Save the planet: eat a dog?
By TANYA KATTERNS - The Dominion Post
Relevant offers
National
The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.
Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.
The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created bypopular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.
"If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around," Brenda Vale said.
"A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don't worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact ... is comparable."
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.
They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle's eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog's.
They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.
Professor Vale says the title of the book is meant to shock, but the couple, who do not have a cat or dog, believe the reintroduction of non-carnivorous pets into urban areas would help slow down global warming.
"The title of the book is a little bit of a shock tactic, I think, but though we are not advocating eating anyone's pet cat or dog there is certainly some truth in the fact that if we have edible pets like chickens for their eggs and meat, and rabbits and pigs, we will be compensating for the impact of other things on our environment."
Professor Vale took her message to Wellington City Council last year, but councillors said banning traditional pets or letting people keep food animals in their homes were not acceptable options.
Kelly Jeffery, a Paraparaumu german shepherd breederwho once owned a large SUV, said eliminating traditional pets was "over the top".
"I think we need animals because they are a positive in our society. We can all make little changes to reduce carbon footprints but without pointing the finger at pets, which are part of family networks."
Owning rabbits is legal anywhere. Local bodies allow chickens, with some restrictions.
YOUR PET'S MARK
The eco-footprints of the family pet each year as calculated by the Vales:
German shepherds: 1.1 hectares, compared with 0.41ha for a large SUV.
Cats: 0.15ha (slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf). Hamsters: 0.014ha (two of them equate to a medium-sized plasma TV).
Goldfish: 0.00034ha (an eco-finprint equal to two cellphones).
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
I have been around for 77 plus years, and this is the stupidest article I have ever read. Maybe we should take Brenda and Robert Vale; stick them in a pen and keep them as pets. After we fatten them up we could slaughter them and hold a BBQ, inviting four-leggers only. My dog eats exactly what I eat; rice, vegetables, and all non-animal products.
The book is worth a read to get a perspective on sustainability. A bit technical lots of numbers. Solutions are offered on how to get everyones footprint down to the target 2 Hectares, just cut our energy consumption across everything we do by 66%. We all have along way to go. Shame the focus is on the dog, alot of heads in the sand still.
what a load of crap i would never consider eating mans best friend
It is not bad to understand environmental footprint. My 2 dogs are going nowhere soon. What was the footprint of Al Gore's private jet to Europe and back, then doing it again just days later after winning the Nobel peace prize? How many centuries can I have 2 dogs based on just 2 weeks of Al Gore's private jetting? How about his 20,000 sq foot house. How many dogs can I have in my 1950 sq ft house and still be below that. When he leaves a line of limos running outside his events so that his inner circle need not suffer the indignity of coming back to a nonClimate controlled car ... how much indigestion would my dogs have to work through to compare to that? And that is a Nobel Peace prize winning environmentalist. I'll just always aim to have a footprint smaller than his (won't be hard).
I wonder what the eco-footprint of a Brenda Vale is?
I think there are other solutions with regards to the issue of global warming without compromising our pets. Our pets are our companion. Maybe, to fight against global warming, we should limit the pets we have, at least. But not eliminating them totally.
----------------- <a href="http://www.dressup.me/">dressup games</a> | <a href="http://www.dressup.me/">dress up games</a> | <a href="http://www.dressup.me/">dress up</a>
I offset the cost of feeding my large dog by letting him eat the neighbor's chickens and rabbits.
When I was sick there was no finer company than my dog and family. Now that I am well the same applies. Take UR LIPERAL crap and put it on the planet URANUS! The northeast had no summer; Global warming my *ss!
When you think about it, we should be doing is eating people. They taste like pork , so i am told.
Why should i eat my pet dog just so i can support other peoples sex lives, the onward march to overpopulation, so that some school mother can drive her three kiddies to school each day, and so politicians can keep bringing people into the country so that they can show growth figures on their flow charts?
Fom now on I am turning on all the taps, and leaving them on.
Kiwi Kevin Percy claims Harry Potter castle
Buy your furniture or we'll sell it Crown tells ministers
Griffin's moves biscuits to Fiji
Wellington mayor's husband threatens mall libel suit
School building gutted by fire
Chemical leak disrupts Wellington Hospital
Truck driver sentenced over policeman's death
Praying for Ben after explosion
Buy your furniture or we'll sell it, Crown tells ministers
Nice Kiwi blokes - shame about the women
Kiwi Kevin Percy claims Harry Potter castle
Oprah says ending show 'feels right'
Police officer killed as floods devastate UK
Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns, one dead
Huge European football match-fixing ring exposed
Moro production to move to Australia
Should Manners Mall make way for buses?
Related story: Mall campaign pays for 'protesters'
World Watch just produced a report showing that the UN FAO report of 2007 titled 'Livestock's Long Shadow' grossly underestimated the emissions from the livestock Industry. It is not 18% (more than the entire auto industry) but closer to 51%. Therefore if anyone is concerned about emissions, or about the planet at all, the simplest and most powerful thing they can do is to adopt a plant-based diet (no meat/dairy/eggs). It's not that hard. To blame dogs for having a high carbon footprint while ignoring the much larger one of non-vegetarian humans is just sticking your head in the sand.