Dog News: Forget SUVs - Dogs Are Ruining The Environment!
That devoted furry, four-legged friend of yours is killing the planet, or so say Robert and Brenda Vale, two researchers from New Zealand. They published a study entitled “Time to Eat the Dog?: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.” Its findings imply that canines create more eco-damage than gas sucking SUVs.
Photo by dallasdoggies
The Vales base their findings on the amount of resources used to feed household pets. According to their findings, it takes a bit more than 2 acres of land to produce approximately 360 pounds of meat and 210 pounds of grain that a medium sized dog will consume each year. They say it would take less than half that amount of land to produce the energy to power an SUV driven 10,000 miles a year.
What the Vales don’t seem to be taking into account is that the majority of commercial dog foods (i.e the ones you see sold at grocery stores) are produced using waste products created for human use. These meats and grains are not exclusively grown for canine consumption. The *quality* products are used in products for human consumption while the “leftovers” are turned into kibble. What would be trash is turned into profit. The problem is not the dogs.
Other researchers are wondering about the accuracy of the study as well. Clark Williams-Derry, chief researcher at the Sightline Institute, a nonprofit sustainability think-tank in Seattle, has some doubts. “When I saw the study I ran some quick numbers. The average dog has to eat at least twice as much as the average person for this to be right. People are just heavier than dogs so, I just had to scratch my head at that”, he said.
