With our eco-friendly insect protein dog food, there's something you can do for the planet.
The environmental crisis is on everyone's mind. Images of natural disasters come from all corners of the world. Hurricanes, floods, fires, drought, heat waves: these events are very much on our screens and in our minds. While the world is working, sometimes too slowly, to find solutions to these problems, we ourselves are sometimes at a loss. We want to be part of the solution, but we don't want to give up everything that gives us comfort and joy in life. Plus, it's hard to know what changes actually work.
Our beloved pets are an important part of our lives. We want the best for them because they are integral members of our families and bring us joy, companionship and security.
A 2017 study claimed, however, that a mid-sized dog emits more CO2 than an SUV car. This comparison can be nuanced, but the trend is there. We increasingly want to pamper our dogs and cats by giving them the best. Big brands would have us believe that dogs, who are carnivores, can only be happy and healthy if they eat fresh meat, 'organic' foods, foods suitable for human consumption and dietary supplements.
But meat production accounts for up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and pets consume up to 20% of it.
The good news is that we can do something about it. Specialized nutritionists tell us that all that meat is not necessary for the animals' good health. What matters is that they have a good quality protein source. With eco-friendly insect protein dog food, our dogs can be part of the solution too!
In this article, find out 8 good reasons why insect protein is really better for the environment and why your dog should try it immediately.
1. Nothing needs to be produced to feed the insects
Did you know that the mealworms used in Bazoef's kibble are fed primarily on agricultural by-products such as wheat bran? This bran is produced during the cultivation of wheat, but is only rarely used. Insects fed on this wheat bran transform it into proteins of excellent nutritional quality as well as into compost. Therefore, nothing needs to be produced to feed them.
2. Raising them requires little agricultural land
Since nothing needs to be produced, no additional agricultural land is needed to feed the insects. In the world, a significant portion of agricultural land is used to produce feed for livestock. With insect feeding, more food is produced on the same area. And that leaves more room for nature!
Did you know, for example, that to produce the same amount of protein, mealworms use 14 times less agricultural land than beef?
3. Insects use little water
Mealworms get their name because they were once found in mills and flour sacks. They are able to live in very dry environments with very little water. Since it is not necessary to dedicate farmland to grow their food, they are very water efficient. Mealworms need 2x less water than chickens and 4.5x less water than beef to produce protein of excellent nutritional quality!
And all of that water can stay in our rivers and ponds.
4. They don't emit methane
During digestion, ruminants digest the grass they've eaten, but in doing so they emit a considerable amount of methane. This methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Mealworms do not emit methane.
.5. They are "cold-blooded"
As insects have no blood, the word poikilotherm should be used instead. The fact is that the body temperature of insects is equal to that of their environment. Heating costs energy. This is what we see every month on our energy bill. Insects, like other "cold-blooded" animals, save on their energy bill by not heating their bodies. This means that to survive, they need much less energy and therefore must eat much less than chickens, pigs, sheep or cattle.
6. Raising them uses significantly less fossil fuels.
Feed production in agriculture uses fossil fuels, whether to run tractors or to produce fertilizer. When feed or soybeans must be produced, the carbon dioxide emissions are reflected in the carbon footprint of the feed. This is not so with insects. Because they are fed wheat bran they do not generate additional CO2 emissions.
7. They are suited to vertical farming
Mealworms are raised indoors, in vertical farms. Unlike beef, pigs, chickens that are unhappy in intensive farming conditions, mealworms thrive when they are all together. In the wild, females lay up to 500 eggs near a food source and the larvae grow up all tightly together. This is not the case for most birds or mammals, which need space to feel comfortable. For this reason, mealworms can be raised under rearing conditions comparable to their natural conditions, leaving more room outside for nature and forests.
7. They are suited to vertical farming
Mealworms are raised indoors, in vertical farms. Unlike beef, pigs, chickens that are unhappy in intensive farming conditions, mealworms thrive when they are all together. In the wild, females lay up to 500 eggs near a food source and the larvae grow up all tightly together. This is not the case for most birds or mammals, which need space to feel comfortable.
For this reason, mealworms can be raised under rearing conditions comparable to their natural conditions, leaving more room outside for nature and forests.
8. They don't need antibiotics
In the United States, 80% of antibiotics are used for farm animals. This is due to the fact that their intensive breeding conditions expose them to epidemics and on the other hand that antibiotics allow these animals to grow faster. The downside is that, over time, antibiotics become less useful because bacteria develop resistance. These antibiotics end up on our plates and in the environment. With insect proteins, none of this is possible, since no antibiotics are used in their breeding.
For all these reasons, we are convinced that, in addition to being delicious and excellent for health, ecological dog food with insect proteins is a real alternative to reduce the ecological impact of your four-legged friend. Don't wait any longer to offer them to him.
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