How your dog can help stop climate change

Dog App

Breaking news: we’re in the middle of a climate crisis. And to get ourselves out of it we’re going to have to dramatically reduce our environmental impact.

“Nothing weird, just bugs.”

One big target? Factory farming, which accounts for 37 percent of methane emissions, and has more than 20 times the global warming potential of CO2.

Look, it’s not going to be easy to convince people to get off of meat; I have been a vegetarian for 10 years and I still miss bacon for breakfast and pepperoni on pizza. So instead of trying to rapidly convince humans to dramatically change their diet, how about an easier target: dogs and cats.

Did you know that in North America, 25 percent of all meat produced is for pet food? Joining us on the podcast this week is Kasey Dunn, co-founder of HOPE Pet Food, which is looking to replace the livestock and fish used in pet food with… bugs.

This is pretty important because Livestock and fish farming are by far the most resource-intensive food products. They are responsible for over 60 percent of all GHG emissions related to food production.

Now, Kasey isn’t on the science side of HOPE’s co-founding team, but we do dig into the company’s product plans to build a full-stack offering of pet yums, and its attempts to deliver that in the most eco-friendly way possible. We also discussed how alternative food options might appeal to the raw meat feeders who are looking for control over what their pets eat.

Let’s dig in.


The BetaKit Podcast is sponsored by VanHack. VanHack’s Women in Tech hiring event starts on September 21. Connect with hundreds of experienced and talented female software developers from all around the world. Register today!


Subscribe via: RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts

The BetaKit Podcast is hosted by Douglas Soltys & Rob Kenedi. Edited by Kattie Laur. Sponsored by VanHack. Produced with support from TWG.

Feature image courtesy Unsplash.

0 replies on “How your dog can help stop climate change”