The ingredients in commercial pet food often come from factory farming systems, creating a connection between companion animal feeding and farm animal welfare.
Companion animal welfare and farm animal welfare are linked through the pet food industry in ways that owners rarely consider. Every bag of conventional meat-based pet food represents demand for farm animal products, most of which come from intensive production systems with significant welfare concerns. Cats are obligate carnivores with genuine dietary needs for animal protein, making this connection particularly challenging for cat owners. For dogs, whose nutritional needs can be met by more varied diets, the options are broader. Some pet food companies explicitly source from higher welfare farming systems, providing an option for owners who wish to align their companion animal feeding with their values. Insect protein pet foods offer another option with potentially better welfare profiles given uncertainty about insect sentience.