THE BIG FAT WHOPPING LIEaka "The Great Misconception of Pet Food"
 They
LIE. Major manufacturers of pet foods show you lovely
staged commercials with fresh meat, crisp vegetables,
happy bouncy animals, all the while telling you this
garbage in a bag is good for your pet and 100% complete
and balanced.Complete and balanced is a myth. Here's what Randy Wysong, DVM has to say about a "complete and balanced diet" in his book "Fresh & Whole:Getting Involved In Your Pet's Diet": "A 100% complete processed diet requires: 1. 100% complete knowledge of food. 2. 100% complete knowledge of nutrition. 3. 100% complete knowledge of #1 & #2 requires 100% complete knowledge of every science. 4. Since #1,2 & 3 are not possible, the 100% complete processed diet is a myth." Did you know that ingredients are far more important than the "Guaranteed Analysis?" If it has 28% protein, how much of that is from an animal source and how much is from grain? What is the animal source? If it is not labeled, as chicken, turkey, lamb or beef but simply states "Animal Meal", "Meat and Bone Meal" or "Animal Fat", exactly what animals are we talking about here? Scared yet? Here comes your answer. Any of the above, if not from a named protein source can come from ANY mammalian tissue. That's right. This includes cats, dogs, road kill, horses, 4D animals (Dead, downed, dying and diseased) and any other critter they want to throw in the vat. "The National Animal Control Association has estimated that animal shelters kill over 13 million household pets a year. Of this total, 30% are buried, 30% are cremated and the remaining 40%, about 5 million pets, are shipped to rendering factories to be recycled and used in pet food." This information has been confirmed in great detail by Ann Martin in her book, Food Pets Die For. Are you getting it yet? These large multinational companies have no interest in anything but finding a way to turn nutritionally devoid byproducts of the human food and rendering industries into a profit. Do they care about your pets? NO. They care about your bank account. Pet food only became well known after World War II. Prior to that pets ate what we ate and suffered few diseases. Since that time we have become brainwashed by clever marketing and even our sage vets into thinking that the stuff in the bag is best. This is not the case. What is best for our pets is what it best for us. Wholesome, fresh minimally processed foods. Here is what Lew Olson, PhD in Natural Health, has to say about the dog food industry in her August 2005 B-Naturals newsletter: "...several marketers of the new dog products were stating that their products were superior, as they were able to utilize waste products such as grain hulls, sweepings and meat unusable for human consumption. Another argument was that fresh meat was just too expensive to feed dogs, and that it actually made them too 'finicky' While it was noted fresh meat and vegetables were superior, they argued that dogs could be fed more economically with these factory waste products, and still do well. ...The sales of dry processed dog foods picked up considerably after World War II. Mill operators and grain dealers were finding a good source for their by-products in the dog industry. Slaughterhouses were also available to sell non-human grade, diseased meats, unusable parts, and meat by-products to pet food manufacturers. This created a market for products that previously had been discarded. Since many of these meat sources were non-human grade, the practice became common to mix these with the grains and cook them together for many hours or days to kill bacteria and disease. The final mix was then formed into pellets that were easily bagged for convenience of feeding." MMM. Sounds delicious! Is this what you envision when you see a Beneful commercial? Here is further evidence from the same article that shows the beginning of the conspiracy. "In 1969, according to Dr Kronfeld DS PhD DSc MVSc from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, the pet food industry utilized veterinarians to proclaim that all meat dog foods were incomplete. He reports the editor of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association also agreed with this, and said dog foods needed to be fortified with nutrients, too much protein was harmful and some carbohydrates are necessary for the dog's health. ... The second selling point was developed by a professional marketing campaign. Dog food companies began labeling their dog foods as complete, with no additional foods or supplements being necessary. In fact, they began warning the public that adding table scraps could actually be dangerous to the dog's health. An active campaign was developed in 1964 through the Pet Food Institute, to inform the public of the dangers of table food scraps, and the importance of feeding processed dog food. This was accomplished through press releases to one thousand newspapers, articles in 16 magazines, including Redbook and Good Housekeeping and airing this information on 91 radio stations." Good PR isn't it? Did you know that FiFi, laying their in your living room is actually the same species as the wolf? Until 1993, dogs and wolves were classified as separate species. This change was formalized in the 1993 publication: Mammal Species of the World, A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, edited by D.E.Wilson and D.A.M. Reeder, published by the Smithsonian Institution in association with the American Society of Mammalogists. This reference book is the final authority of the scientific community on mammal classification. There are many "Experts" out there to tell you that dogs are omnivores, but I challenge you to read this article on the anatomy of a carnivore and decide for yourself. http://www.b-naturals.com/Spr1999.php Let me exercise your common sense for a moment. If dogs and wolves are the same species and have the exact same nutritional requirements; Why aren't wolves in the zoo fed dog food? If dog food is the "be all, end all of nutrition", why don't zookeepers dole it out to their captive wolves? Why? Because it isn't species appropriate and they know better, that's why! All commercial dry pet foods contain species inappropriate ingredients. These so called safe ingredients are why we are seeing alarming rates of cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, liver and kidney disease, allergies and a host of other ailments in our pets. Here comes question number two. Would you feed steak to a horse? If not, why do you think it is ok to feed your captive wolf a bowl of cereal? Wolves, like Dogs, are what are described as obligate carnivores, which means they will scavenge for food -any kind of food dead or alive or otherwise - in order to survive. However, this also means that given a natural choice or preference they will choose a meat and bone diet for their optimal health to thrive. Have you ever seen a wolf in a corn field? NO?! Then why is ground corn or any other grain for that matter such a large part of most commercial pet foods? Because it is cheap and the grain proteins inflate the "Guaranteed Analysis" making you think that there is actually some meat in that bag. Why didn't my vet tell me this?" you ask. Because sadly he does not know any better. Guess who provides the textbooks and other learning materials for his limited nutrition classes in vet school? If you are smart and I know you are, then you got it right. The dog food companies, mainly Hills. Your vet will fight you tooth and nail about raw feeding, or even feeding a homemade cooked diet, but listen to your heart. Try it for one month and see the difference for yourself. If this makes sense to you, I bet you are wondering what to do next. Do you run to the butcher and buy everything he has? No. You start reading books. Research the internet. Like any nutritional program, you can make mistakes and need to be aware of the basics before starting. Is every meal going to be complete and balanced? Absolutely not. You achieve balance over time by varying the ingredients. Is every meal you eat complete and balanced? Of course not. The same applies to our dogs. Be sure that you have mastered the basics before starting. It's not rocket science and is actually easier than you think. There is a great article on my forum that tells you how I got started and gives step by step instructions. Visit my website and take a look. In addition to that here are a few excellent sites to start with. http://www.dogaware.com http://rawfed.com http://www.rawdogranch.com If you need help, go to http://groups.yahoo.com and join the K9Nutrition email list. There are thousands of members on this list and all are seasoned pro's at helping people to create diets that work for them and their pets. Or you can send me an email. Back to me. Yes, I do sell dry and canned pet foods in Dothan, Alabama. So as the author of this article doesn't that make me a hypocrite? In a way, yes. In another way, no. You see, no matter how much you educate and put facts before some people they will not change. There are those among us, who, even when they know better, are not going to give up the convenience of prepackaged commercial foods. There are also those who are simply incapable of feeding raw foods due to health and physical limitations. For them I offer some safer alternatives to grocery and chain store poor quality foods. The five brands of dry and canned foods I sell have been carefully evaluated. Not only for ingredients but also for manufacturing practices and raw materials sourcing. There are thousands of products out there that I could sell. Unfortunately, most of them are junk, including many of these novel "baked" foods and new "Super Premium" kibbles. For those unwilling or unable to change I offer some small hope that their dog or cat will live a better life with a higher quality food. I could not imagine dooming some poor animal to eating Old Roy or Kozy Kitten for life, when I could offer a better alternative. |