Do You Truly Know What You Feed Your Pet?
When it comes to pet food, most commercial brands contain “reconstituted animal by-products”. What does that mean? Well, it is the polite version of “4-D,” namely “Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Down” when they line up at the slaughterhouse (down = disabled).
Complete with the chemicals used to treat / euthanize those animals.
No, this is not a tirade against pet food manufacturers. No, I am not saying you need to feed best quality beef fillet to your pets every day! Just be aware of what goes into commercial pet food.
The animal by-products have to be used somewhere, or else thrown away and wasted, so it is good to have a market for these products.
Most of the large dog food manufacturers are corporations which produce human food (Nestle bought Purina, Del Monte bought Heinz (who make lots of pet food), and MasterFoods bought Mars which owns Royal Canin). And Proctor & Gamble bought Iams and Eukanuba, and Colgate Palmolive bought Hill’s Science Diet – these companies make household products which use ingredients derived from animal by-products. So these corporations have bulk purchasing power and a captive market for the by-products of the animal food – it makes business sense. And without these tie-ups, dog and cat food would probably be more expensive to buy.
How is Commercial Pet Food Made?
Dry pet food is made by boiling up a whole pile of animal by-products, mixed with (often artificial) protein sources and small quantities of vitamins, then pushed through an extruder machine into the shapes you recognise. At this stage, it is pretty tasteless, so (again, mostly artificial) additives and fats are sprayed on, to give it flavours that dogs like.
Wet food has (obviously) a lot more water, together with animal by-products and mostly artificial additives, but many people believe it is in general healthier for pets than dry food. However, it is more expensive especially for larger pets.
Naturally, people want pet food to have a long shelf life, so most food contains chemical preservatives – yes, it is what the customers requested!
(If you want further reading, I have listed some web sites which go into this topic in more detail at the end of this article).
Are There Standards?
In theory, pet food is regulated. In practice, it is not, and it is not properly enforced in many countries. In the US it varies greatly between states, and many feel it is not properly enforced anywhere and that the standards are too vague. The labels on many brands of pet food are highly misleading. And even the premium brands have similar contents to the cheaper foods.
And we won’t talk about animal food testing in laboratories, or the several pet food recalls over the years.
The pet food industry does not have a good reputation, but it is worth several Billion dollars a year in the USA alone, so it is a competitive industry.
But they love it!
OK, so the pet food industry makes business sense, but if you thought that you were lovingly providing your pet with top quality, wholesome nutrition – well, perhaps not.
I have to say though, that my pets love the really horrible stuff in cans and sachets / pouches (wet food). To me, it smells revolting. To them, it’s heaven. I do keep a couple at home for emergencies – if one of my dogs isn’t eating properly, one whiff turns him into a slavering eating machine. So, yes, I succumb, and buy some – occasionally.
What Are The Alternatives?
- Consider supplementing your pets’ diet with food you cook yourself. Yes, (unfortunately) this means time. But you could cook pet food while you are cooking for the family.
- Cook in bulk – enough either for several days, or even more if you freeze it. If the idea of becoming a fulltime pet chef is just crazy for your lifestyle, making the occasional meal or treat could be do-able.
- Here is a recipe for healthy pet food you can cook at home for your pets. There are links to more internet suggestions at the end of this article.
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Eco-Friendly Kitten Cooking pet meals yourself is almost certainly healthier for your furry friends, and more eco-friendly – reduced manufacturing, transportation and packaging at the very least.
- No, you do not have to make your pets vegetarians in order to reduce their impact on the environment! Their digestive systems are designed for carnivorous intake – although I have read of dogs who seem perfectly happy and nourished on a vegetarian diet.
- Try making your pet a localvore. That means finding food that is local so it doesn’t have to travel thousands of miles to your pet’s dinner bowl. This cuts down on pollution, and your pet might enjoy a fresher meal too!
- Some people believe you should feed your pets raw meat, while others say this risks bacteria and disease.
- Never feed your dogs the following: grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, chocolate, artificial sweeteners.
- If you do buy commercial pet food, look for brands with recycled and recyclable packaging .
If you have pets, what do you feed them?
What is in the Video?
There are loads of videos on the internet showing people being horrified about the meat ingredients in pet food. I must admit I am less horrified by that – after all, dogs and cats, for example, would have eaten all parts of an animal they caught in the wild. What worries me is the artificial additives and the chemicals. So today, here is a more positive video showing some suggestions for feeding your pet dog with food you cook yourself. Yes, it is more work than giving them ready-made processed food out of a bag or tin, but you know exactly what your pet is getting!
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Resources
Other Articles on Commercial Pet Food
http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/dog-food-ingredients-label.html
http://www.pugvillage.com/pug-health/all-about-dog-food
http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/DogFood
http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/best-commercial-dog-food.html
Home-made Pet Food Recipies
http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/homemade-dog-food-recipes.html
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Homemade-640/dog-food-recipes.aspx
I can understand that in some countries the pet food industry is not regulated but I am quite surprised to learn that countries like the US and UK and some more regulated European countries do not properly regulate this industry. I was brought up on a farm and our working border collies were fed more or less on extra human left over food and certainly they never had health issues. This would appear to imply that they were getting essentially what they required. When you have animals with allergies however, one is more prone to taking advice from your vet with regard to feeding specifically designed (expensive) foods from theoretically responsible suppliers. I may take a bit of persuading to change this however and need to understand the pros and cons more fully.
Perhaps the hardcore animal activists should consider taking up the cudgels to force better regulation and control of manufacture.
Yes, in many developed countries, the regulations are there, but can be quite vague (or at least “open to interpretation”) and not enforced properly. It’s a difficult area. Like describing a product such as shampoo as “natural”. It implies goodness. Yet several poisons are natural. I suspect that to tighten things up would take a lot of effort, and money.
I think working farm dogs have a good life in general. Plenty of exercise, which they seem to love, and it’s in the farmer’s own interest to look after his dogs well. I love watching sheepdog trial competitions!
Thanks for your comments!
Commercial pet food is sometimes hit or miss so I shop around quite a bit as Chucky and Lucy are so dear to me. I cook them chicken and it’s fairly easy. They are not so picky as long as they get it. My vet reccomended boiling so the quick cook time is one way I have eco-friendly pets.
Nice resource links for pet food recipes. Quality food for pets does really help them live better lives.
Having pets is a very rewarding experience and taking care of them as much as they take care of us should be as important to everyone as anything else. Thanks for posting such good information on how we can be eco-friendly in taking care of our pets.
A timely article. I’ve been thinking how all my friends’ pet seem to be succumbing to the same diseases that we now have. I don’t think that is a coincidence.
Our cat has been fed a raw food diet ever since we got her at four months of age. A vet tried to tell us that we were wrong to feed her this way citing bacterial concerns. We have never had any problems. It think it is the same for the cat; I wouldn’t feed her commercial cat food nor crummy, factory-farmed meat. Distinctions must be made here also. She is very healthy, doesn’t shed much, and has the softest fur.
A neighbor once told us that she visited during a party and they tried to give her regular cat food. She refused it!! Actually, she is quite picky. Being a chef, I had access to wholesale prices. I tried to get her some quail, her favorite, from my purveyor, but she didn’t like it. Only the good stuff for her.
Thanks for writing this article.
Great tips on what, and more important, what not to feed the pets.
What a great post. It actually grossing me out what I must be feeding my cats and will rectify the problem after reading your information.
My sister feeds her Berner and Newfoundland (could she have picked bigger dogs?!) a raw diet and they have thrived on it.
Jennifer Battaglino
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