Pet Food
Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as "human grade".In 2019, the world pet food market was valued at US$87.08 billion and is projected to grow to US$113.2 billion by the year 2024. The pet food market is dominated by five major companies, as of 2020: Mars, Inc., Nestle Purina Petcare, J.
M. Smucker, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. (owned by Colgate-Palmolive), and Blue Buffalo Co. Ltd (owned by General Mills).

Industry

In the United States, pet-food sales in 2016 reached an all-time high of $28.23 billion. Mars is the leading company in the pet food industry, making about $17 billion annually in pet-care products. Online sales of pet food are increasing and contributing to this growth. Online sales in the US increased 15 percent in 2015. Worldwide, the compound annual growth rate of pet food purchased online was more than 25% between 2013–2018. As of 2015, the U.S. leads the world in pet-food spending.

Impact and sustainability

Given the carnivorous diets fed to many pets (especially cats and dogs), involving the consumption of an estimated fifth of the world's meat and fish, the impact of pet-food production on climate change, other environmental impacts and land-use becomes an issue.A 2023 review on the topic indicates adequate vegan diets, which are more sustainable, would not have adverse impacts on the health of pet dogs and cats. There also is research on insect-based pet food.A life-cycle analysis of contemporary pet foods suggests wet foods for cats and dogs tend to have a larger impact than dry foods. It also suggests there are substantial opportunities for improvement in "all phases of the pet food life cycle, including formulation, ingredient selection, manufacturing processes" and so on.Like humans, dogs are omnivores. As of 2018, there are around 470 million pet dogs and around 370 million pet cats according to Statista and as of 2022 the population of pets tends to increase.

Fish food

Fish foods normally contain macronutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep captive fish in good health. Approximately 80% of fishkeeping hobbyists feed their fish exclusively prepared foods that most commonly are produced in flake, pellet or tablet form. Pelleted forms, some of which sink rapidly, are often used for larger fish or bottom-feeding species such as loaches or catfish. Some fish foods also contain additives, such as beta carotene or sex hormones, to artificially enhance the color of ornamental fish.

Bird food

Bird foods are used both in birdfeeders and to feed pet birds. It typically consist of a variety of seeds. However, not all birds eat seeds. Nectar (essentially sugar water) attracts hummingbirds.

Cat food

Cats are obligate carnivores, though most commercial cat food contains both animal and plant material supplemented with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Cat food is formulated to address the specific nutritional requirements of cats, in particular containing the amino acid taurine, as cats cannot thrive on taurine-deficient food.

Optimal levels of taurine for cat food have been established by the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition.

Dog food

Recommendations differ on what diet is best for dogs. Some people argue dogs have thrived on leftovers and scraps from their human owners for thousands of years, and commercial dog foods (which have only been available for the past century) contain poor-quality meats, additives, and other ingredients dogs should not ingest, or that commercial dog food is not nutritionally sufficient for their dogs.
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