Dockside pet food, made from cricket protein and rescued fresh food, represents a whole new level of sustainability.
By Ellyce Rothrock
Are your customers ready to feed their dogs and cats a cricket-protein-based food that incorporates fresh and healthful but “ugly” foods otherwise headed for the landfill? Clients interested in sustainability on all levels might be interested to learn of Dockside pet foods, which blends this very novel, alternative protein with healthful produce deemed “unacceptable” for human consumption.
Dane Creek Capital Corp. recently announced it partnered with Nova Scotia-based food development company Perennia Food and Agrigulture Inc. to create Dockside Pet Products and Services Inc., a new pet food company serving North America.
With a stated mission to deliver the best in pet nutrition using rescued fresh food and environmentally sustainable ingredients for its products for dogs and cats, and working directly with farmers and fisheries, Dockside pledges to use fresh seafood and produce that is wasted for reasons that have no impact on nutritional value.
Another feature setting the company apart is that it also will be among the first North American pet food companies to incorporate crickets—a sustainable and highly digestible alternative to traditional proteins, the company stated.
According to Dockside, crickets are a complete source of all 10 essential amino acids for dogs and 11 essential amino acids for cats, with three times the iron, five times more magnesium and twice as much protein as ground beef. Cricket farming also produces 80 percent less methane than cattle farming and uses 1/14th the feed and 1/2,000th the amount of water on a per-pound basis compared to beef, the company added.
Other ingredients Dockside said would be featured in the line include capelin fish, a North Atlantic source of omega-3 fatty acids and selenium that is designated safe for daily consumption by Health Canada; cauliflower, high in antioxidants and phytonutrients; wild blueberries, also high in antioxidants; and lobster shell, a source of glucosamine and chitin.
The company said its products will use whole male capelin, which is often wasted because the females are preferred for their roe. The cauliflower will be purchased from the nearly 50 percent of each crop deemed unacceptable for human consumption due to cosmetic standards. Likewise for misshapen or undersized blueberries, lobster shell as a byproduct of processing fresh-caught lobster and other sustainable fish safe for daily consumption, such as pollock and tilapia.
“Sustainability is the key to our future and how we provide for the animals in our homes is part of that,” said Mark Warren, chairman and CEO of Dockside. “Our mission is to give pet owners sustainable pet food options without sacrificing quality nutrition. We’re doing that by using cricket protein and tackling food waste.”
An estimated 40 percent of food produced in Canada and the U.S. is wasted annually according to New York-based nonprofit National Resources Defense Council. Food waste is the largest component of municipal solid waste, accounting for 16 percent of U.S. methane emissions, the council stated.
Dockside’s baked treats, meal mixers and toppers will include granola, protein-packed “ravioli” made with cauliflower flour and a ramen-style meal made with cauliflower noodles. A line of Dockside broths is currently in development.
All Dockside products will use limited ingredients, many items using seven ingredients or less, will contain no wheat, gluten, hormones or antibiotics and, where possible, will use only natural preservatives from Nova Scotia, the company stated.
