Plant-based petfood: healthy and natural

Healthy living has long been a trend. This extends to pets. Owners of course want their pets to live a long and healthy life. A balanced diet is essential for this. Dogs, cats and other animals need all the right vitamins, proteins, fats and minerals. A varied plant-based diet can offer this. Of course, it is important to consult per animal species what their specific needs are. Cats require different proteins and minerals than dogs. The former still requires proteins from meat or fish, with plant-based ingredients of petfood as a supplement to their diet. Dogs naturally also require a balanced diet, but seem even better suited than cats for a (partly) plant-based diet. 

No more artificial stuff

Plant-based ingredients are natural ingredients. They contain no artificial components or unhealthy amounts of sugar or salt. Instead, they are full of nature’s vitamins and minerals. Plant-based ingredients also contain plenty of fibres, which is beneficial for any animal. Fibres aid the digestive system. So why choose artificial ingredients when you can have soil-grown carrots? Sustainable petfood with natural ingredients is both healthier and seems more trustworthy to pet owners. So, it is a win-win.

What kind of plant-based ingredients are there for petfood?

There are many kinds of vegetables in this world. The following are a good choice for sustainable petfood ingredients. 

• Potato is the most important source of plant-based ingredients for petfood. It improves the food’s texture and provides structure properties in kibble and wet petfoods. It is also seen as an alternative to grains, because potatoes are gluten free.
• Carrots are a wonderful vegetable full of vitamins and fibres. It is very healthy. Furthermore, carrots lend a wonderful orange colour to any petfood. This is a great touch for muesli for rodents or horses, for example. 
• Chicory ingredients in petfood have many health benefits for pets. It contributes to digestive health and improves taste.
• Spinach is protein rich and full of minerals and vitamins. It mixes well with other ingredients, such as potato and carrot.
  
  

The perfect petfood formula with plant-based ingredients

A one-sided diet is not healthy for both humans and pets. There are different vitamins and fibres in each vegetable and fruit. So, it is wise to look at various plant-based ingredients to create the right petfood formula. Of course, this process takes time. Texture, nutritional value and colour all should be considered when producing sustainable petfood. Plant-based ingredients can make a difference by providing extra vitamins and a healthy-looking colour. Vegetable or potato co-products are usually processed to granulate, flakes or pellets to use in petfood. There are many options to choose from! 

Go green and sustainable

Consumers do not just want healthy ingredients for their petfood. They want it to be sustainable as well. As a producer of petfood, it is important to take responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of petfood. It is part of your Corporate Social Responsibility. Some ways to make sure that your (plant-based) petfood ingredients are sustainable:

• Choose co-products with “zero land use”. This means co-products from the food industry that would otherwise be thrown away. These ingredients are entirely sustainable since no crops are grown specifically for the purpose of petfood manufacturing. For example: carrots that have a little dent in them or potato parts released during the production of French fries or crisps.
• A sustainable production process. Duynie Ingredients produces all petfood ingredients in a climate-neutral way, using residual heat and green electricity. The residual heat is generated by a nearby bio-energy plant. In this way we produce ingredients with a lower carbon footprint and reduce environmental impact.
• Choosing plant-based ingredients is sustainable in itself! Vegetables have way less impact on the environment than meat. So plant-based ingredients are not just healthy, but also environmentally friendly.