Pet Food Perils

This is an old post I'd written but still holds true. What you feed your pet may not be as wholesome as it's advertising makes it out to be. Learn what's in your pets' food and how to choose the best nutrition for them. ;)

Pet Food Perils

An article by Rebecca

In light of the recent pet food industry recalls I feel it’s important to have a resource for pet owners where they can find some answers to their questions and concerns about their pet’s nutritional health. Many pet owners have never been given any education about pet nutrition or how to choose a pet food.

What we feed our beloved pets should be healthy and of good quality. But what does this mean? We shouldn’t settle for any less than the quality of food we would put in our bodies. We wouldn’t eat low quality food made from rotten ingredients or harmful chemicals. We wouldn’t eat food that came from suspicious or unknown sources either. But somehow our pets have been subject to these types of foods. Read on for more information on the unimaginable practices in the pet food industry.

The General Rule

If you can buy it in the supermarket it’s not quality food. Though that’s a basic rule, there’s still more to know about pet food. If it’s in a supermarket it’s not quality food, but just because it’s in a pet supply store doesn’t mean it’s all quality food either. You have to learn how to be selective.

Real quality pet food should be “human-grade” and is made by companies dedicated to pet health. You can tell just by reading the ingredient list and by reading the literature on these products. Most of these can be found in pet supply stores and some are special order or online order only. There are many holistic, natural and human grade foods out there that meet the standards of quality pet food. Some of them are: Wellness, Innova, Canidae/Felidae, Solid Gold, & Flint River Ranch.

The 4 D’s of Poor Quality Pet Food: Diseased, Disabled, Dead and Dying

You read right. The 4 d’s describe the quality of foods that poor quality pet food companies use in your pet’s food. These are ingredients deemed unfit for human consumption. Why do they use them? It’s cost effective. And because there are no strict regulations on pet food ingredients, they get away with it. Pet food companies aren’t required to specify the source, quality or quantity of meat used in their product. So their meat may come from suspect sources, undesirable body parts and from diseased or rotting meat.

Many pet food companies use fillers such as corn to bulk up their food, and the majority of the product is filler. These fillers provide no real nutritional value and are often some of the most common allergens that dogs and cats are allergic to. Corn, wheat, soy, eggs, & certain types of proteins are the most common allergens and some are used highly in pet food ingredients.

It’s unbelievable how many pet food companies are filling our pets with unacceptable ingredients and poor nutritional content from poor sources. And the unsuspecting pet parent doesn’t even know what they’re feeding their pets. They only know what they read on the package marketed towards humans. The words “wholesome, nutritious, delicious” make it sound great, but in reality it’s anything but.

The Sad & Sickening Truth

If you thought the 4 d’s were bad, what’s worse is what you’re about to read:

"Dogs and cats euthanized at clinics, pounds and shelters are sold to rendering plants, rendered with other material and sold to the pet food industry. One small rendering plant in Quebec was rendering 10 tons (11 tons) of dogs and cats per week from Ontario. The Ministry of Agriculture in Quebec, where a number of these plants are located, advised me that "The fur is not removed from dogs and cats." and that "Dead animals are cooked together with viscera, bones and fats in 115 C (236 F) for twenty minutes." One large pet food company in the U.S., with extensive research facilities, used rendered dogs and cats in their food for years and when the information came to light "claimed no knowledge of it”

- Ann Martin, Natural Pet Magazine

Ann Martin, author of “Food Pets Die For” And “Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts” has done her research. After mysterious illnesses in her own dogs lead her to suspect their food as the culprit and getting no clear answers she decided to take on the pet food industry on her own. This lead to her extensive research on the pet food industry. She has uncovered many of the disturbing practices in the pet food industry.

So we know now that some pet food companies use both undesirable meat sources and unspeakable practices, what else could there be? Well, what’s more is that many pet food companies use chemicals that are known to be toxic and harmful to extend the shelf life of their product and preserve the already tainted ingredients.

"The common chemicals used are BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene), both known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction. Some European countries prohibit the use and importation of these preservatives. Another fat stabiliser often used is Ethoxyquin, suspected of being a cancer-causing agent.” ~Dr Wendell Belfield, DVM, former USDA Vet, "Let's Live" Magazine

 Unfortunately, it’s a reality that the pet food companies are commercial industries. Businesses like anything else, who like many others, make their first priority money. Even when dealing with living beings. It’s unfortunate that although this world has made so much progress where animals are concerned, they still aren’t as important as they should be. Otherwise pet food regulations might be stricter to protect the well being of our companions.

So what is a pet parent to do? Take matters into your own hands and become educated. Read on for some basic facts and resources to help you help keep your pet healthy.

What You Need To Know

Becoming aware of what’s in your pet’s food, learning to read the labels and understand what they mean is your first step in protecting the pets you love. Just because your dog or cat has been fine on the supermarket food they’re eating doesn’t mean it isn’t causing long term damage or shortening their lifespan. Aside from that, it’s just despicable, disturbing and plain out gruesome to think what some pet food companies have put into their foods.

So what’s important to know about labels?

The source – “meat meal”, “bone meal” or “meat by products” doesn’t specify what kind of meat they used. While specific labels like “chicken meal”, “lamb meal” or “beef by-products” give the consumer an idea of what type of meat was used, it still doesn’t specify what quality of meat was used and whether it could be one of the 4 D’s. Look for foods that specify the meat source such as “chicken meal”, “beef meal” and even better those that say “chicken”, “beef”, “duck”.

The quality – the quality of pet foods can be determined by looking at the kinds of ingredients they put into the food and by their information in the literature. Does the company label their food as having "real" ingredients or better yet "human-grade" ingredients?

Do they have ingredients you can recognize or is the ingredient list contaminated with chemical ingredients you can’t even pronounce?  Things like Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Canola Oil, , Rice Bran, Whitefish, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Flaxseed, Ground Millet are ingredients you want to find along with the main meat source, vitamins and minerals.

The quantity- What ingredient is listed first on the ingredient list? If it’s anything but a recognizable meat or protein source, put it back. Ingredients are listed in order of quantity. The first ingredient should be the main ingredient and just as you wouldn’t feed your child a diet consisting mainly of candy, you shouldn’t feed your pet a diet consisting mainly of filler or nutritionally devoid ingredients.

So what should the pet parent look for? Foods with ingredients that are fit for human consumption, “human-grade” foods. Quality ingredients as the primary ingredients and ingredients you can recognize. Consider the following examples and compare the difference (real pet food manufacturer names have not been revealed):

Literature & Ingredients from a poor quality pet food:

Brand X Original Flavor has the savory taste of Chicken and Beef dogs crave. Brand X combines crunchy kibble and soft, chewy bits for a delicious taste dogs love. You can feel good about feeding your dog Brand X every day because it has 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition. Each piece provides key ingredients such as: Crunchy kibble with real beef protein and fat for energy and strong muscle tone; Crunchy kibble with carbohydrates and fiber for quick energy and easy digestibility; Soft, chewy bits with vitamins and minerals for bright, clear eyes, healthy skin and a shiny coat.

Ingredients:

Corn, Soybean Meal, Beef & Bone Meal, Wheat Flour, Animal Fat (Bha And Citric Acid Used As Preservatives), Corn Syrup, Wheat Middlings, Water Sufficient For Processing, Animal Digest (Source Of Chicken And Beef Flavors), Wheat, Propylene Glycol, Salt, Hydrochloric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, Sorbic Acid (Used As A Preservative), Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3), Calcium Sulfate, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, Bha (Used As A Preservative), Dl-Methionine, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose.

Ingredients are listed in order of quantity. The first ingredient, therefore is present in the largest amounts.
For those who know how to read labels, we know that corn is used as a filler. As the first ingredient we know this company uses it’s filler as the main ingredient. They do this because it’s cheaper. We also know, that although they do specify the “meal” sources, they don’t indicate that they use quality meat ingredients in their literature. What’s more is that the ingredients are largely chemical including BHA which we already learned is harmful. Caramel Color, yellow 6, 5 and red 40 are used to entice the consumer not the pet. And “flavoring” just means they have to add something to the food to make it enticing to pets by covering up all the chemicals and poor quality ingredients contained in the food. For the educated pet parent, this list of ingredients expresses to us that the company doesn’t put pets health first.

Literature Ingredients from a high quality, human-grade ingredient pet food:

Thoughtful Nutrition for the Different Needs of Cats and Dogs

We believe that cats and dogs have different nutritional needs - because cats are carnivores and dogs are omnivores. For cats, we create diets from animal food sources, berries, and other highly digestible ingredients with low magnesium and ash levels. This ensures overall well being, vitality, and urinary tract health. For dogs, we create balanced diets similar to high quality human diets - a healthy blend of meats, vegetables, and grains.

For special diets, such as weight management diets for dogs, or hairball diets for cats, we add carefully selected ingredients such as nutrient-rich fibers. We never use "fillers" and always look for additional ingredient benefits such as higher levels of vitamins and minerals that are available in some fiber sources.

THE BRAND Y WAY: WHAT GOES IN

Quality Protein Sources for Muscular Skeletal Health
We use real meat as our first ingredient and primary source of protein in most of our diets. We also use a delicious digestible combination of other protein sources that offer all the essential amino acids - the building blocks of bone and muscle.

Wholesome Grains for Healthy Fiber and Energy.
We use high quality grains that provide essential vitamins and nutrients, such as oatmeal and barley. For cats, we also use grains like rice which are highly digestible and are low in magnesium (which is particularly important for cats)

Full Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables for Cell Health

We provide a full rainbow of all-natural antioxidant protection, to help deter over 60 degenerative diseases including kidney disease, heart disease and even cancer.

Carefully Chosen Fats and Oils for Skin & Coat Health

We use wholesome vegetable fats such as sunflower oil, canola oil, flaxseed, and olive oil, which are high in the essential fatty acids such as Linoleic and Alpha Linoleic acids. 

For cats, we also use animal fats such as chicken fat, to provide Arachadonic acid, which cats do not produce for themselves.

Pre- and Pro-Biotics for Digestive Health

We include pro-biotics to provide balanced bacteria in the intestinal tract and prevent harmful bacterial from producing toxins. We include pre-biotics as an important nutrient source to feed the pro-biotics and add additional nutrients for the animal.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Joint Health

We add these nutrients for preventative joint maintenance and inflammation reduction. 

Taurine for Heart Health. We add taurine to help prevent certain heart conditions that can occur in dogs and to provide an essential nutrient for cats.

Botanical Extracts for Antioxidant Protection

We add selected botanical extracts such as green tea and lycopene, to provide valuable antioxidants that help fight cell-damaging free radicals.

Ingredients

Whitefish, Ground Barley (dehulled), Rye Flour, Menhaden Fish Meal, Ground Pearled Barley, Sweet Potatoes, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of vitamin E), Tomato Pomace (natural source of lycopene), Natural Fish Flavor, Flaxseed, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride.

The list is small and all the ingredients are recognizable. The first ingredient is not a filler, but rather a quality ingredient. The ingredients are clear about what is contained in the food and uses real human grade ingredients. Clearly this company strives to achieve quality standards for the best health for our pets. They want to make sure you know this by clarifying to the consumer in their literature and the ingredient list what their food is made of.

Only The Beginning

This article is only an introduction to pet food for people who care about their pets. We have come to realize that it’s not just important that we feed our pets regularly, but that we feed them properly and that we know where their food is coming from and what it’s made of.  Choose independent companies who place emphasis on pet health, holistic, natural and human grade ingredients. The same goes for pet treats. For more information and articles with more details and information on how to read labels and choose pet foods, please check out the following links:

Dog Eat Dog: What's Inside The Food We FeedWhat's Really for Dinner? The Truth About Commercial Pet Food
The Pet Food Industry and Its Questionable Practices 
Dr. Jane Bicks, HealthyPetNet: Do You Really Know What's In Your Pet's Food?
The Actual Ingredients Meat Based Pet Food Companies Use in Dry and Canned Foods 
(downloads as a microsoft word document)

For a guide to pet food ingredients check out:

Dog Food Comparison Charts 

Feed your animals bodies with healthy food and their hearts with healthy love.

~Rebecca~