KANSAS CITY, MO. and PRAGUE — With many consumers becoming increasingly concerned about their environmental impact and those of their beloved companions, more pet food companies are expanding their sustainability efforts. Whether this involves using more environmentally friendly packaging, reducing emissions or reanalyzing nutritional formulations, processors are keeping their eyes peeled for new ways to reduce their environmental footprints and appease environmentally conscious pet owners.
One of the latest methods to advance sustainability is using cultivated meat, also called cultured proteins.
Kansas City, Mo.-based CRB, a provider of sustainable engineering, architecture, construction and consulting to the food and beverage and life sciences industries, examined pet food processor attitudes toward sustainability and cultured proteins, among other topics, in its 2022 Horizons: Pet Food report. The Horizons study, conducted in November and December 2021, consists of responses to around 100 questions by 300 pet food manufacturing leaders. Respondents represented companies with annual sales between $10 million and $20 million to those with more than $500 million in annual revenue.
While respondents reported that their current sources of protein came mostly from animal muscle (20%) and animal viscera (16%), when asked if they were considering a change of protein source in the next five years, 53% reported considering a move to cultivated meat or seafood.
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