Blueberry Pet Food? Yes, It’s a Thing

Blueberries are some of them most nutrient-dense food on the planet. Their healthfulness has been proven time and time again in scientific studies, so it’s no wonder that blueberries and other foods are making their way into our pets’ foods. According to an article on Bloomberg.com, the blueberry pet food is following human diet trends. See the details below.

Blueberry Pet Food and More

When you think of dog food, the image of the meat-eating wolf is the first to come to mind. Grains, vegetables and blueberries seem to belong solely to the bunnies in the garden, but it’s because of the marketing pet food companies have been playing up in recent years, according to the article. It points to the picture of a wolf on the bag of one dog food brand and the boast of another that meat-based protein is the leading ingredient. This was mainly a marketing ploy to beat dog food manufacturers who used plant-based ingredients like high protein soybeans and corn-gluten meal.

However, as the healthfulness of plant-based diets becomes more mainstream, those “it” foods are making their ways into pet food. Thus, blueberry pet food becomes a thing. Or, more aptly, dog food “accented with blueberries, pumpkin & spinach,” becomes a thing. 

However, there’s no reason dogs can’t eat blueberry dog food or dog food with grains like quinoa, roots like sweet potatoes, legumes like chickpeas, or drupes like coconut. Anna-Kate Shoveller, an assistant professor of animal biosciences at the University of Guelph, in Canada, is quoted in the article explaining that wolves, and thus dogs, are omnivores, not carnivores. “They do quite well on a vegetable-based or a lower-protein diet,” she said in the article.

The 70 million dogs or so in the U.S., along with other pets, create a demand that drives a $30 billion-dollar pet food industry, so consumers’ wants are at the forefront of whatever direction the industry heads. Except for when it comes to cats; they need certain amino acids found only in meat.

Find recipes for your human family members on the BlueberriesFromFlorida.com recipes pages or the Blueberries from Florida Pinterest recipe boards. 

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