When looking into different food options for your pets, you may have concerns about the ingredients and the impact the ingredients have on the climate. Finding a sustainable source of healthy proteins and nutrition for your pets does not need to involve animal livestock products or animal by-products.
Jiminy's offers a solution that is nutritious and sustainable by using insect protein. By changing the traditional protein sources to crickets, it is possible to reduce your carbon footprint and feel good about your pet's well-being.
Lower Rates of Water Consumption
A key concern about sustainability in farming stems from the water consumption used by farm animals. Traditional farming for meat and animal products uses a large amount of water to provide proper hydration for the animals, clear up waste products, and maintain the farming conditions.
On average, 1,847 gallons of water is used for each pound of beef around the world. While some countries may use less water when compared to others, the average rate of water consumption for animal proteins has long-term implications for the future. In comparison, a cricket farm uses roughly one gallon of water per pound of crickets. The result of using crickets in dog food is a lower rate of water consumption in the production of protein. While specific water consumption for insects may vary slightly based on the type of insect, the rate of water consumption remains low in comparison to meat production from traditional animals.
Low Gas Emissions
Sustainability is not limited to the rate of water used for the production of food products or pet foods. It also relates to the methane and carbon gases produced in farming. According to the University of California at Davis, a single cow raised for meat produces as much as 220 pounds of methane gas each year. They also produce carbon dioxide as a part of normal breathing and activities.
Greenhouse gas emissions from crickets and other insects are far lower than cows or other livestock. Crickets produce less than one percent of the greenhouse gases that cows produce. While the rates are not quite as low in other animals like pigs or chickens, it remains less than 10 percent of the gases of livestock and other animals.
Due to the lower rates of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide produced by insect farming, the concerns related to climate change from farming are mitigated. Crickets and other insects offer long-term sustainability in relation to greenhouse gases.
Fertilizing and Amending Soil
Environmental sustainability goes beyond the use of water and emission concerns. While insects offer benefits related directly to carbon footprints and fresh water consumption, they also offer benefits to the soil. Insect excrement, or frass, offers a solution for soil amendment.
Frass contains high levels of minerals and nutrients plants need for healthy growth. The rates of nutrients in insect frass are similar to other animal fertilizers or offer higher rates of minerals when compared to other animal fertilizers. It encourages healthy plant growth and allows plants to thrive.
Since it may also help with soil amendment, it provides a solution for demineralization of soil as well as problems with soil loss in certain areas. Farmers are able to use frass to as an alternative to traditional fertilizers for a lower carbon footprint and a similar or higher rate of nutrition in the soil. Since it does not have the same high rates of methane production while breaking down, it is ideal when compared to animal fertilizers.
Smaller Farms
Land requirements for an insect farm are smaller when compared to animal farms. Since insects do not need as much land to thrive, it is possible to raise insects on much smaller farms and get similar rates of nutritious foods. Since the farms remain small, it is not necessary to use the large equipment or tools used on larger farms, which further reduces carbon footprints during the production of food and protein.
Reduced Food Waste
Insects provide less waste when compared to traditional animal products and by-products in pet foods. Unlike animals, the majority of edible insects are used in the production of food. Roughly 80 to 100 percent of an insect is edible when compared to only 40 percent of cows or 56 percent of a chicken. Since the entire insect is used to develop healthy foods for your pet, you have less waste from the production of foods.
Insect protein offers a sustainable and earth-friendly solution to pet foods. Since insects use less water and land when compared to more traditional sources of protein, they are a great option for pet foods. They also offer benefits in relation to food wastage, farm sizes, and soil amendment, which further enhances long-term sustainability.