It’s more privacy focussed than Google, but less than others. Personally I use Ecosia at work and Qwant at home.

https://www.ecosia.org/privacy

I thought it was odd to see it in an European alternative list.

Depending on the reason for being vegan.

For animal rights/ethics, yes.

For health/climate, potentially less so.

PetSmart itself is American owned. We switched our auto delivery (and brands) of pet food away from them.

Good advice.

This will probably get harder to do though as brands start hiding the american side of their products.