How Could Lab-Grown Meat Change the Pet Food World?

Our dogs' and cats' diets aren't very environmentally friendly, but lab-grown meat could change that. Learn how in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/lab-grown-meat-pet-food-world.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Hey brain Stuff, learn bog obamb Here in a new
world of impossible burghers and beyond meat, where eating cicada's
is considered an actual protein rich option and adopting a
plant based diet can be a legitimate choice. What do

(00:22):
we do with all those carnivores and omnivores sleeping on
the backs of our sofas and chasing squirrels around our backyards?
How do we ensure that what we feed our pets
is not only good for them a rich in protein
and all the nutrients needed to keep them healthy, but
good for our planet. To as many of us reduce
our meat intake or opt for more sustainable animal proteins,

(00:46):
could we do the same for our pets. For the
article this episode is based on how Stuff Works, spoke
with Greg Aldrich, a research associate professor and the coordinator
of the Pet Food Program in the Department of Grain
Science and Industry at Kansas State University. He said, it's
all doable. I can formulate a vegetarian diet for a dog.

(01:07):
I can make a vegan diet for a dog. It's
just a lot harder to get it all balanced and
then to get them to like it. The Pet Food
Institute estimates that more than a hundred and eighty million
dogs and cats are living in US households, and the
American Pet Products Association reports that Americans spent more than
forty two billion dollars on pet foods and treats in alone,

(01:32):
and all of that is rough on the planet. Paper
written by u c l A researcher Gregory Oakin found
that American dogs and cats are responsible, through the food
they eat, for the release of up to sixty four
million tons of harmful greenhouse gases each year. But it's
not as if we're feeding our pets big slabs of

(01:53):
Brontosaurus ribs and live chickens. Pet foods in the US
generally have plenty of grains included. Corn is in fact
the number one ingredient used overall in cat and dog foods,
according to the North American Renderers Association, but most pet
foods do have a huge animal component. The reason for

(02:14):
that is simple. Dogs and cats and you and I
need protein, and eating meat or meat by products is
often the best, easiest and cheapest source of protein. Aldrich
said the dog is an omnivore like humans, eating both
plants and animals, but their nutritional requirements are such that
they're easier or better supported nutritionally if they consume animal

(02:38):
proteins and fats at least part of their diet. And
the cat we consider to be an obligate, meaning biological carnivore.
So what am I talking about there? Is it just
because we label them as carnivores, so thereby we have
to feed the meat. No, it really comes down to
some of their nutritional requirements, the metabolic utilization of things

(02:59):
like amino acids and fatty acids. The dogs and cats
all riches, saying don't necessarily need meat itself, but they
do need what's in it, and meat is easier for
them to digest. So how can we feed so many
animals who biologically need meat or at least are more

(03:19):
easily or better fed with meat when the production of
that meat can be both harmful to the planet and
to some, especially in the case of industrial farming, morally objectionable.
It's science to the rescue. Let's talk about cell cultured meat.
Take for example, Bond Pet Foods, a pet food company

(03:41):
in Boulder, Colorado that late announced that had produced the
world's first quote animal free chicken protein to using pet foods.
Bond took a blood sample from a live chicken, extracted
the genetic code, then inserted it into the genetic code
of some food grain yeats. These modified yeast, grown in

(04:02):
a fermentation tank, according to Bond, Quote, churns out meat
proteins that are identical to those typically produced on farm
and field. It's a similar fermentation process that's been used
for half a century to make enzymes for cheese, but
Bond is reassembling the process to harvest high quality animal proteins.

(04:23):
The process produces cell cultured meat, which is basically lab
manufactured meat without the need or mess of raising and
killing animals on farms, and Bond is not the only
company experimenting with it. Another called Because Animals, is using
a relatively similar process which harvests cells it grows them
into tissue that can then be used in treats and

(04:46):
foods for pets. A new era of pet foods made
with reduced environmental impact, more sustainability, and more responsibility is
hardly just around the corner, though this new way of
feeding the household pet is going to take some time.
The science, for as far as it's advanced, is not
quite big time yet. For one, manufacturers will have to

(05:09):
work out the best ways to ramp up the process.
Large amounts of animal based material, blood or tissue or
whatever might still be needed, at least initially. Aldridge said,
whether or not they have got to where they can
take it to scale, so instead of making a couple
of grahams making a million pounds, I don't know if
they've got that all worked out. Yet another question to

(05:31):
be answered, and not an insignificant one. Once this cultured
meat is produced, will your pets eat it? Will they
like it? And furthermore, companies will have to educate the public,
which may be picky about what goes into Fido's dish.
They may have to overcome environmentalists and animal rights backers
who may object still to the use of blood or

(05:53):
other animal material that makes the base of the new food.
They'll undoubtedly face stiff competition, as even the big pet
food makers jockey for position in a market in which good,
affordable protein is increasingly difficult to come by. The new
guys will have to make their product affordable. But even
though this new cell cultured product might not be taking

(06:15):
over the pet food aisle at your local big box
store anytime soon. The desire for options in meat, more humane,
sustainable options is clearly there. Aldrich said it could be
a viable niche in the marketplace in the next five
to ten years. As long as we have what is it,
a hundred and eighty million dogs and cats in the US,

(06:35):
there's going to be demand for proteins, So any additional
supply of protein is going to help. Whether or not
that cell cultured meat becomes mainstream is probably going to
be a ways away. Today's episode is based on the
article how lab grown meat could change the pet food
world on how stuff works dot com, written by John Donovan.

(06:59):
Brain Stuff is product of iHeart Radio in partnership with
hous neffworks dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Clay.
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