Friday 18 February 2022

A round of a-paws! Dog food company Neo Bites becomes carbon-negative

Sustainable pet food start-up Neo Bites has become what it claims is the first carbon-negative dog food company in the US.

It offsets 150% of the greenhouse gas emissions released through production and shipping of its products through its partnership with CIRCA, which sources the world's climate solutions to identify the most impactful projects and combines them into carbon offset products.

Austin-based Neo Bites achieved the milestone largely due to its use of insect protein in its line of dog food toppers and treats as cricket farming is said to produce “virtually no greenhouse gases”, in comparison with traditional livestock rearing which produces more than one-third of total US methane emissions.

The company cites research that suggests dogs and cats in the US consume more meat each year than the human population of China, contributing around 25% to 30% of the entire environmental impact of domestic meat production, which is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Wesley Cooper, Co-Founder of Neo Bites said: “Given how destructive the pet food industry's environmental impact has become, we knew that carbon neutral wasn't enough.

“We are proud to be building a company that removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through the production and sale of its products.”