Let’s face it, upon examining the horrific ingredients used in actual product for commercial pet food we discover we have been grossly misinformed and blindly led like sheep to slaughter with our domestic pets being the sacrifice. Fillers, binders, MSG, dyes, chemical additives, and preservatives. Over two decades ago, Prevention magazine published an article where do the millions of dog and cat carcasses at city shelters end up? You got it - in Buddy's dinner.
The other meat processed is not fit for human consumption - take a look at our horrendous factory farms and monumental suffering of livestock confined in a space of their own shit. The tumors and diseased parts of these animals along with ligaments and parts humans do not consume end up in your pet's dinner.
The marketing of poor quality diet we are inundated with advertising such as Purina, Friskies, Alpo, Pedigree we are being blindly driven to believe is “nutritionally adequate” is a gross deception of corporate greed.
Some vets and I have worked for a few will absolutely inform you of the terrible product, but with a healthy diet you will have a healthy pet and our local veterinarians will be out of business.
Consider this, veterinary school requires one nutrition class in the four years of study. This course covers livestock, horses, rabbits, rodents, small animals, our winged friends, and your basic feline and canine. Would we put our trust in having these individuals recommend diet for our animals if there is inadequate training in nutrition?
Now also consider, foods such as Science Diet has a commission given for each product sold. Read the ingredients and decide if you think these are nutritionally superior?
Chicken liver flavor, corn meal, corn gluten, chicken by product meal preserved with BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin.
We are somehow led to believe dry high glycemic index diets with garbage bulk and fiber will make our overweight pets leaner.
Inadequate diet and lack of exercise is what is making our pets obese. We are not feeding them adequate nutrition. This makes them hungry they are trying to find the nutrition and minerals they are lacking so this leads to constant hunger. Inadequate nutrition leads to lethargy and inactivity because common sense tells you the body is not provided with the adequate reserves for energy to basically be created. I have seen twenty recent labs at the animal shelter all with mild or moderate anemia. Red blood cells of our felines are not surviving on this crappy diet.
And do we really believe dry food is better for our pets because the vet says it keeps dental tartar to a minimum? Give your dog bone, that will keep tartar to a minimum.
Dry food is comparable to desiccated camping food. Could you exist on a diet like this for 15 years twice a day? Clearly not, you will develop nutritional deficiencies which will clearly show in your complexion like it shows in our canine’s coats and itchy skin. High glycemic index diets keeps us hungry by spiking our insulin and blood sugar levels. The more insulin raised in the body the more this leads to a pro-inflammatory state in the body and higher level C reactive protein or CRP. CRP has been linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia and also depression in clinical studies. When our blood sugar increases it also promotes a free radical oxidative process in the body. Free radicals can incite inflammation, (think arthritis) damage DNA and could cause cancer. This is one side of dry food’s detriment whether a superior brand or local supermarket chain garbage.
When considering dry food, although extremely convenient, and this being a poor example think of the difference in the glycemic index of eating fresh apricots compared to a diet of dried apricots. Sugar spike of which choice?
Consider who owns these pet food companies and make your decisions, Colgate Palmolive, Nestle and Proctor and Gamble to name a few. Colgate stock went through the roof many years ago, when Chairman of the company had a dentist promoting Colgate toothpaste in advertising. They now have veterinarians promoting their petfood.
The mostly unregulated pet food industry in 2006 grossed 12 billion annually and had export with one billion.
Profit is motive here.
And these are the individuals we are not skeptically questioning about our beloved Fido and Fluffy?
The brands that put there money into product and not advertising are the ones to consider feeding your beloved pets.
I will make a future commentary on Raw vs Cooked for out Pets. Lets think and explore, not just jump on the "holistic bandwagon." Are crowded factory farmed animals standing in shit, slaughterhouses and rendering markets meant to process food for raw consumption? Is this diet really close to "their ancestors diet"? umm, clearly blood, life force and the kill itself is missing amongst other things to be discussed. Are the ancestors of canines and felines the same animal as our blanket indulged house pet?
Is it not a blanket statement and very ignorant to assume each constitution will benefit from raw?
Think of people's digestive systems, some thrive on a raw diet of veggies, other not so much. Which animals would benefit from raw and which will benefit from cooked?
Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
is a good read for some more info.
