There are a lot of pets that need feeding in the United States. Around 67 percent of households own at least one. Companion animals lead the pack, as 63.4 million households have dogs and 42.7 million own cats, with some overlap for those that have both. While people continue to rescue and adopt cats and dogs, many farmed animals face a different fate as a result. Pets aren’t included as consumers in the calculations for overall US meat consumption, but animal-derived products make up a significant portion of their diet. If cats and dogs made up their own country, they

There’s currently no pet food made with cell-cultured meat available on shelves. Because Animals plans to release a limited batch of pet food made with cultured mouse meat in 2022. Bond Pet Foods, which just made its first batch of cell-cultured chicken protein last August, has its eyes set on 2023.

One thing is certain: To reduce its carbon footprint, pet food needs to evolve. “More than a quarter of the environmental effects of animal growing is due to the pet food industry,” says Falconer. “What this [cell-cultured] food would provide is the first environmentally sustainable, ethical meat for people to feed their pets.”

Would you buy this for your pet? Does this help the environmental effects of pet food or is there an unintended side effect waiting once these food options become mass produced?