Dogs are worse for the environment than SUVs

[The Straight Story]

If you're a dog owner and call yourself eco-conscious, guilt might set in after reading the book "Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" by Robert and Brenda Vale, which reveals dogs are worse for the environment than SUVs.

The authors, who designed the first sustainable settlement in the United Kingdom in 1996 and are architecture professors at Victory University of Wellington in New Zealand, measured the environmental impact of our lifestyles from the food we eat to how we travel to sports, hobbies and pets based on the Ecological Footprint technique created by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees.

Bottom line: Our pooches cost the Earth more than a Toyota Land Cruiser. According to the Vales' research, a medium-sized dog has twice the impact of driving the luxury SUV 10,000 miles. Why? "Basically dogs are bad for the environment because they are large carnivores, so it takes a lot of land to provide their foods," says Robert Vale.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/26/dog.hybrid.mnn/index.html

2nd hand dogs are killing me, please don't smoke your dog in bars :)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. Dude sounds like a cat person... n/t

[ladywnch]

69. Really? sounds like a shill for the oil/auto industries to me.

at a minimum, a global warming denier.

Just more rigged science.

[FLPanhandle]

2. I'd say it's not the dogs that are the problem but the number of human beings.

We've have dogs as companions for thousands of years. It's never been a problem before. It's only a problem now because of the number of human beings on the planet.

The underlying problem is human population.

[stuntcat]

29. +1

.

[hobbit709]

3. If I had to choose between a dog and a SUV, the dog wins.

[Buzz Clik]

4. Dogs getting horrible gas mileage, even hybrid dogs.

[XanaDUer]

9. Those are hilarious!

:rofl:

[WhiteTara]

19. that is some Bird Dog!

But I can imagine the mileage would be low...having to carry that head!

[demosincebirth]

25. That is super funny.!!

[Maine-ah]

5. considering how my 13 year old beastie

is stinking up the living room this morning, I might have to agree.... PU!

x(

[greytdemocrat]

6. The author can kiss my...poodle. n/t

[LiberalEsto]

7. My dogs keep me from needing an electric blanket

thereby helping keep the electric bills down in winter.
They also catch and eat the stink bugs that keep getting inside the house. Free protein.

[howaboutme]

8. If it is in print and from a university professor it must be credible -lol

That seems to be the common but naive belief of society. This dog story could be true or it could be intended to minimize the belief that SUVs are harmful.

However academics and their research are being corrupted by money from commercial interests. "Inside Job" described very well the corrupting influence and process of big money buying off academics and institutions of higher learning, with the intent of changing public opinion.

Academics tend to be trusted because of peer review process and the belief that they have no conflicts of interest. Apparently the trust may not be warranted.

[Happyhippychick]

10. My dog and my SUV are both hybrids. No guilt here.

[handmade34]

11. agree

[fasttense]

12. I have a tough time buying that.

Most dog foods today contain mostly plant protein and the meat that is used is the remnants of people foods such as lips, feet and other parts of the livestock that humans discard and no longer use. In that respect the dog is providing a valuable service of recycling our waste. Not to mention that most dogs I know happily eat everything from bread to cooked potatoes and raw tomatoes.

And what exactly is a large carnivore anyway? I have a tough time believing my beagle is considered large. When I think of a large carnivore I think of a lion or cougar.

I have serious doubts about this study.

[Richard D]

13. +1

Beat me to that comment.

[demosincebirth]

27. Your said; "not to mention that most dogs I know happily eat everything from

bread to cooked potatoes and raw tomatoes." Well. I've had a few dogs in my life time and and trying to make a dog eat dry dog food is like trying to make an eight year old kid eat boiled peas.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

34. my experience has been the more like the former

our dogs will eat just about anything. Our current Lab loves raw tomatoes to the point we had to fence in the garden and our last one ate an entire 9 inch chocolate cake one day...they are literally garbage disposals if you let them. i know not all dogs are this way, but all of mine have been.

sP

[Old Troop]

39. Reminds me of the joke from "Get Fuzzy." The dog explains that you

eat everything and your body will decide what is edible.

[demosincebirth]

41. the 13lb Chihuahua/terrier mix I have seems like the only way he will eat

dry dog food if its mixed with chopped fillet mignon. Years ago I had a cocker spaniel that would ravage the tomatoes on my plants. He loved them...fresh off the vine.

[gkhouston]

42. Oh, but it's true. Just think of all those pollution-causing trees male dogs need to piss on. n/t

[adigal]

14. Dogs save many people from driving to psychologist's office

once a week, they keep us warm in bed, they save us from theft, and they give us unconditional love. I say that is worth a few thousand miles a year!

[blondeatlast]

15. Driving 10,000 miles? Why don't we just compare an apple

to an airplane while we are at it? :eyes:

[joshcryer]

45. lol, my thought exactly

A car is going to get at LEAST 150k miles.

[lukasahero]

55. No kidding

A medium sized dog - is this for the life of the dog? a year? a month?
SUV driving 10,000 miles - this is considered below standard driving levels of 1 year.

WTF do the authors have against dogs to so blatantly skew the facts?

[tridim]

16. And Humans are 10 times worse than dogs.

Soylent "green" anyone?

What a silly article.

[Lyric]

17. Dogs are omnivores, not carnivores.

And much of the "meat" that goes into commercial dog food is byproduct meat left over after the humans have taken what *they* want. Those resources would have been consumed anyway. Dogs just lessen the waste.

:shrug:

[pipi_k]

35. They sure are...

Mine eat just about anything.

Their favorite "treat" is lettuce. In addition to their regular dry kibbles, I mean.

Eggs. Chicken gizzards (cooked).

An occasional tater tot or french fry. Very little pasta

And leftover vegies from the human dinners.

They love vegies.

:)

[Lyric]

40. Mine loves bananas, peanut butter, and cheese.

He'll do ANYTHING for a cheese cube or a banana slice covered in peanut butter. He doesn't get it more than once a month, though--we use those treats to hide his heartworm tablets in. ;)

[KurtNYC]

57. Yes. "large carnivores" is completely wrong.

A statement so stupid it sailed right passed the editor and fact checker (if they have one). One might think that someone who calls themself a scientist would know the difference between a carnivore and an omnivore.

And unlike SUVs, dogs come in many sizes with the small ones being more popular than the large ones. Through 100,000 years of shared history dogs helped us hunt, waited near the fire, ate the left-overs or their share.

But the author doesn't want any of that to get in the way of their inflammatory broadside. If a dog is a man's best friend, what is the author of the study?

[KamaAina]

73. It is even possible to make veggie dog food

or so I am told.

Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores: they must eat meat, or they will go blind, since they are unable to synthesize a certain amino acid.

[G_j]

76. that is correct

good call

[Ignis]

77. +1

The authors might get an A+ for environmental zeal, but a D- on science.

[tabasco]

18. Human babies are bad for the environment.

Time to eat the babies?

[Bjorn Against]

20. They really had to stretch to reach that conclusion

Aside from what others posted earlier in this thread this "study" appears to take no consideration to the amount of resources used to build an SUV and it assumes people drive only 10,000 miles in their SUV. Who buys an SUV and only drives it 10,000 miles? Even if they did the amount of resources used to build that SUV would use way more energy than a dog does.

[Coyote_Bandit]

21. I prefer the company of my dogs

to that of Robert and Brenda Vale.

No doubt my dogs are more personable and more interested in my well-being and happiness. And a whole hell of a lot less pretentious.

[Jim__]

22. Wiping out all large carnivores would be bad for the environment.

I consider large carnivores an integral part of the environment. SUVs - not so much.

[undeterred]

23. Bite me.

My dog said that, not me.

[Warren Stupidity]

24. Dogs recycle cat shit!

At least they do in my house.

[dog_lovin_dem]

32. They also recycle

one another's shit, and vomit, if my 6 are among the "norm". I'd much rather feed my dogs than fill a gas guzzler with fuel!

[blondeatlast]

43. I know mine is damn efficient at it, too. nt

[outerSanctum]

26. Dogs?! Hell - what about my fat ass neighbor?!

He uses 100 times as many resources as my dog.

I'm for getting rid of obnoxious, dopey fat assess before we start looking into dogs....

[Missy Vixen]

67. Congratulations

You've proven the fat bigotry persists on DU.

In the meantime, I'm glad I don't have to deal with you IRL.

[Scout]

71. well, let's just start with the obnoxious, eh? n/t

[Motown_Johnny]

28. the planet had been doing fine with dogs on it for quite a while, but with SUVs

not so much.


I would need to know more about this "Ecological Footprint technique created by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees" before being able to say more.

I think what type of food you are feeding your dog may impact this evaluation. I would also like to see some comparison of dry dog food v. canned food.

[bigwillq]

30. Yup. My four-pound Chihuahua is ruining the planet.

:eyes:

[and-justice-for-all]

46. well yeah, he/she eats a steak every day...

twice a day....:sarcasm:

[a la izquierda]

31. Oh yeah?

Well, I'm going to write an article about how Tea Baggers are bad for the environment. My argument will have more legs than this pile of dog poo.

My dogs eat more vegetables than meat anyway.

[Safetykitten]

33. architecture professors...there you have it.

[flvegan]

36. My dogs are all vegetarian.

As is every single one that comes through my rescue.

That said, considering that the "meat" that goes into most commercial dog food are the leftovers that people won't eat, what does that say about what the average human omnivore's diet is doing to the planet?

[Raine]

38. Very true.

My Standard Poodle actually hated meat just wouldn't eat it. That suited me fine because being a vegetarian myself I didn't have to deal with it. :-)

[undeterred]

61. My dog ate a big chunk of dead carp yesterday afternoon.

He normally eats frozen raw patties (lamb, chicken) from an organic farm here in Wisconsin. When I offer him soy patties he just gives me dirty looks and walks away. I can't see him becoming vegetarian- he doesn't care too much about ethical arguments.

[Raine]

37. eh fuck that shit

I'm keeping my dog, cause I love him! :loveya:

[and-justice-for-all]

44. "...because they are large carnivores, so it takes a lot of land to provide their foods,"

change the term 'dog' to 'humans' and it makes sense.

[KurtNYC]

58. we are omnivores also n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

62. obviously....that makes us twice as bad as dogs...

But humans are actuall 1000x more of an environmental hazard than dogs are.

[smirkymonkey]

66. Exactly! Now they might have an argument if all dogs were large

meat eating, SUV driving republicans.

[and-justice-for-all]

75. I am also quite sure that Dogs eat far more kibble than real meat..nt

[burrowowl]

47. Dogs can be vegetarian less meat

Cats on the other hand can't, they need meat. However, train the cat to be a good rat and mouse hunter.

[canetoad]

48. and humans

are more of a threat than dogs.

[LatteLibertine]

49. Not

having kids is a great way to be green too.

[FLPanhandle]

50. +1

The absolute best way.

[Dorian Gray]

51. That's why I have a cat

:)

[auburngrad82]

52. Maybe I'm misunderstanding

Is that comparing the average dog's life expectancy of 12 years to driving 10,000 miles in an SUV? so that works out to the equivalent of driving the SUV 833 miles per year, right?

The average annual mileage in the U.S. is 13,476. That means if you keep that SUV for the average life of a dog (12 years), you'll drive 161,712 miles. That means an SUV has 16 times the impact of the average dog on the environment.

How exactly did they come up with their comparison?

[lukasahero]

56. We need a 'like' button

Thank you for your analysis. I was thinking the same.

[auburngrad82]

64. About Mother Nature Network

It's sponsored by Georgia Pacific (a Koch company), Seimans, CSX, and several other companies that I would not consider environmentally friendly. The co-founder is an ex advertising man who worked with GP and Koch Industries, Home Depot and many other right leaning companies. I'm assuming it's a front so they can appear to be "environmentally friendly" while at the same time distributing bullshit articles to point the finger at bogus culprits like dogs.

[Shagbark Hickory]

53. Straight story.... quality of your articles is going downhill.

That's my feedback of the day.

[LWolf]

54. That makes people even worse, doesn't it?

People...utilize a lot of land, a lot of water, a lot of other resources, PLUS they drive SUVs and keep dogs and cats.

Cut the population by 90%, there's still enough people to sustain the species, and the environment, and the rest of the species on the planet, benefit.

No, I'm not advocating forced reduction. If enough people would simply choose not to reproduce, and if those that did would simply limit their life-time production to one or two individuals, eventually we'd reach numbers that didn't threaten life on the planet.

[Stuckinthebush]

59. I knew there was a reason I didn't like those things!

:D

And they bark.

[Brewman_Jax]

60. Really?

:rofl:

[baldguy]

63. SUVs have been around for 20yrs. Dogs have been aound for 20,000.

If this was true, we'd be living in a world-wide wasteland.

[Taverner]

65. Complete Bullshit

Humans are 100x worse for the environment than dogs. We drive cars, we eat processed meat, we work in factories, etc...

I think the above comment was right - this was written by a cat person

[Shagbark Hickory]

68. You can take the SUV but the dogs stay.

[Iggo]

70. Sure.

[Cleita]

72. So are cows according to the experts.

So are you ready to give up your milk, cheese and steaks?

[Shiver]

74. Okay, I'm a lifelong cynophobic

and even I can't get on this bandwagon.

You know what an even bigger threat to the environment is? Dogs driving SUVs.