Upcycled Pet Food and Planetary Health: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain Pet Owners’ Feeding Intentions

Planetary health requires food-system transformations that reduce waste and resource pressure while safeguarding human, animal, and ecosystem well-being. Upcycled pet food may support circular resource use, but its contribution depends partly on whether pet owners trust and adopt such products without compromising animal nutrition and safety. This study extends the theory of planned behavior to examine how upcycled label trust shapes feeding intentions and whether these pathways differ by pet type. Data from 463 pet owners in Taiwan were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, multi-group analysis, and importance–performance map analysis. Upcycled label trust was positively associated with intention directly and indirectly through attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Dog owners exhibited stronger trust-to-cognition pathways, whereas perceived behavioral control was more strongly associated with intention among cat owners. Upcycled label trust was the most important construct for both groups. The study contributes to planetary-health and food-system-transition research by showing that material upcycling alone is insufficient: credible information, social legitimacy, feasible access, and species-appropriate nutrition are needed for circular practices to become socially adoptable.