Plant Powered Paws Podcast
Quoting from this article about Dr Brociek's study; in GlobalPets Feb 2026 - "As plant-based foods become more nutritionally sophisticated, recent research suggests they can be digestible and potentially beneficial for dogs.
💚 The very lovely Dr Rebecca Brociek shares some of the insights from her PhD at University of Nottingham with passionate plant powered vet Dr Arielle.
Dr Rebecca discusses the environmental benefits of plant based dog food, and that also most tested meat-based dry dog foods aren't actually nutritionally complete!
This latest study is enormously important for all of us choosing a complete plant-based diet for our dogs!
Quoting from this article about Dr Brociek's study; in GlobalPets Feb 2026 - "As plant-based foods become more nutritionally sophisticated, recent research suggests they can be digestible and potentially beneficial for dogs.
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found the nutritional composition of six plant-based dog dry dog foods was comparable to that of 25 meat-based foods. The plant-based foods were, however, found to be lower in iodine and B vitamins.
Half of all foods tested – both meat- and plant- based – were deficient in one or more amino acid. Less than a quarter of the tested kibbles contained adequate B vitamins, and just 16% met all mineral recommendations, according to the study.
Dr Rebecca Brociek notes that the results showed a fairly even playing field between meat-based and plant-based kibbles.
“I thought given what people say about plant-based diets, that the meat-based ones would be kind of perfect and hit all the nutrient minimums, and that all the plant-based ones would be deficient in something,” she says.
Previously, an analysis by Brazilian researchers, published in PLOS One in January 2020, reported deficiencies in calcium, potassium, sodium, methionine and arginine in four vegan pet foods – three for dogs and one for cats.
Brociek notes that the Brazilian study lacked a meat-based comparison group, making deviations appear unique to vegan foods when they are common across ALL formulations.
For example, the UK study identified three meat-based pet foods that did not contain adequate zinc.
Researchers have yet to definitively conclude why vegan pet foods consistently had lower levels of iodine and B vitamins.
Although these nutrients are generally more difficult to obtain without meat or dairy, most kibbles contain vitamin and mineral pre-mixes that should compensate for natural shortages in base ingredients.
The plant-based kibbles may be more sensitive to high-heat processing or storage conditions, according to David Gardner, Professor of Physiology at the University of Nottingham Veterinary School.
The sample selection of diets could explain some of the differences in nutritional analysis, with Dr Brociek pointing out that the foods for the Brazilian study were all sourced from a market local to the researchers. The British team, similarly, sourced its samples from pet supermarkets in the Nottingham area and ended up with a selection of six plant-based dog foods.
Local sampling was intentional, as the research team wanted its study to reflect the quality of foods available to the average consumer.
However, this also means that both studies represent a snapshot of what vegan manufacturers offer and might fail to capture variations in nutrient content that may occur between batches of a single brand of pet food, or even within a batch itself.
Health implications
While the 2025 University of Nottingham study didn’t investigate nutrient absorption, other digestibility studies show favourable results.
A review of the impact of vegan diets on health indicators, published in 2024 in the journal Veterinary Sciences, found no significant evidence that plant-based diets harm pet health, with a handful of studies suggesting potential benefits for dogs."
(Please note that in light of the Nottingham study findings that the dry vegan dog foods analysed had lower levels of iodine and B Vitamins, we have produced a cold-pressed plant-based dog food BioBuddy based on these findings and added in the required levels of Iodine and B Vitamins to the food to ensure that there are NO deficiencies for your dogs being fed a plant-based diet.
Cold-pressed means minimally processed to preserve the integrity of quality nutrients)
BIOBUDDY COMPLETE COLD-PRESSED SUPERFOOD COMPOSITION
Sweet Potato, Lentils, Peas, Rice Protein, Pea Protein, 4% Microbial Protein (Methylococcus sp.), Sunflower Oil, Carrots, Yeast Extract, Spirulina, Carob, Coconut Oil, Cranberry, Pumpkin, Seaweed, Apple, Kale, Minerals, Chamomile, L-Carnitine, DL-Methionine, Mannan-oligosaccharides, Taurine, L-Tryptophan, Glucosamine (450 mg/kg), Yucca Schidigera, Chicory, Inulin, Natural Antioxidants (Vitamin E and Rosemary)
BIOBUDDY Analytical constituents
Crude Protein 26%, Crude Fat 10%, Crude Fibre 2.2%, Crude Ash 8.5%, Moisture 9.5%, Calcium 1.1%, Phosphorus 0.8%.
Metabolisable energy ME, kcal/kg = 3500 * calculated with NRC calculation
BIOBUDDY Nutritional additives (per kg)
Zinc (zinc chelate of lysine and glutamic acid) 100mg/kg, Iron (iron chelate of lysine and glutamic acid) 80 mg/kg, Manganese (manganese chelate of lysine and glutamic acid) 10 mg/kg, Copper (copper chelate of lysine and glutamic acid) 8 mg/kg, Iodine (calcium iodate anhydrous) 1.5 mg/kg
BIOBUDDY VITAMINS: Vitamin A (as retinyl acetate) 18000 IU/kg, Vitamin B3 Niacin 50 mg, Vitamin B1 29 mg, Riboflavin 15 mg, Vitamin B6 10mg, Folic Acid 2mg, Biotin 0.3mg, Vitamin B12 0.05mg, Vitamin B5 30 mg, Vegan Vitamin D₃ (as cholecalciferol) 1500 IU/kg, Vitamin E (as all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) 350 mg/kg
