A heated debate erupted on GB News today over feeding dogs plant-based diets, as PETA UK's Senior Digital Marketing Manager Margarita Sachkova made an impassioned plea for animal welfare.
She condemned what she called “speciesist” behaviour and argued that all animals can experience emotions similar to dogs and deserve equal respect.
The comments come as the world's first lab-grown dog treats go on sale at Pets at Home in Brentford, marking a potential middle ground between traditional and plant-based diets.
The treats, called Chick Bites, are produced by London-based startup Meatly in partnership with plant-based dog food brand THE PACK.
Margarita Sachkova and John Allison entered into a furious debate
GB News
Speaking to GB News, Sachkova said: “If you love your dog, consider pigs or chickens who are as lovable and they have personalities just as your dog do, and they want to live.
“It's very it's really speciesist to be cuddling your dog while cooking fat or flesh of a pig, and they deserve to live.
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“They can feel love. They can feel all the emotions your dog can feel. So all animals deserve respect and given eating plant-based diet and giving plant-based diet to your dog is one way of showing respect to all living beings.”
However, dog trainer John Allison said: “It is certainly not is natural. And the dog should be fed a natural, healthy, balanced diet.
“I think the the argument is being defeated by Margarita herself, by admitting that it is actually, in fact, based upon an emotional attachment to animals that she wants to feed and encourage others to feed a plant based diet.
“Should you feed them a plant-based diet, your dog will not naturally get the nutrients that it requires the amino acids, the healthy fats, the proteins, etc. this all must be supplemented.
She argued that all animals can experience emotions similar to dogs and deserve equal respect
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“Therefore, if we're supplementing the diet, what you are feeding the dog and telling us that it is good and healthy for the dog simply cannot provide what the dog needs to live a healthy life.
Margarita fumed in response: “Dogs do not have to eat meat to be healthy.
“They are omnivores so they can get all the nutrients and vitamins they need from a balanced, plant based diet.”
The innovative treats combine cultivated meat, grown from chicken egg cells, with plant-based ingredients.
Meatly claims the treats are “just as tasty and nutritious as traditional chicken breast” while avoiding the need for raising or slaughtering animals.
The product represents the UK's first approved cultivated meat for pet food, following regulatory approval in July.
The treats are created through a three-step process, beginning with cells taken from a chicken egg.
The launch comes as other companies also explore cultivated meat for pets, with Austrian-American start-up BioCraft developing mouse meat for dogs and cats.
