What Makes a Sustainable Pet Food?

What Makes a Sustainable Pet Food?

What Makes a Sustainable Pet Food?

Aug 21, 2025

When we think about feeding our dogs and cats, we usually focus on their health—but what about the health of our planet? The truth is, not all pet food is created with sustainability in mind. At Steve’s Real Food, we believe that sustainable pet food should be good for your pets and good for the ground they walk on. Learn how we’re making that vision a reality!

Sustainable Pet Food Ingredients

Let’s start with the most important piece of the puzzle: what goes into your pet’s bowl. Choosing the right sustainable pet food ingredients isn’t just about creating a balanced diet; it’s about how those ingredients are grown, raised, and harvested. The best ingredients have minimal impact on nature and don't threaten wildlife populations or their homes.

At Steve’s Real Food, we source meats and produce from farmers in the Pacific Northwest who practice regenerative agriculture. That means they’re taking care of the soil, conserving water, and treating their animals humanely. For example, our proteins come from free-range livestock and MSC-certified fisheries, ensuring both ethical treatment and environmental responsibility.

Manufacturing with Clean Energy

Sustainability doesn’t stop at sourcing ingredients; it extends to how the food is made. Our raw food is manufactured in Oregon, where much of the energy grid is powered by hydroelectric energy. Unlike fossil fuels, hydro power creates electricity by moving water, which results in far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

This matters because pet food production has a surprisingly big carbon footprint. By running our facilities with cleaner energy and making food in small, efficient batches, we’re lowering that footprint while still providing safe, nutritious meals for pets.

Sustainable Pet Food Packaging

We’ve worked hard to create sustainable pet food packaging that reduces waste without compromising quality. Our packaging uses #4 recyclable plastics—those stretchy bags you can bring to retail drop-off centers. Boxes are printed with vegetable-based inks, which are easier on the environment than traditional petroleum-based ones. Even better, our packaging is produced in a solar-powered facility, so the very process of making it creates fewer emissions.

We’re also proud to be the first raw pet food company to receive Interseroh Accreditation, an international recognition for eco-friendly packaging. That’s a fancy way of saying we’re leading the way in creating packaging that works for pets, people, and the planet.

Ocean Cleanup Commitment

One of the most exciting parts of our sustainability mission is our partnership with 4ocean. For every pound of food we ship, we’re helping remove an equivalent amount of plastic and trash from the ocean—20,000 pounds in total so far.

If you’ve ever seen or purchased one of those iconic 4ocean bracelets, you know the impact this movement has had worldwide. Each bracelet funds the removal of a pound of plastic waste, and we’re thrilled to be aligned with that mission. Our long-term goal is to be completely plastic neutral by 2026, meaning we’ll remove as much plastic from the environment as we use in packaging.

Good for Your Pet and the Ground They Walk On

Sustainability is more than a buzzword at Steve’s Real Food. It’s woven into every step of what we do. From sourcing sustainable pet food ingredients to making food with clean energy, creating sustainable pet food packaging, and working with 4ocean to clean up our oceans, we’re committed to making sure our food is as kind to the planet as it is nourishing for your pets.