Meatly survey finds pet owners want answers on meat sourcing

More than half of UK cat and dog owners are concerned that the meat in their pets’ food comes from factory-farmed animals, according to YouGov research commissioned by Meatly, with the cultivated meat company calling for clearer labeling and more traceable supply chains.

• 52% of UK pet owners worried about factory-farmed meat.
• 61% said knowing where meat ingredients came from was important.
• 40% saw cultivated meat helping improve animal welfare.

The survey, released on November 10, found that 52% of owners were concerned about factory farming, while 59% worried that meat ingredients came from countries with lower animal welfare standards than the UK. Some 61% said knowing where the meat came from was important to them.

“We’re a nation of animal lovers, but most of us probably know far more about where the meat on our own plates comes from than the meat we feed our pets every day,” said Owen Ensor, CEO of Meatly.

“What is most apparent is the disconnect between how people feel about animals and how much they can actually know about the meat in pet food.”

The findings cover owners’ attitudes toward sourcing and production methods, rather than an assessment of the meat contained in pet food products. Meatly did not provide the survey’s sample size or fieldwork dates in the announcement.

Concern about sourcing was accompanied by questions about ingredients. Almost three in five owners, 59%, were concerned that their pets’ food contained low-quality mechanically recovered meat or parts they would not eat themselves.

Women were more likely than men to say that knowing the origin of meat ingredients was important, at 66% compared with 54%.

Meatly pointed to differences between the information available on fresh meat sold for human consumption and processed pet food. Fresh chicken and pork packs must identify where animals were reared and slaughtered, while the company said there was no equivalent requirement to identify the country of origin of meat ingredients in processed pet food.

Pet food manufacturers can also declare ingredients by broad categories. Food Standards Agency guidance allows category descriptions for animal ingredients, an approach that gives manufacturers flexibility when raw material supplies fluctuate.

“This research shows that many owners are worried about factory farming and whether meat could have been produced in countries with lower welfare standards, but that information isn’t easily available from looking at the pack,” Ensor said.

“Many of the pet food companies and associations we speak with want clearer label requirements and are asking the meat industry to create more transparent and traceable supply chains.”

Meatly is developing cultivated meat for pet food by growing animal cells, producing meat without raising and slaughtering animals. The company believes this could offer an alternative to factory-farmed meat and make ingredient sourcing easier to trace.

The findings come as Meatly prepares to expand production. The company recently relocated to Imperial College London’s Grapht Works manufacturing site in North Acton, where it is targeting production in 2027. Meatly describes the planned operation as Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility, supplying the pet food market.

“Pet food depends on the wider meat supply chain, including factory farming systems that many pet owners are uncomfortable with,” Ensor said. “If we care about how animals are treated, it’s reasonable to ask where the meat in our pets’ food comes from and how those animals were raised.”

The survey also asked owners about cultivated meat’s potential role. Four in ten, 40%, agreed that it could play an important part in improving animal welfare and reducing the use of factory-farmed meat in pet food, compared with 12% who disagreed.

That finding indicates support for a possible role for the technology, rather than a commitment by those respondents to buy cultivated pet food.

When asked which factors would make them consider cultivated meat for their pets, 42% selected better animal welfare. Greater traceability than traditional pet food was selected by 28%, followed by being free from antibiotics and hormones at 27% and lower environmental impact at 23%.

Animal welfare was therefore the most frequently selected consideration among the factors reported, ahead of traceability, production inputs and environmental impact.

“Pet owners clearly care about where meat comes from and how animals are treated,” Ensor said. “Meatly was founded on the belief that there should be another way to produce the meat our pets need without relying on factory farming.”

“Cultivated meat won’t change the pet food system overnight, but it can give owners another way to feed their pets real meat that’s produced without raising and slaughtering animals. We can also give pet food companies another ingredient option with a much shorter journey from where it’s made to the pet’s bowl.”

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