As we race toward a future full of high-tech, lab-grown meats in place of the environmentally unsound animal protein industry, a new startup wants to extend this offering to our furry friends, too. Aiming to make the most sustainable, transparent and organic product possible, Rich Kelleman, owner of Bond Pet Foods, started growing it in a petri dish from animal cells, free of the environmental and ethical dilemmas caused by traditional animal farming. Lab-grown meat slashes land use by 99 percent, produces 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions and may be a more economically viable way to feed the growing global population.

“Pet food has always been quick to follow human food trends,” says pet food industry consultant Ryan Yamka, who is working with the startup. “If you walked down the aisles this year at the trade shows, you already saw people talking about humanely raised and sustainable pet food.”

This article appears in the July 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.