UK Pet Food has dismissed the ‘headline’ findings of new research claiming that wet pet food was nearly seven times as bad for the environment as commercial dry food.

The survey by researchers at Sao Paulo University in Brazil found that wet pet food production created 690% more greenhouse gas emissions than dry food production.

Following Pet Trade Xtra’s story on the study’s findings, UK Pet Food issued the following statement. 

“UK Pet Food is aware of the recent research from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, looking at the environmental impact of diets for cats and dogs. 

“The headline in some of the media coverage, which states that ‘wet is worse than dry’ has been misleading and does not present the full picture of true circularity that exists across the pet food industry. 

“Pet food production largely uses co-products from the human food chain. By converting unwanted ingredients into nutritious foods for pets, our industry provides an additional income for farmers, limits wastage and truly adds value to surplus products. 

“As the squeeze on resources and food availability continues, as an industry we are committed to sourcing pet food ingredients responsibly and sustainably.

“We continue to look for further solutions to minimise the environmental impact that manufacturing pet food has on our planet, while maintaining the health and wellbeing of our much-loved pets.”