I feel like the majority of my audience understands that carnivores cannot healthily go vegan. But there are certainly communities out there that advocate feeding our domestic carnivores a vegan / plant based diet. This article is for them, as well as anyone curious as to exactly why, and how harmful a vegan diet can be for a carnivore. Before I begin, I want to say I have nothing against vegan or vegetarian diets for humans. In fact, I promote it! I've been a very vocal vegetarian for 22 years now, I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. I do understand the inner turmoil one may face attempting to come up with a diet plan for a carnivore. There really is no way to "ethically" kill an animal for food. That being said, our carnivores have to eat. I follow the rules of mother nature, the need for primordial diets for our carnivorous pets is very evident.
There appears to be 2 ways of thinking when it comes to vegan diet support for carnivores. 1. Carnivores do not need animal product at all. 2. Carnivores do need to eat animals, but can thrive just fine on a vegan diet. The first group believes very strongly that carnivores do not, and have not needed to eat animal products. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) shares this belief. I'll be taking most of my notes from v-dog, a company that creates vegan dog food. On their website they make a few claims in support of the plant based lifestyle for dogs. 1. Chronic diseases can be connected to standard meat-based kibble diets. 2. Vegan diets are easily digestible. 3. Modern day canines have obesity, allergies, diabetes which can be prevented and cured with vegan diets. 4. They have pictures and testimonials of elderly dogs fed a vegan diet. 5. Dogs are not wolves. 1. Chronic diseases can be connected to standard meat-based kibble diets. This is true. These issues have been increasing at a dramatic rate every year, one can only assume due to the low quality proteins and ingredients in meat-based kibbles. However, I'm sure that vegan diets face the same issues, seeing as they go through the same nutrient depletion process that heating and cooking does to food. Plant ingredients in food are not exempt from having issues of their own. While they may not be incorporating 4D meat into their foods, we still face the issues of glyphosates, mycotoxins, aflatoxins, high glycemic index and much more. Glyphosate is an herbicide used on the bulk of farms producing crops for human and pet food. This popular weed killer has been linked to brain disorders, heart issues, cancer, obesity, IBD and more. Sometimes a combination with Agent Orange is also used. Glyphosates kill the good bacteria the gut needs for a healthy microbiome and protection against pathogenic bacteria. It also blocks the body from detoxing the liver contributing to liver disease, and really depletes the plants of the nutrients they need to thrive. Paired with glyphosates are GMOs. Most kibbles contain GMO and glyphosate affected foods like soy, corn, wheat, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa and more. So this isn't inclusive of only vegan pet foods. All commercial kibbles are at risk of glyphosate contamination, one of the reasons why I'm so against feeding our pets processed foods. Mycotoxins and Aflatoxins are toxic molds that can cause disease and death in both our pets and ourselves. According to Trevor Smith, a researcher who devoted 35 years to mycotoxin research warned, "although we have no exact numbers, we can estimate that when half of the food is vegetable origin, there will almost always be some degree of contamination. If the food is mainly of animal origins, the chances of contamination are greatly reduced." which makes sense, as this mold growth occurs on crop products during and after production. High glycemic index occurs when ingredients high on the glycemic index are used in a pet food. These ingredients heighten blood sugar levels, creating disease and other issues in the body. For example, some on the list include... - Corn (53) - Corn meal (69) - Brown rice (55) - Wheat (41) - Barley (25) - Oatmeal (49) In comparison to animal products like beef and chicken, with a glycemic index of 0. I don't believe meat-based kibbles are all to blame for chronic disease in our pets. They contain the same starches and other plant ingredients that dominate a vegan kibble. 2. Vegan diets are easily digestible. This isn't exactly true. Grains are only digestible to the extent to which they're processed. Sure, you can finely grind up corn to make it more "digestible" (and that simply means it can pass through the body, it doesn't mean the animal will receive much benefit) but then you're risking an even higher glycemic index of the product, increasing blood sugar levels and contributing to diabetes in our pets. 3. Modern day canines have obesity, allergies, diabetes which can be prevented and cured with vegan diets. Obesity is more commonly linked to carbohydrate in food rather than fat. In a vegan kibble, the bulk, if not the entire food, will be comprised of carbohydrates if the fats and proteins from animal product are not being included. According to AAFCO (The Association of American Feed Control Officials) "whole grains are commonly used as a carbohydrate source for energy...however, in lower quality pet foods, they may be used as the main ingredient, which is not healthy for most dogs." On the list of common allergens for pets, wheat, soy, and corn are all listed. These are ingredients commonly found in most vegan pet foods. The risk of diabetes increases when feeding foods high on the glycemic index. We've seen grains are high on that list. Alternatively, it has been noted that allergies, obesity, and diabetes are greatly managed or diminished by feeding a primordial, biologically appropriate raw diet for dogs, cats and ferrets. Raw diets lack carbohydrates that cause pet obesity, diabetes (insulinoma in ferrets) has been properly managed with raw for many years, and in my personal experience I rarely see raw fed carnivores with protein allergies. They exist, but they're absolutely not common in comparison to processed kibble diets. 4. They have pictures and testimonials of elderly dogs fed a vegan diet. That's great! However the same thing can be done for pets eating a primordial raw diet. It's worth noting that there has also been dogs living until the age of 20 years old on commercial meat-based kibble diets, but the visible absence of disease doesn't mean it's not running rampant in the body, and it certainly doesn't mean the pet is thriving. Many issues don't present themselves until prolonged use of a food. In the largest recorded study to date on the effects of raw food with dogs, Dr. Gerard Lippert and Bruno Sapy examined more than 500 dogs over 5 years. It had been found that the raw diet had the most notable impact on their lifespans, potentially adding up to 3 years onto a dog's life. They determined dogs fed kibble had an average life span of 10.4 years, and 13.1 years in raw fed dogs. 5. Dogs are not wolves. Sure, dogs aren't wolves. Though they are 0.02% biologically identical. This argument is also used interchangeably with the whole, "dogs are omnivores." While wolves in the wild have a pretty solid diet of animal product and a very small (3-4%) percent vegetation, wild dogs are often found scavenging for anything edible to eat, which can include plant material. That being said, dogs are still part of the order Carnivora, making them factual carnivores. But dogs aren't omnivores just because they've evolved to handle more plant matter. This doesn't mean that's the way they were created, and they certainly haven't evolved to the point of benefiting from grains in commercial pet food. Dogs, cats and ferrets were created to consume meat. We know this by looking at their digestive system, jaw and teeth structure. Sharp canines and premolars, used to kill and wound prey, and molars used in a vertical motion to crush bone. Their digestive system consists of a one chamber stomach, high pH, and short tract meant to push animal product through quickly. Compared to an herbivore, with a horizontal chewing pattern, flat molars, multiple chambered stomach and a long digestive tract. Herbivores and carnivores have always been and will always be fundamentally different. Dissecting the vegan diet Let's actually pull up one of v-dogs recipes and see what's inside. We'll also be looking at a popular vegan food for cats. v-dog Kind Kibble, This food contains 100% plant-based nutrition, free of fillers, corn, soy and wheat and apparently great for sensitive and itchy dogs at $70 for a 30lb bag. I'm sure you're curious the amount of starch / carb. It's 46.50% Dried Peas / Pea Protein / Lentils If you've been living under a rock, from July 2018 through 2019, there were over 500 dogs and cats affected by DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy, enlarged heart) it exploded in the media, putting many grain-free "boutique" diets under fire for causing these problems. Current thinking is it was a taurine issue, many of these foods contain legume and pea products that may have blocked the animal's absorption of the essential amino acid. 93% of the foods investigated contained peas, lentils and or legumes. The FDA had discovered that large breeds like Golden Retrievers, Dobermans, and Great Danes cannot manufacture the amino acid in a diet low in animal protein. Plant proteins and ingredients do not contain taurine. Cats and ferrets cannot manufacture taurine at all, so it must be added into the diet. Not all affected animals had low levels of taurine, though. It was noted that there may have been inadequate levels of other amino acids. Or, that processing and bioavailabilty may have something to do with it. Unfortunately, no one really knows what triggered the issue in so many pets, we only know the similarities between the linked foods. They all contain high amounts of plant protein, what you do with that knowledge is up to you. Brown Rice / Oatmeal / Potato Protein / Sorghum Brown rice and oatmeal are very high on the glycemic index. Sorghum also contains a large amount of carbohydrate, and doesn't offer much in the vitamin and mineral department. Potato protein is a much cheaper source than meat or fish. I could go on and on with the rest of the ingredients but let's instead discuss the essential nutrients lacking in a vegan diet for carnivores. What vegan diets are missing There are many nutrients that are only present in animal product. Meaning, a vegan diet could be deficient in these areas. - Vitamin D, E and K12 - High quality and bioavailable protein and fats - Enzyme CoQ10 - B vitamins - Calcium and phosphorus - Iron - Folate - Collagen, melanin, elastin, keratin - Serotonin - Amino acids A vegan diet can choose to supplement with synthetic vitamins and minerals, but those come with their own problems. Synthetic will never be better than the real thing. Vitamins are extremely complex, making it very difficult to replicate in a processed diet. They also don't always act the same as natural vitamins. Vegan for ethical reasons The second group of supporters consists of those who do understand carnivores need to eat animals, but still feel like they can thrive just fine on a vegan diet, and choose to do this specifically for their own morals. This, I can sort of understand. As a vegetarian myself, I know how difficult it can be to purchase dead animals and feed them to my pet. At the same time, providing a healthy and fulfilling life for my pets is of utmost importance to me as a vegetarian. I'm their sole caretaker, they rely on me for food and happiness. It's up to me to do my research, and that includes not pushing my beliefs on my carnivorous pets. If it really bothered me so much, I would own only pets that could thrive on plants. There are many ways vegans could feed their pets a meat based diet in a way that is more ethical. 1. Only source from local farms, or grass fed and grass finished animals. These animals got to live out their lives on a pasture, much different from factory farmed animals. 2. Source from local butchers, ask for the parts people don't usually buy. There are many parts of the animal (eyeballs, feet, brain) that aren't popular buys. They may get thrown out otherwise. 3. Be conscious of the protein. Stay away from wild game or exotic proteins (horse, camel, kangaroo) if it's not your thing. Cats, too! Before moving on, I wanted to put an emphasis on it's not just dogs. There are companies that sell vegan cat food as well. This is even more dangerous as cats are obligate carnivores and must eat meat to survive. For example, Vegepet has a vegan cat food formula. One look at this list and I already know the potential issues here. I also wanted to highlight the interesting message at the bottom, "this product is not suitable for pet with grain allergy, poor kidney or urinary tract system." I actually respect this a lot. This company is being fairly transparent with the product, "Hey! This could give your cat issues." which you'd never ever see most companies do. I obviously don't approve, but I can appreciate the company trying to educate owners while promoting the product. Sadly, I couldn't find any reviews for this product and I'm super curious as to the success of it with cats, so I hopped over to Ami's review page on Amazon (another popular vegan cat food brand) and immediately found an interesting photo. The review claims the cat was vomiting and drinking a lot, turns out it had kidney failure due to mold in the bag. All commercial kibbles are at risk of this problem, but I'd imagine the risk being even higher in a food comprised of only grains. Final thoughts... There just isn't enough evidence to support the opinion carnivores can thrive on vegan diets. The same thing can be said about raw diets due to the lack of actual studies, but when feeding raw we're feeding them the primordial diet. The diet they are biologically created to consume. Nature designed them this way. Diving into some vegan formulas today helped me understand even further how cheaply put together they are. Grains and plants are the most inexpensive additions to a pet food for a reason. They're packed in carbohydrate and low in biologic value. I'll end with a quote by one of my favorite holistic veterinarians Dr. Karen Becker, "I'm a vegetarian. Many of my clinic clients and pet-loving friends and associates don't eat animal products. But we feed animal products to our dogs and cats because we have witnessed first-hand what it means to the well-being of our beloved pets to be nourished as nature intended. Further readings / videos https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/can-dogs-be-vegetarians/ https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlN7LDMTjn0 (Dr. Karen Becker) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I33eSG731g4 (Dr. Karen Becker) https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/veagn-diet-for-carnivores/ https://www.petful.com/pet-health/dont-feed-your-cat-vegan-diet/ https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/09/27/pet-vegan-vegetarian-diet https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/corn-and-your-dog-secrets-food-companies-dont-want-you-to-know-about/
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