The Mary T. and
Frank L. Hoffman
Family Foundation
and All-Creatures.Org

Letters and Responses

Letter from Sandy inquiring about vegan food for canines - 26 Apr 2008

I would like to thank you for your interesting and thought provoking website.

I have a couple of questions regarding your information on vegan pets.

My dog is a semi vegetarian. I would like to make her a full vegetarian/vegan but I keep hearing contrasting information on the subject and my dog is a very picky eater. The only meat based food I feed her is whatever I find in the discontinued section in the supermarket. At least this way I am not adding to the supply and demand of the pet food industry, or at least I am not doing so directly anyway. I also donate vegetarian dog and cat food to a local group that helps out less fortunate people with pets figuring someone may have a dog who is a less picky eater than my dog is.

Anyway, even those that argue that it is alright to feed a dog a veg diet still suggest against a full vegan diet for a cat or a dog and they also say that not all animals do well on this sort of diet. I would like to know your opinion on this? Is it true that not all animals will benefit from a veg. diet and that some will still require a meat based diet?

The other question that I have is regarding the comments made on this website about animals being killed to make the pet food. I was under the impression that pet food was basically made with the byproducts of the slaughtered animals only and that they don't kill the animals strictly to make the pet food. Therefore, buying pet food would not result in animals being killed, as would be the case with buying meat for humans, is this not the case?

Thanks again for all the great info.

Peace - Sandy

Reply from Frank and Mary Hoffman

Dear Sandy:

Thank you for writing.

Dogs are very easy to have on a vegan diet and they are much healthier for it.

We had a large dog, Heidi, who was vegan all her life. We also give her a vegan doggie vitamin. She lived to be over 15 years old (dogs her size usually only live to be 10-12 years old, and she was healthy and active up to the end, and would have lived much longer. She died from complications from an insect bite.

No matter how we look at it, feeding animals to animals increases the demand and leads to the killing of more animals. If 'pet' food didn't consume the poor grades of flesh and by-products, the price of flesh in the markets would be more, and that would lower the demand.

We hope this answers your questions.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary

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