The Rise of Plant-Based Diets for Companion Animals: Insights from Shevega Talks
In this Episode of Shevega Talks, host Ruby Sandhu—an ethical vegan, co-founder of Shevega.com (sustainable pet nutrition), senior international lawyer, and member of the Vegan Society's International Rights Work—brought together two leading experts, Professor Andrew Knight and co-founder Dr Malina Fielder, to answer critical questions about plant-based diets for companion animals, focusing on both dogs and cats.
The discussion explored scientific evidence, clinical experience, and the future of vegan pet nutrition.
Meet the Experts
Professor Andrew Knight is a globally recognised veterinary specialist in animal welfare. He is affiliated with Murdoch University School of Veterinary Medicine and Griffith University in Australia, as well as the University of Winchester in the UK. Knight’s distinguished career began with animal advocacy campaigns inAustralia, including opposition to the live sheep trade in the early 1990s. He practiced as a small animal veterinarian in London for a decade before moving into academia, where he became the Founding Director of the Centre for AnimalWelfare at Winchester. Professor Knight holds veterinary specialist credentials in the UK, Europe, America, and New Zealand, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has earned two PhDs: one in 2024 on vegan pet food and its health, behavioural, and environmental implications, and another in 2010 critiquing scientific and educational animal use. With around 150 academic and 80 popular publications, Knight is also the author of The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare and The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments. He is a frequent media commentator, has received over 20 awards and research grants, and his studies on vegan pet food are widely reported globally. He also maintains the website https://www.sustainablepetfood.info, which provides up-to-date research and resources on vegan companion animal diets, the environment and sustainability.
Dr. Malina Fielder, DVM is the co-founder of https://www.Shevega.coma practicing veterinarian, and an experienced animal nutritionist with more than 30 years of expertise in small animal medicine, surgery, and nutrition.She is the creator of the Modified Human Diet (MHD) plans for pets and is passionate about animal rights and welfare. Dr. Fielder advocates for vegan diets for dogs, emphasising that such diets can be optimal and healthy when they are complete, balanced, and based on professionally calculated plans withhigh-quality ingredients. She highlights the well-known benefits of plant-based diets, including detoxification, improved liver and kidney health, better coat quality, reduced parasites, improved arthritic signs, and support for thyroid issues. Dr. Fielder also recommends Shevega supplements alongside homemade diet plans for pets.
Host Ruby Sandhu, FRSA brings her own journey as an ethical vegan and animal advocate to the heart of Shevega’s mission, emphasising that responsibility to animals extends beyond our own plates to the choices we make for our pets. This ethos shapes everything we do, from product development to customer education and advocacy. Here are some of the common questions that are asked about vegan diets for companion animals and the responses from our experts.
