04.09.2025

Plant-Based Diets for Companion Animals, Lunchtime Live show, Newstalk Radio.

Go Vegan World was recently asked to discuss the topic of plant-based diets for dogs with Mairead Ronan, filling in for Andrea Gilligan on the Lunchtime Live show, Newstalk radio (04.09.2025). The invitation was on foot of an article in the Daily Mail Newspaper sent to us by Newstalk, with the rather sensationalist headline “Now even DOGS are being told to go vegan! Plant–based foods provide ‘similar nutrients’ to meat–based diets for pooches, vets claim” Zantha Leathan, Daily Mail UK, 3rd September 2025 ⁱ. It followed the release of a recent study ⁱⁱ by Rebecca Brociek et al at the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. The study found that plant-based dog food products on the market in the UK are nutritionally comparable to those containing animal products.

Nutritional analysis of commercially available, complete plant- and meat-based dry dog foods in the UK (Brociek et al, 2025)

The researchers analysed the nutritional completeness of thirty-one dog food products on the UK market (including plant-based and those containing animal products), specifically looking at total protein content, individual amino acids, fatty acids, major and trace elements, vitamin D and all B vitamins. They found that the nutritional composition of meat and plant-based dog foods are comparable. Most veterinary diets with lower total protein by design, for instance to treat renal issues, were deficient in one or more essential amino acids. Plant based foods are lower in iodine and B-vitamins than those containing animal products, but they can be easily supplemented. The study concluded that properly formulated plant-based diets are a healthy and viable alternative for dogs to those containing animal products.

Vegan Cats and Dogs?

Other animals cannot be vegan. Veganism is the manifestation of the human acknowledgement that other animals are sentient beings who have rights. It involves living in a way that does not use other animals as commodities. Companion animals can eat a plant-based diet, but this is different to the radical rejection of animal use that humans adopt when they go vegan.

At the outset, let us be very clear that while many vegans live with and care for rescued cats and dogs, veganism, being a complete rejection of using other animals for any reason, does not support the companion animal industry. Vegans do not buy other animals, we do not support breeding them for entertainment or companionship, and we reject the domestication of other animals. Although many people believe that having cats and dogs is something benign and beneficial to them, it is a profitable industry that is predicated on selective breeding of sentient beings for human use and makes other animals unfairly vulnerable and completely dependent on their human carers for their most basic needs. Companion animals are legally the property of their human guardians and how they live is entirely at the discretion of their ‘owners’.

However, there are many neglected, abused and abandoned companion animals who need a home. It is right that we take rescue or adopt them, taking them into our homes and lives to care for them. This is how vegans come to live with companion animals without supporting the industry responsible for their exploitation and existence in the first place.

Should Companion Animals Eat a Plant-Based Diet?

It does not make sense to care for members of one species by using products that come from the exploitation and slaughter of members of other species. We are morally obliged not to contribute in any way to anything that causes other animals to be harmed or killed, including to care for the animals we are using as companions.

Animal agriculture is one of the most significant contributors to Greenhouse Gas Emissions, playing a major role in the climate crisis. It is also unsustainable, harmful to soil, air and water quality and a significant cause of loss of biodiversity. For reasons of environmental protection, sustainability and animal ethics, we should not use animal products to feed ourselves or our companion animals.

But what about our moral obligation to look after the companion animals in our lives? Can they be healthy and happy on a plant-based diet?

Dogs have evolved from carnivores to omnivores and studies using surveys of their guardians, although lacking methodological rigor, suggest that they can thrive on a plant-based diet, having fewer vet visits, and improved liver and kidney function, better coat quality and fewer external parasites (Knight et al, 2026 ⁱⁱⁱ; Malina Fielder, Veterinary Nutritionist). Cats are obligate carnivores and guardians need to be extremely careful that if they choose a plant-based diet for their cat, they also ensure supplementation to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

A plant-based diet causes urine to be more alkaline which increases the risk of urinary crystals. This is of particular importance in cats where regular monitoring of urine PH is essential. Struvite crystals can be fatal if not treated as an emergency. If you choose to feed your cat a plant-based diet, please consult a veterinary nutritionist and monitor the pH of their urine.

We are sure that many Newstalk radio listeners have companion animals and are sincere about learning how best to care for them. A radio show that invites dairy farmers to debate with vegans is a set up for sensationalism and sells its listeners short. It would be much more responsible to ask the views of veterinary professionals, especially those with an interest in plant-based diets for companion animals.

Feeding a companion animal a plant-based diet needs to be done with a good grounding in current research on the appropriateness of diet for the individual animal’s health. It is best done in conjunction with veterinary support and with guidance from veterinary nutritionists. While there is no excuse for humans not to be vegan, and it is easy for most people to avoid consuming all animal products overnight, transitioning your companion animal onto a diet without animal products should be undertaken gradually and with care to make sure they stay happy and healthy.

ⁱ Now even DOGS are being told to go vegan! Plant–based foods provide ‘similar nutrients’ to meat–based diets for pooches, vets claim, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15060639/DOGS-vegan-Plant-foods-nutrients-meat.html, accessed 04.09.2025.

ⁱⁱ Brociek, RA et al (20250 Nutritional analysis of commercially available, complete plant- and meat-based dry dog foods in the UK, Plos One, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328506 Accessed 05/09/2025)

ⁱⁱⁱ Knight, A., & Leitsberger, M. (2016). Vegetarian versus Meat-Based Diets for Companion Animals. Animals, 6(9), 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6090057