Dangers of a Commercial Diet

Commercial Food

U pon surfing the web looking for opinions and articles on pet food, I came across an article written by a vet. The article held my interest, because the vet was swaying from the issues. He tried to manipulate the reader into ignoring all the controversy about commercial pet food.
He begins his article by stating that many animals have weakened immune systems because they have been fed Low Quality diets consisting of grain for a long period of time. He says that pet food manufacturers sometimes mislead the consumer.

Then he goes on to say that there is nothing wrong if By- products are present in pet foods. By products get a bad rap he says. Then continues by saying that in the wild, an animal tackles its prey and feasts on the prey's by products that include items such as intestines, kidney, heart etc. He claims that there are too many myths about commercial food, which include saw dust from the floor, and meat not fit for humans. Then states that AAFCO (the great pet food regulator) regulates pet food so that none of these "bad" things are present in pet food.
He concludes that the pet owner feed their animal pals with reliable pet food such as Purina or Hills science diet.

Ha!!! After reading his article, I was able to pinpoint so many flaws in his contradictory statements. There were so many things wrong with his writing that I was burning to refute his statements in my web page.

AAFCO

First of all, AAFCO states that as long as the recommended percentage of fat, protein and fiber are present, then the pet foods meet the dietary requirements set forth. AAFCO does not care where the sources of protein come from. The pet food could contain road kill, zoo animals, slaughterhouse waste, euthanized cats and dogs as sources of protein.
Also how strict is the supervision at slaughterhouses to ensure that only clean parts of the animal are used for food? If pet food really did contain real byproducts such as heart, kidney liver etc, it should be listed clearly in the label. Liver entrée will be comprised of liver and not of meat -by products as stated on most pet food labels.

Unhealthy Food

Meat for pet food is obtained from slaughterhouses. It is deemed inappropriate for humans because it was obtained from animals that may be sick and diseased, and have cancerous tissues.
All of this is nicely highly processed, and rendered in food factories, where even more supplements and harmful preservatives are added to this food. One would think that the extra supplements added would help. But it doesn't seem plausible that added nutrients can withstand such high temperatures during the rendering/heat process.

Dry food is even worse. However it seems to be more popular in this society because of its convenience. If convenience is what people want, an animal companion is not suitable. It's better to have a stuffed cat or dog toy. Dry food lacks moisture, and as a result a consistent diet of kribble results in all sorts of problems such as UIT (Urinary Tract Infection).

Commercial food contains excessive salt and unnecessary artificial flavorings. After all if the food is supposed to be delicious why are artificial flavorings needed? One method that is used to attract cat's to eat dry food is to spray certain fats such as restaurant grease or grease from the rendering process.
Dry food also contains lots of fillers, such as corn not fit for human consumption. If cats are carnivores, why do many vets recommend foods like Purina etc that have corn listed as the main ingredient? Do vets seriously believe that a primary diet of corn is healthy?

Harmful Preservatives

There are many harmful preservatives that are used and that are banned form human foods, because its known for its cause of cancer are: BHA, BHT - known to cause brain defects, kidney, live problems. Ethyquoxin - known to cause leukemia, blindness, skin, somtach, spleen, liver cancer.

Also the pet manufacturer is not required to list all the preservatives on the box if another company supplies the preservatives. So who is to know if even more harmful preservatives are being used? How could AAFCCO approve of all this?
Apparently there are no strict pet food regulations. If AAFCO doesn't care where the sources of the protein come from or the harmful preservatives used, how can we trust what our pet food is made of?

Dead cats n dogs in pet food

If AAFCO was really a good regulator then why have their been issues where euthanized cats and dogs are used in Pet Food. Ann Martin gave a very in dept study on this. Sodium Pentobarbital a drug that many use for purposes of euthanzation were found in small amounts in pet food!! Many vet clinics also dispose large amounts of euthanized cats and dogs thru a company that picks up these animals, and delivers them to a pet rendering plant.

Vets in cahoots.

Secondly, the vet recommends Hills brand pet food. This pet food contains many by products and questionable ingredients. Perhaps the ingredients may have improved slightly over the years, but if this is the brand of food most vets recommend then why are so many animals coming down with various chronic sicknesses. I'll tell you why…

Immoral Alliances

Hills Pet industry and Purina are two pet food industries that are in league with many vetenerians. Hills for example as pointed out in Ann Martin's book, donated 1 million dollars to the American Veterinary Medical Association. They give free pet food to colleges for teaching hospitals and free textbooks about animal nutrition to vet students. Hill's states in their company newsletter: "Hill's demonstrates its commitment to support future vets through programs that provide financial aid and education in the field of clinical nutrition."

Purina donated 10 000 to the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Purina presented the donation to the vet school to provide a positive link between students and Purina".

Vets are hardly taught about proper nutrition in vet school. Representatives from pet food industries often come in to talk about their product. Also many representatives of these pet food companies are also on the board of directors for AAFCO.

Isn't it ironic that vet's recommend pet food from companies who make food that contains ambiguous meat by products, rendered food, corn filler and a myriad of other protein sources rejected for human consumption.

How could a professional vet not realize how terrible this food really is. Why do they continue recommending this food when they see all the chronic illnesses that have been brought about by these foods? Do they not care about the welfare of the animals. I guess it's all about the money.

Truthfully I find the whole process to be truly appalling. It's a sick cycle of greed that keeps pet food industries in business. Most vets make money from the chronic illness that bad food brings about. The unsuspecting owner is dealt with high vet bills, along with more recommended "cat food" from the vet, which only perpetuates the illness. This way vets and pet food industries are in league together. I am determined not to shell a single penny towards these pet food companies. I want to have nothing to do with them.

Few vets speak out

There is a solid alliance between pet food manufacturers and vets. Few vets speak out against this. Ann Martin (Protect your Pet) sites Dr. Lonsdale as an example of a vet who speaks out against this. He is based in Australia. He states that processed canned and dried pet food are ruining cat's and dogs' health. However the Australian Veterinary Association has accused him of professional misconduct for his statements on the link between pet foods and pet health.
Dr. Lonsdale summed it all up by saying "Veterinarians gain legitimacy and privileges as guardians of the public welfare in respect to animal health. The profession has failed badly in its duties". The Australian veterinary association was in receipt to direct and indirect sponsorship from 2 large multinational pet food companies".

It's like Elections

When people think of what to feed their cat. They look at various brands of pet food available. Why should we be limited to the brands of pet food displayed on the shelves??? They wonder if they should buy Dry or Wet food. Purina or Iams. This reminds me of elections. Most people think that 2 choices are available Republican Or Democrats. Few even know that 3rd part candidates exist. And even fewer even vote for them when in fact their policies are actually more beneficial for Americans.
People should say NO to the 2 party system, which are both controlled by corrupted conglomerates!
In that same way, most people don't realize that they can just say No to Commercial/branded pet food and feed their animal fresh diets. Someone feeding their cat Iams ( a supposed premium food) as opposed to 9 lives isn't really making a significant different in their animal pal's diet. I know this because my cat has sampled most of the major brands of food and always prefers fresh food over it.
The results of fresh food are great, but people have it so in grained that cats must be fed from a brand pet food that they are often too stubborn and scared to abandon this absurd mentality.

Is it true?

Reading all this information sounds rather incredulous and unbelievable at first. But if this info was made, up why are so many animals coming down with chronic illnesses so often in America? Shouldn't these animals be in perfect health since they are being fed such a so called optimum diet?

My experience

This is why I have completely giving up feeding my cat canned and dry pet food. Cats are very good at sensing rancid foods. My cat used to vomit a lot, from eating canned foods and dry foods. When I asked my vet about the vomiting, he said that that's normal. Cat's eat too fast; it's something that happens. But I still was confused. I mean I never vomit from eating my food too fast, unless I ate like a nut. Cat's aren't stupid. Why should they eat that fast unless they are extremely hungry. And even if they vomit, it should be a few times a year, not many times a month.

I used to occasionally feed my cat pal leftover turkey from thanksgiving, which she loved. Going back to her regular canned food was always a pain after that. She would be on a food strike before returning to eating. Thankfully now she gets a better diet. At first I thought my cat pall was just being a Fuss Box, but she was really trying to tell me that the food simply sucked…. So listen to your cat and dog pals. See how they react to the food and observe what they prefer.

Informing people

Knowing what I know now about pet food, I wish I can tell the world about what is going on. I hope this website helps many to re-think what they are feeding their cat pals, and I hope they start questioning and boycotting the pet food manufacturers. Many don't think anything is wrong if cat's are fed this kind of diet for the rest of their lives. But the truth is, our cat and dog pals need fresh foods to keep them in the best health.
I am hoping that you the reader will rethink what you feed your animal companion. If what I am saying sounds too incredulous or just simply ridiculous. Please research this topic on your own. Browse thru the recommended books in my book section. Read the ingredients at the back of your food can. Contact AAFCO and the pet food manufacturers if you have questions.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Many times Ann martin had to use the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION act to obtain various tests done by governmental agencies. They gave her such a hard time but eventually did provide her with the information she needed. As Americans we have every right to demand information using this act. But since the word freedom is continually being re-defined in today's age, I wonder how much information you can still get from that act.

I suppose we veterinarians who work with skin and hair problems ought to thank the commercial pet food industry for all the business they create for us"
J. Keith Benedict, DVM