced that it would be better for the planet, compared to older people. French pet owners have the strongest conviction that it wouldn’t be good for their dog’s health. And it is French and Canadians who are least likely to consider switching because it would be better for the planet.

Convincing packaging

When buying vegan or plant-based dog food, packaging certainly affects respondents’ decisions. 35.7% of pet owners look for proven health benefits of the specific product listed on the packaging. And 12.2% would grab the most attractive-looking one off the shelves, considering high-quality packaging a sign of a good product.

US pet parents care most about high-quality packaging that indicates a good product, while French consumers care less often about the proven health benefits listed on the packaging. There is also a generational difference. People under 34 years old are most likely to be concerned about the packaging. Pet parents up to 44 years old care more about proven health benefits than older generations.

Ingredients are important too

Another important element that influences a purchasing decision is the origin and quality of ingredients. 20.2% of pet parents state this is the most important aspect they look at when buying a product. Older generations and people living in the countryside care most about this.

When reading the labels and nutritional information of vegan pet food, 55.9% of pet owners are looking to see if it’s a complete food. 27% of people pay the most attention to protein content, while 17.7% value the vitamin content the highest. Americans care most about vitamin content, while French pet owners regard protein content as more important. Canadians are most interested in having a complete pet food.

Vegan and sustainable?

Whether the product or manufacturer has a low carbon footprint is much less important for pet parents when picking a product to buy.

Do pet parents believe that feeding dogs a vegan diet is a good solution to limiting our carbon footprint? While 42.8% feel that it would contribute to reducing this, 40.9% prefer to focus on reducing the carbon footprint in other ways. For 16.3% of pet owners, limiting their ecological footprint isn’t important.

A higher percentage of US pet parents state that reducing your carbon footprint is not important, more than twice as high as French and UK pet owners. British consumers are more likely to be convinced that a vegan diet is a good solution, followed by the French. Older generations and people living in small towns and the countryside are more likely to prefer to reduce their carbon footprint in other ways, and fewer of them believe that vegan pet food is a good solution.