How green is your pet?
A new book translates the environmental impact of Americans’ beloved dogs, cats, and fish into cold hard numbers

According to Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, a new book on climate change, dogs do more damage to our planet than SUVs—not to mention the average Vietnamese or Ethiopian—when you look at their environmental footprint. Here are the numbers.
Amount of land (in square feet) needed to produce the annual food requirement for:
• Large dog: 118,500
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
• Medium sized dog: 90,600
• Average Vietnamese citizen: 81,890
• Average Ethiopian citizen: 72,310
• Cat: 16,100
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
• Hamster: 1,500
• Goldfish: 36
Sources: Time to Eat the Dog, via New Scientist, Wired
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published