For decades, we dog guardians have been taught a simple story by the pet food industry.

Meat equals health. Plants equal compromise.

Not just different. Not just alternative. Inferior.

• We’re told dogs need meat to thrive. 
• That plant protein can’t be complete.
• That amino acids from plants aren’t somehow...“real” enough.
• That choosing plant-based nutrition is risky, experimental, or irresponsible.

And yet, when it comes to dog food, we’re quick to question anything different. Plant-based protein raises eyebrows instantly.

But the foods dogs have been eating for decades are rarely examined at all.

That imbalance is worth sitting with.

The Beliefs We 'Inherit' Without Questioning

For a long time, I carried those same fears.

I worried that plant-based protein might be missing something essential. That amino acids from plants wouldn’t truly support health. That choosing a different path might put my dogs at risk.

Those fears didn’t come from evidence. They came from decades of messaging and pseudoscience marketing telling us that meat equals safety, and anything else equals compromise.

Like many guardians, I had absorbed belief systems I never consciously agreed to:

• Dogs need meat or animal-based ingredients to survive

• Plant protein is incomplete by default

• The industry standard must be the safest option

• Choosing differently is dangerous

Once I began questioning those assumptions for my own diet and health, as well, instead of defending them, the conversation changed entirely (and fearful beliefs I inherited began to dissolve).

Amino Acids Are Amino Acids

Proteins are made of amino acids.

Dogs don’t recognize whether those amino acids come from chicken, peas, lentils, oats, grains, etc. What matters is what happens once they reach the body.

Essential amino acids are chemically identical regardless of source. 

What actually matters is:

• Digestibility

• Bioavailability

• Balance

• How the food is processed

Plant-based proteins, when thoughtfully selected and properly formulated, provide complete amino acid profiles. This is well established in human nutrition, and increasingly supported in canine nutrition research as well.

The fear, it turns out, isn’t about chemistry. It’s about familiarity.

What We Rarely Question: The Status Quo

Most conventional pet foods rely on:

• Rendered animal byproducts

• Slaughterhouse waste streams

• High-temperature extrusion

• Synthetic nutrient re-addition to replace what processing destroys

These are not minor details. They are foundational to how kibble is made.

Extrusion can denature proteins, oxidize fats, and create compounds such as advanced glycation end products. These outcomes are widely discussed in human nutrition, yet rarely examined in canine diets.

And still, this model is accepted as normal.

So it’s worth asking: Why is plant-based protein scrutinized so intensely, while highly processed animal protein is treated as the unquestioned default?

Quality Matters More Than Origin Stories

Not all plant-based diets are created equal.

Not all animal-based diets are either.

What matters is:

• Protein quality and digestibility

• Balanced amino acids, including methionine and cysteine

• Thoughtful formulation

• Antioxidant protection

• Respect for how processing affects nutrients

Protein from nature, including plant-based sources, meets these criteria when done with care and integrity.

Processed animal protein, despite its reassuring labels, often does not.

One deserves thoughtful evaluation. The other deserves far more scrutiny than it receives.

When Fear Replaces Curiosity

What I eventually realized was that my hesitation around plant-based nutrition wasn’t rooted in science. It was rooted in fear-based narratives I’d been exposed to for years.

Narratives that suggested:

• Different equals dangerous

• Tradition equals safety

• Questioning the industry equals irresponsibility

But fear isn’t a nutritional strategy. A caring curiosity is.

Choosing Questions Over Assumptions

I didn’t choose plant-based nutrition for dogs because it was trendy or provocative. I chose it because the more I learned, the more I realized how little we question what’s familiar and how quickly we fear what isn’t.

This journey wasn’t about rejecting meat. It was about questioning why I was afraid of plants in the first place.

When we slow down and ask better questions about protein, processing, and long-term health, the conversation shifts. It becomes less about labels and more about outcomes.

And that’s where dogs benefit most.

A Gentle Invitation

We invite you to:

• Examine where your beliefs about protein came from

• Question why plant-based nutrition feels uncomfortable

• Look closely at what’s actually in conventional dog food

• Separate evidence from fear

Because dogs don’t benefit from inherited assumptions.

They benefit from nutrition guided by integrity, curiosity, and care.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Laura Simonson is the founder of Virchew, Canada’s first woman-owned, plant-based dog nutrition company. With over 35 years of experience in canine nutrition, she works tirelessly to challenge fear-based narratives and industry-protected myths. Because truth should never be controversial.