Tumblr Feeding Dog Vegan Did the Dog Get Taken Away From Her
One vegan Tumblr user drew the outrage of the internet after posting a picture of her dog being fed an all-vegan meal, claiming the dog was "excited" to be eating this food. The internet quickly put this misguided activist in their place. Dogs can eat food that originates in plants, but that doesn't mean that they will be healthy and happy eating only that. Veganism is a very admirable life choice, and humans who are vegan can and do get all the nutrition they need from plant-based sources, including supplements – but that doesn't necessarily mean that dogs do. Read on to find out exactly how the internet reacted. Who was right in the end?
Universal Veganism
In recent decades, the number of people in the Western world who have opted for a vegan lifestyle has steadily grown. They do this for a variety of reasons, but many do it to protest what is believed to be an unnecessarily cruel meat industry that destroys the environment.
When a woman forced this supposedly noble lifestyle on her dog, however, many on the internet blasted her. Could putting her dog on an all-vegan diet be unhealthy, when human vegans can be perfectly healthy?
Unhealthy
It is possible for vegans to live happy and healthy lives. That being said, there are many cases of people who find it too difficult to ensure that they get all the nutrients they need.
A lot of research needs to be done; think of the need for vegans to constantly follow-up and analyze their dietary intake, lest they forget to ingest a key nutrient. With pets, especially carnivorous ones like dogs, it's unhealthy to stray too far from what ought to be their diet in nature.
Veganism
The word "vegan" originated from vegetarian societies seeking a name for vegetarians who abstain from eating dairy or eggs. The resulting word, "vegan," takes its name from the beginning and the end of vegetarian, as coined by Donald Watson.
He saw the vegan as "the beginning and end of vegetarian." From the start, the movement didn't just see eating animals as wrong, but rather it was the exploitation of animals for any purpose whatsoever that goes against their wellbeing that was the issue.
Pros And Cons
On one hand, research seems to point to the vegan diet reducing the risk of cancer. Vegan diets are lower in saturated fats and cholesterol, but they are also lower in vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and certain B vitamins.
Lacking meat and animal-based protein, vegans must carefully watch what they eat to make sure that they get all of the needed nutrients. Vegans are at risk and many supplement their diets with pills to make sure they get all that they need. Can dogs do the same and be healthy?
…Looks Delicious
A vegan posted this picture of the all-vegetable dinner she made for her dog on her Tumblr account. It's been deleted since, but she used the handle sfveganyogi, which is now run by someone else.
The original post, however, described all of the ingredients that went into the vegetable mix, which included sweet potatoes and brown rice. We don't know what the dog usually looks like when he's excited, but does that dog look like a happy, well-fed dog to you?
The Enzymes
We often mistakenly equate the "vegan" label with healthy, but as healthy as the food may be for humans, that definitely doesn't mean it's suitable for canines.
Every animal has a specific set of enzymes that break down the food into baser nutrients, and the set that dogs are equipped with are significantly different from humans. Dogs were domesticated from wolves, which are carnivorous creatures that eat meat almost exclusively. Their bodies, therefore, require the nutrients provided in meat more than those in vegetables.
Forcing A Diet
"On the menu for Maggie tonight is puréed sweet potato, puréed brown rice, sprouted organic tofu, chia seeds, and digestive enzymes," the sfveganyogi account wrote in the post. "Does she look excited? She is!" First of all, Maggie doesn't look excited at all.
If anything, she looks like she's about to cry. Whatever sfveganyogi believes, it appears that she is forcing this diet upon her dog, who would rather be eating food that wouldn't be touched by a vegan. As hard as we try, it's hard to fight mother nature!
Digestive Enzymes
In this woman's defense, she is thankfully well aware that her dog is in need of the proper enzymes to digest the food, as she included digestive enzymes in the dog's gruel.
They will purportedly help the dog digest the sweet potato, brown rice, tofu, and chia seeds that sfveganyogi prepared for Maggie, but she forgot one very important detail: Maggie already has all the enzymes she needs to digest the foods that dogs need to be eating.
Wrong Digestive Tract
Many Tumblr users disagreed with her. As one pointed out, sfveganyogi is causing her dog to become malnourished, despite adding digestive enzymes. Amylase is the enzyme that both humans and dogs secrete to break down starches.
Dogs, however, are less equipped than humans to break down starch, so their bodies work hard to produce enough enzymes. Humans, whose diets are much richer in starches, have amylase in their saliva, while dogs only produce it in the pancreas. Indeed, this may explain why Maggie looks so miserable.
Important Details
The user then went on to describe exactly what happens in the dog's digestive tract after eating an all-vegetable diet. Even though no one questions the fact that sfveganyogi only had the best intentions for her dog, her actions done out of ignorance were probably detrimental to her dog's health.
As too much starch ingested without enough amylase means it won't be broken down, this means that potentially harmful bacteria may thrive in the "perfect" conditions of the dog's intestines.
With All Due Respect…
The user even made sure to let sfveganyogi that her own dietary choices are completely all right. That being said, dogs cannot choose what their owners feed them.
At the end of the day, your pet's health is more important than the benefit of forcing desired dietary restrictions upon it. It is the pet owner's responsibility, and their responsibility alone, to make sure the pet gets the nutrients needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Coming In For The Defense
While that user admonished sfveganyogi for feeding her dog an unhealthy diet out of concern for her dog, other users supported her choice.
Ladywarblerforever, another user who no longer uses this handle, provided anecdotal evidence to support the assertion that dogs can eat vegetarian food and be perfectly healthy and happy. In addition, they admonished those who were giving sfveganyogi a hard time. Could it be that as long as the pet received the "right nourishments" it will be perfectly all right?
"Don't Know Too Much…"
"Do not let these people tell you that you're abusing your dog," ladywarblerforever told sfveganyogi. But then came the suggestion to offer "meaty treats" to the dog, like chicken or red meat, and ladywarblerforever continuously insisting that the doglooksfine, in her opinion.
But how much is her opinion worth when she claims " I don't know too much" about dog digestion. There are several claims that Maggie is in great shape. It doesn't seem that this is an expert who actually knows very much about this subject.
Setting The Record Straight
The critic hit back soon after this rebuttal, thoroughly dissecting it for all to see. And just what was wrong with the vegan argument for dogs?
The first point raised was the lack of consensus about whether dogs should be classified as omnivores at all. This is a person supposedly familiar with "veterinary science and animal welfare," so getting an expert's opinion is invaluable to understand if it's OK to feed dogs vegan diets.
Natural Carnivores
The carnivorous nature of dogs traces directly back to their ancestors, wolves. "Dogs and wolves share 99.8% of their mitochondrial DNA." The critic mentions their shared internal physiology, and this is very true.
Dogs and wolves can even interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Indeed, denying that dogs should be classified as carnivores after 300 years of constant interdisciplinary study is shortsighted, to say the least. The approach might come off as cruel, but the dog's wellbeing did appear to be at stake.
Deprivation
The critic then moved on to the next point. Having established that dogs are definitely carnivores, dogs and cats cannot "live a happy and healthy life without" meat, therefore.
Their natural are "supplemented from meats," so depriving the animal of this nutrition may cause protein-losing enteropathy. In this condition, dogs' bodies are unable to replace the protein cells because the intestines are, for whatever reason, not absorbing protein. In this case, the cause is clear: the dog isn't getting the right food.
Slippery Slope
The critic conceded that some dogs are more likely to develop this intestinal disease than others, but that doesn't change the fact that feeding your pet an all-vegan diet is a serious risk.
Besides the risk of not having enough protein, the dog may lack vital vitamins and minerals if put on a vegan diet. This person listed problems that can arise from a lack of protein, including difficulty breathing, weight loss, swollen legs and feet, and more. But that wasn't all…
More Complications
The critic kept on going, describing even more diseases and conditions that can be caused if a dog is fed an all-vegetable diet.
While eating a lot of vegetables and fiber helps prevent intestinal cancer in humans, eating only veggies can actually cause the same types of cancer in dogs. Furthermore, the dog may get food allergies, an infection, congestive heart failure, or a whole slew of other problems. Claiming a vegan diet for canines is healthy is bogus.
"This Dog Is Begging"
Ladywarblerforever said that Maggie the dog looked healthy, and yet in the same breath admitted that they weren't an expert on it.
The critic, however, purportedly is. There wasn't any medical license given, although the information given in the posts are thorough and demonstrate a deep knowledge of veterinarian science. After looking at the picture, the critic explained why the dog wasn't at all interested in the food. The image's lighting and resolution may not be the best, but it's clear that Maggie isn't interested.
A Professional
According to the critic, who apparently also works in the field, Maggie is malnourished. The vegans' good intentions aren't put to the question, and yet the critic makes sure to put them in their place.
It's admirable to not want to hurt living creatures, but putting animals at risk in the process is wrong. When it comes to animal health, it is extremely important to make sure that misinformation posted online is properly labeled as such. Not everyone's opinion should be weighted equally.
Others Chime In
Besides the veterinarian professional, other people familiar with dogs also criticized sfveganyogi. According to Tumblr user piefacemcgee, who has lived with this breed in their home for over a decade, labradors look very different when healthy.
Even though the lighting is very different in the two shots of labs, it's very easy to see which of the dogs pictured below is the healthy and happy one. Poor Maggie looks absolutely miserable, and it's important to not let personal life choices compromise the health of our pets.
Going Viral
The exchange soon went viral, and many people pointed out that they wouldn't want to eat that gloopy vegan food either. As tasty as vegan food can be, some lot of it doesn't look very appetizing at all.
"First dog I've seen that doesn't look excited to eat," another user said. Soon it seemed like the whole internet was up in arms against sfveganyogi and ladywarblerforever for advocating an unhealthy lifestyle for pets. While many were mean, another user had a suggestion that we hope was seriously considered.
Pets First
"I'm vegan and can't agree more," another user said after the critics tore apart the vegan argument for dogs. But that being said, they did have a suggestion:
"If you want a vegan pet, get a bunny smh." When it comes to pets, it's important to understand how to properly take care of them. Forcing a lifestyle that seeks to eradicate animal suffering upon an animal whose nutrition comes from animals suffering in nature is paradoxical. Let's keep the welfare of our pets first.
Source: https://noteabley.com/culture/vegan-pet-shame-fb/