Let’s do Brunch! Fundraising for a Plant-Based Dog Food Study!

Moby could not be more right about animal agriculture being the single dumbest cruelest practice of our species. He points out that 45 percent of climate change is due to animal agriculture. He grew up with a “profound connection to animals,” and yet he was still eating them. At the age of 19, Moby made the connection one day sitting with his cat and he realized every creature on the planet is the same. Speciesism is the bottom line. We love one creature and treat it with kindness while we torture and eat another. “A dog’s life has no more value than a cow’s life,” so Moby commends everyone for being here to try to stop prioritizing the life of one sentient creature over that of another.  All beings just want to live their lives and be free from harm just like we do.

Dr. Armaiti May makes a great point that there are “bioconcentrated” toxins in all meat, even organic meat. This meat is making dogs sick with illnesses like cancer from carcinogens in meet, and ultimately costing the lives of many dogs. As a veterinarian, she is tasked with helping animals get well and stay well. Dogs are thriving on vegan diets. They are omnivores but there is not a need for animal products in their diets, they only need the nutrients. Whether these nutrients are derived from plants or synthetically, they can still fill the dogs dietary needs without adding cruelty or poison.

Tonatiuh Melgarejo, DVM, MS, PhD explains his journey to veganism and what the vegan dog food study is trying to accomplish. He is hopeful that after four months of a study, they will be able to tell how well dogs live and thrive on a plant-based diet. For twenty-eight years Melgarejo has been studying the health and nutritional benefits of a plant-based diets. He is here to lend his scientific expertise to this study. They will be studying the effects of two dog food brands, V-Dog and Halo vegan dog foods. Hopefully this study will help other brands steer towards offering vegan dog food options to their buyers.

Check out the next video and meet some of the amazing guests at the brunch fundraiser!

Otep says it amazingly. This study is a way to help animals in every aspect. We can help stop the farming of animals for other animals to eat by showing that there are other options. Her dogs are actually allergic to meat products, and this study will help her justify her decision to feed her dogs a vegan diet.

Simone Reyes says the big challenge is having people overcome their fears of feeding their animals vegan diets. It just makes sense not to feed your animals carcinogens but people want to see scientific research. She makes a great point that any dog can get sick because of age even on a vegan diet. The science matters so we can help make change in other communities.

Lisa makes a great point that most physicians are not receiving an adequate amount of nutritional training. Now more physicians and veterinarians are shifting towards plant-based diets. Change is possible but the best way to make that change is to research and offer scientific proof.

Report edited by Ellen Dent.

Photos courtesy of  Josh Goldstein.

Check out the amazing violinist and activist Sheena Gao playing the violin!