Sustainability
PLANT BASED IS GOOD FOR THE PLANET
By reducing our dependence on animal agriculture, Ralph is making a huge, positive difference to our planet and all the creatures who live on it. Not bad for a bowl of kibble.
SMALLER PAW PRINT
Did you know that feeding your dog plant-based pet food, even just part time, could drastically reduce your family's environmental footprint?
Animal agriculture is the largest contributor to carbon emissions in New Zealand, with 42% coming from just cows and sheep. Globally, up to a quarter of the environmental impacts of meat production are attributed to pet food, creating a massive 64 million tonnes of CO2 each year.
This is because most pets are fed exclusively on meat twice a day, and meat requires more energy, land and water to produce than plant-based foods, with greater environmental consequences in terms of erosion, pesticides and waste.
By introducing your dog to vegan pet food, you and your best friend can make a big difference.
TREE HUGGERS
Research by the University of Edinburgh has revealed that it takes an area up to twice the size of the UK to farm the animals required for pet food every year. The number of trees felled to maintain this level of consumption is staggering. Alongside this, soy production is the leading cause of deforestation worldwide, with 90% of that soy being used to feed livestock. If more dogs switched to plant-based food we could save up to 60 square feet of rainforest a day.
Locally, New Zealand has huge potential to transition away from dairy, sheep and beef into more sustainable plant-based and/or regenerative farming. Ralph supports some of these farms, using Southland grown oats and peas from Canterbury, but there is still much more to grow! And the more demand for plant-based, the more incentive there will be for farmers to transition.
EVERY DROP COUNTS
But we’re not talking drops... we’re talking litres. In fact, so much water is used in the raising of farm animals, that going plant-based saves an astonishing 10,000 litres of water... every day! In New Zealand alone, around 58% of our freshwater is used for farm irrigation.
KEEP IT BLUE
We know that our pristine rivers and streams have been polluted sometimes beyond use by animal agriculture here in NZ. Reducing the sheer number of stock will help clear up all that toxic runoff, allowing fish and other species to regenerate and allowing Kiwis to swim in and drink our beautiful natural resource again.
On a global scale, overfishing is wreaking havoc on our ecosystem, and it takes many fish to feed one dog (and that’s not even including the by-kill). Going plant-based allows biodiversity to flourish in our oceans and gives the ecosystem a chance to rebalance.
BREATHE IT IN
A lovely side effect of increased plant crops, reducing deforestation and actually saving and/or planting trees is more oxygen. Breathe in all that good you’re doing for this little planet.
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
Sustainable packaging is our goal, and we're doing everything we can to be more sustainable in this area, while maintaining long shelf life. We are doing our best to minimise waste in the following ways:
- We are proud to be a member of the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme, which aims to reduce landfill and encourage recycling. Packaging can be dropped at collection points throughout NZ, or saved and sent in bulk to their recyling centre, to be turned into fence posts among other innovative products.
- Using bags with less material (no plastic + paper which can’t be recycled easily together, or zippers).
- Functional, recyclable packaging over compostable options (as these aren’t suitable right now. They may compromise the quality of our products & aren’t desirable for composting at home or commercially)
- We are using a sustainability packaging advisor to guide us in the best decisions in this area.
Did you know more carbon is tied up in the production of the product itself rather than the packaging? This is why it is so important to prevent foodwaste, and also to choose low environmental footprint plant based products!