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Pet Food Horrors
What Are You Feeding Us?
What's actually in your
pet's food may not even be as shocking as how it got there. Many
disgusting practices are used to manufacture mass marketed name brand pet
foods...you know, the ones you know and trust?! If the first ingredients
listed on your Pet's food package are CORN or WHEAT or you see the words
GLUTEN or MEAT BY-PRODUCTS, you're in for a rude
awakening. You see that loving pet in your home? Look into it's eyes and
imagine that it will become food for another pet! There's a way you can
stop that from happening and you'll find the answer as simple as "NO
Meat By-Products".
Although you may think all
pet food manufacturers have your Pet’s best interests in mind, this is not
always the case. Current pet food regulations allow manufacturers
to use ingredients that you would never knowingly give to your pet. For
example, the use of by-products: feet, bones, feathers, intestines,
beaks and even RECYCLED/EUTHANIZED PETS including their toxin filled
flea collars. Along with Carcinogenic chemical preservatives (BHA andBHT
and Ethoxyquin) and grains that are often difficult to digest like corn,
wheat, gluten and soy which are most often the cause of allergies and are
used as a cheap protein source, instead of meat. But please, read on...
Our Euthanized Pets Are Very Often
rendered Into "Meat By-Products"
Originally published October
21 2005
PART I
The true horrors of pet food revealed:
Prepare to be shocked by what goes into dog food and cat food
If you check the labels on grocery store foods,
you've probably already begun to see that the list of ingredients doesn't
always tell the whole truth about what's in your food. The same goes for
your pets' food. Behind innocent-sounding words like "meat byproducts" and
"meat meal" are horrific manufacturing practices that would turn your
stomach. The nutritional considerations of pet foods go beyond the sources
of meat in them. Pet food manufacturers add dangerous preservatives and
vitamin fortifications that actually make your pets' food less healthy.
What mysterious "meat byproducts" really
are
Let's start with what usually appears as the protein
source and the primary ingredient in
pet food: Meat
byproducts or meat meal. Both are euphemisms for the parts of animals that
wouldn't be considered meat by any smart consumer. The well-known phrase
"meat byproducts" is a misnomer since these byproducts contain little, if
any, meat. These are the parts of the animal left over after the meat has
been stripped away from the bone. "Chicken by-products include head, feet,
entrails,
lungs, spleen,
kidneys, brain, liver, stomach, bones, blood, intestines, and any other
part of the carcass not fit for human consumption," writes Henry Pasternak
in Healing Animals with Nature's Cures.
Meat meal can contain the boiled down flesh of
animals we would find unacceptable for consumption. This can include zoo
animals, road kill, and 4-D (dead, diseased, disabled, dying) livestock.
Most shockingly, this also can include
dogs and cats.
That's right, your pets could be cannibals. Fast Food Nation
author Eric Schlosser writes, "Although leading American manufacturers
promise never to put rendered pets into their pet food, it is still legal
to do so. A Canadian company, Sanimal Inc., was putting 40,000 pounds of
dead dogs and dead cats into its dog and cat food every week, until
discontinuing the practice in June 2001. "This food is healthy and good,"
said the company's vice president of procurement, responding to critics,
''but some people don't like to see meat meal that contains any pets."
How roadkill ends up in Fido's food bowl
The process that turns these animals and animal
parts into pet food is also disgusting. After all, it takes a lot to turn
roadkill into something owners feel good about pouring into their pets'
bowls. Ann M. Martin describes the process in Food Pets Die For:
"At the rendering plant a machine slowly grinds the entire mess in huge
vats. Then this product is cooked at temperatures between 220 degrees
Fahrenheit and 270 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes to one hour. The
mixture is centrifuged (spun at a high speed) and the grease (or tallow)
rises to the top and it is removed from the mixture. The grease becomes
the source of animal fat in most pet foods. Oftentimes, when you open a
standard can of
dog food, you will
see a top layer of fat. The centrifuged product is the source of that fat,
which is meant to entice a hungry dog or cat. After the grease is removed
in the rendering process, the remaining material is dried. Meat meal, and
meat and bone meal are the end product of this process. This dried
material is usually found in dry pet food."
Chemical dangers lurk in commercial pet
food
Rendering practices aren't just gross; they're also
dangerous for your pets. The chemicals used to euthanize zoo animals, dogs
and cats can survive the
cooking process,
which means these chemicals end up in pet food, and ultimately, in your
pet. Martin writes, "Euthanized cats and dogs often end up in rendering
vats along with other questionable material to make meat meal, and meat
and bone meal. This can be problematic because
sodium
pentobarbital can withstand the heat from rendering. For years, some
veterinarians and
animal advocates have known about the potential danger of sodium
pentobarbital residue in commercial pet food, yet the danger has not been
alleviated." In short, that means the poisons designed to kill pets are
the same ones being fed to them.
Now that you know pet
food manufacturers
will seemingly go to any length to fill their foods with the cheapest
sources of protein they can find, you probably won't be surprised to find
out that the other ingredients in pet foods aren't much better. Cheap
grain fillers, cellulose to bulk up the food, preservatives and poorly
monitored vitamin and mineral supplements round out the recipe. In
Healing Pets with Nature's Miracle Cures, Henry Pasternak writes,
"Remember, pet foods are primarily processed, grain-based diets. These
foods are 'fortified' with synthetic B vitamins, which can cause a
subclinical B vitamin deficiency." Martin mentions in Food Pets Die
For that one bag of dog food was overloaded with so much
zinc that she had
to take her dog to the vet because he became ill. She took the bag of food
to an independent lab to verify that the zinc content of the food was 20
times the recommended daily allowance for dogs.
Preservatives in dog and cat foods keep the foods
seemingly fresh for long periods of time: "Unfortunately, harmful chemical
preservatives and other artificial additives are the norm in most pet
foods. Some are intentionally added by the manufacturer, while others come
from the
herbicides,
insecticides, and
pesticides used by
farmers to boost crop yields," Pasternak writes. While some pet
food companies have
decided to use less harmful preservatives and natural preservatives, most
pet food companies don't find these ingredients to be cost effective.
So what should you do with this information? Many
pet owners are
discovering there are more natural alternatives to commercial pet food.
Natural health food stores usually stock a few varieties of organic or
all-natural pet foods. There are other owners who go even further and
prepare their pets' foods from real, whole ingredients. Though this might
not be for everyone, some owners say it's worth the peace of mind, and it
helps them feel closer to their animal companions. Be aware though, that
once your pet finds out what real, whole foods taste like, they may not
want to go back: "I used to feed my cat canned or dry pet food, but now I
prepare her food from fresh ingredients. She thrives on raw meat," writes
Debra Lynn Dadd in Home Safe Home. "She will eat canned or dry
food if it is a natural brand, but if I give her pet food from the
supermarket, she paws around it like she's trying to cover up something in
her litter box."
All natural and Holistic, Hormone-free, Steroid-free, Antibiotic-free and
chemical-free!
-Never has and Never will use Corn or
Wheat or Rendered Meats...
It's our promise to you!
PART II
The experts speak on pet food processing:
Most veterinarians acquire their only knowledge on
pet
nutrition in
elective classes in veterinary school. These classes may only last a few
weeks and are often taught by representatives from pet food companies.
Hill's, lams, and Purina are the largest contributors for these courses.
In addition, pet food companies even donate food to the vet students for
their own companion animals. This practice has become so widespread among
pet food companies that the veterinary school at Colorado State University
made this an agenda item for an Executive Committee meeting in 2000.
"Discussion was held on how to handle dealing with pet food companies and
their donations of pet food to the university," according to the Executive
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 21
Dry food has its advantages. In fact, the dry pet
food you buy in the supermarket is manufactured for your convenience as
much as Fifi's and Fluffy's health. It's the nibble-at -will,
no-can-opening, no-greasy-spoon, no-smelly-bowl, no-budget-busting pet
food. It has lower levels of fat than canned meat because the fat seeps
through the paper bags (you don't want that greasy bag on your car
upholstery or in your kitchen cabinet). Fifi and Fluffy get to eat more
for your money, thus getting pleasantly full tummies, while less protein,
fat and digestibility keep their figures from becoming unbecomingly
porcine.
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine,
page 346
Fats are necessary for good health and disease
prevention. Here again, fats should be raw or unrefined—not processed.
Meat, fish,
eggs, or milk in
their natural states are the best sources of fat. The pet
food industry
prepares some pet foods with high levels of
omega-3 fatty acids
that are claimed to be effective for treating various inflammatory
diseases. However, omega-3
fatty acids are
quite sensitive to heat and are destroyed and easily become rancid during
processing. Cod liver oil can be added to pet foods. It is a good source
of
omega-3 fatty acids
as well as
vitamin A. Proteins
Healing Pets With Nature's Miracle Cures By Henry Pasternak DVM CVA,
page 77
They don't need "special" diets. Your typical pet
will do nicely on typical pet food. "There are a lot of marketing gimmicks
in the pet food industry that aren't necessarily in the best interest of
the dog," says Dr. Donoghue. It's not always a good idea, for example, to
reduce protein in the diet of a healthy old dog.
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine,
page 348
Sodium Pentobarbital:
As I discuss elsewhere, euthanized cats and dogs
often end up in rendering vats along with other questionable material to
make meat meal, and meat and bone meal. This can be problematic because
sodium pentobarbital can withstand the heat from rendering. For years,
some veterinarians and animal advocates have known about the potential
danger of sodium pentobarbital residue in commercial pet food, yet the
danger has not been alleviated. The "Report of the American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia," states, "In euthanasia of
animals intended for human or animal food, chemical agents that result in
tissue residue cannot be used."
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 57
Another staple of the Tenderer's diet, in addition
to farm animals, is euthanized pets-the six or seven million dogs and cats
that are killed in animal shelters every year. The city of Los Angeles
alone, for example, sends some two hundred tons of euthanized cats and
dogs to a rendering plant every month. Added to the blend are the
euthanized catch of animal control agencies, and roadkill. (Roadkill is
not collected daily, and in the summer, the better roadkill collection
crews can generally smell it before they can see it) When this gruesome
mix is ground and steam-cooked, the lighter, fatty material floating to
the top gets refined for use in such products as cosmetics, lubricants,
soaps, candles, and waxes. The heavier protein material is dried and
pulverized into a brown powder—about a quarter of which consists of fecal
material. The powder is used as an additive to almost all pet food as well
as to livestock feed. Farmers call it "protein concentrates." In 1995,
five million tons of processed slaughterhouse leftovers were sold for
animal feed in the
United States. I
used to feed tons of the stuff to my own livestock. It never concerned me
that I was feeding
cattle to cattle.
Mad Cowboy By Howard F Lyman, page 12
Pet owners are horrified to learn that rendered cats
and dogs can be legally recycled back into pet food. At times, this
outrage leads consumers to seek change. One case in point is Valley
Protein, a rendering company that operates in twenty-two states in the
Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest regions of the United States. In
the first edition of Food Pets Die For, I wrote about the Baltimore City
Paper reporter Van Smith who described what he observed at the Valley
Protein Rendering Plant in 1995. His article was replete with photos of
barrels of dead dogs and cats about to be rendered. Smith reported that
there are "thousands of dead dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, deer, foxes,
snakes, and the rest that local animal shelters and roadkill patrols must
dispose of each month." In that same article, Smith observed, "In a
gruesomely ironic twist, most inedible dead animal parts, including dead
pets, end up in feed used to fatten future generations of their kind."
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 147
Pets used in Pet Food:
While researching and writing, there were times that
I was absolutely horrified with what I discovered. There were other times
when I was extremely frustrated with the run-around I received from
government agencies, organizations involved with the pet food industry,
the rendering industry, and at times, veterinary research centers. What
has kept me going is the hope that pet owners will read my findings and be
convinced that their pets' health is directly related to what they eat—and
that most commercial pet foods are garbage. The most objectionable source
of protein for pet food is euthanized cats and dogs. It is not uncommon
for thousands of euthanized dogs and cats to be delivered to rendering
plants, daily, and thrown into the rendering vat—collars, I.D. tags, and
plastic bags—to become part of this material called "meat meal."
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 153
Extensive records had to be kept on the disposition
of various animal proteins, and feeds that were now prohibited for cattle
had to be clearly labeled as such. There were no new restrictions,
however, on what could be fed to
poultry, hogs, zoo
animals, or pets. Indeed, the Grocery Manufacturers of
America, the
National Food Processors Association, and the pet food Institute
successfully lobbied against any new labeling requirement for pet foods.
These industry groups rightly worried that the FDA's proposed warning
label — "Do not feed to ruminants" — might alarm consumers about what
their pets were actually being fed.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, page 275
The current FDA feed rules are primarily concerned
with efficiency and utility, not public health. They allow cattle to be
fed pigs, pigs to be fed cattle, cattle to be fed poultry, and poultry to
be fed cattle. They allow dogs and cats to be fed dogs and cats. Although
leading American manufacturers promise never to put rendered pets into
their pet food, it is still legal to do so. A Canadian company, Sanimal
Inc., was putting 40,000 pounds of dead dogs and dead cats into its dog
and cat food every week, until discontinuing the practice in June 2001.
"This food is healthy and good," said the company's vice president of
procurement, responding to critics, "but some people don't like to see
meat meal that contains any pets."
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, page 288
Ingredients in Pet Food:
One of the dirty little secrets kept by the pet food
industry is that some by-products also contain substances such as
abscesses and cancerous material. In my opinion, feeding slaughterhouse
wastes to animals increases their chances of getting
cancer and other
degenerative diseases. Some meat, especially glandular tissue, may contain
high levels of
hormones, which may
also cause serious health problems including cancer. Unlike bacteria and
viruses, these hormones are not destroyed by the high temperatures or
pressure cooking used in the manufacture of pet food. Cats seem to be most
adversely affected by high hormone levels.
Healing Pets With Nature's Miracle Cures By Henry Pasternak DVM CVA,
page 11
PET CARE Many pet foods claim to be " 100%
nutritionally complete and balanced." This claim legally can be made and
printed on commercial products based on information studies using isolated
nutrients and not whole foods, or by feeding the complete pet food to
animals for several weeks to determine whether it prevents obvious disease
or malnutrition. Although motivated by an interest to assure quality for
the consumer, these tests ignore important nutritional issues and give
both producer and consumer a false sense of knowledge and security.
Measuring a food's merit by levels of isolated nutrients tells only a
partial story. There are more than forty known, essential nutrients, and
more than fifty other nutrients are under investigation. Thus, making sure
a food contains appropriate amounts of only a dozen of these nutrients
can't possibly assure that a food is "complete."
Home Safe Home by Debra Lynn Dadd, page 413
Harmful components (and ingredients) found in Pet
food:
Unfortunately, harmful chemical preservatives and
other artificial additives are the norm in most pet foods. Some are
intentionally added by the manufacturer, while others come from the
herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides used by
farmers to boost
crop yields. Many pet foods advertised as "preservative-free" do, in fact,
contain preservatives. As the law is currently written, manufacturers
don't have to list preservatives that they themselves did not add. Many
preservatives make their way into pet food at rendering plants before the
meat is even sent to the manufacturer. An analysis of several pet foods
labeled "chemical free" or "all natural ingredients" found synthetic
antioxidants in all
samples. With continued use, low levels of these synthetic antioxidants
may build up in the tissues; inges-tion of small doses over time may be
just as toxic as a single large dose. About 60 percent of all herbicides,
90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides are
considered to be cancer causing in and of themselves.6-7
Healing Pets With Nature's Miracle Cures By Henry Pasternak DVM CVA,
page 11
Under AAFCO guidelines, acceptable meat by-product
can include animal lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, livers, blood, bones,
low-temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their
contents. Livers can be infested with worms (liver flukes) or diseased
with cirrhosis. Lungs can be filled with pneumonia. If an animal is
diseased and declared unfit for human consumption, the carcass is
acceptable for pet food. Even parts of animals, such as "stick marks,"—the
area of the body where animals have been injected with antibiotics,
hormones, or other drugs—are cut from the carcasses intended for human
consumption and used for meat by-product for pet food.
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 153
Commission warned that a series of mysterious dog
ailments at kennels in Michigan may be the result of
fluoride
contamination of pet foods. They noticed a high incidence of deformed
puppies and pointed out that chronic effects of fluoride poisoning may not
be noticeable for a long time.
Fluoride The Aging Factor by John Yiamouyiannis, page 16
After 45 weeks of producing fertile eggs plagued by
hunger, debeaking, detoeing, decombing, toxic ammonia, and diseases, these
breeder
chickens are
"liquidated" and turned into human animal "food" and nonhuman animal
"feed" and pet food products.
Prisoned Chickens Poisoned Eggs by Karen Davis PhD, page 93
She sees the problem all the time in older canines
and felines, "usually those eight years or older." She blames the
commercial pet foods and owners' irresponsibility for most of it. "There
is just too much
sugar in
everything. You can't buy a decent brand of [pet] food anymore without
there being some kind of sugar in it. An animal's system will rebel just
like the human body does when excess sugar is taken into it. The same
autoimmune disorder that attacks human pancreatic cells that make
insulin destroys
the insulin-producing capabilities in our dogs and cats."
Natural Pet Cures by Dr John Heinerman, page 87
Just as products for kids carry the same dangers as
I their adult counterparts, products for pets have the same I hazards as
their human counterparts—pet food contains the same carcinogenic pesticide
residues, and the pesticides used in flea collars are as toxic as the
pesticides used to kill any other insects. And just as babies and children
are more susceptible to the effects of toxic exposures than adults, so too
are animals more susceptible to the effects of toxic exposures than
humans.
Home Safe Home by Debra Lynn Dadd, page 341
Slaughterhouses also provide renderers with the
leftovers from slaughtered animals not fit for human consumption. Before
these animal parts and by-product used for pet food are shipped from the
slaughterhouse to the rendering plant, the by-product is "denatured." This
means that crude carbolic acid, cresylic disinfectant, or citronella, is
sprayed on the product. In the case of a whole beef or swine carcass that
has been condemned, the denaturing product is injected into the entire
carcass. If meat inspectors condemn only parts of an animal, the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that "before an approved
denaturing agent is applied, the product must be freely slashed so that
pieces are less than 4" in diameter. This allows the denaturant to contact
all parts of the product."
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 18
Both animal-care professionals weren't at all
reticent about vocalizing their strong opinions about this matter. Dr.
Tejinder: "There are way too many chemicals in pet food that no one knows
the
side effects of.
And the rancid fat that is used to cook a lot of this food that pets eat
only complicates things more." Dr. Stefanatos: "The pesticides,
preservatives, and additives in pet food reprogram the organs so their
functions behave differently. No one knows the full extent of the problem,
but it's there, nevertheless." The Nature of Animal Diabetes
Natural Pet Cures by Dr John Heinerman, page 88
Mad Cow and Other diseases:
Those of us who are intimately acquainted with what
goes into commercial pet foods have no problem discerning where a good
majority of liver disorders originate. In their January 1998 newsletter,
Love of Animals, Dr. Bob Goldstein and his wife, Susan, featured an
interesting article entitled, "The Truth About Canned Dog and Cat Foods."
They note that many so-called "naturally preserved" pet foods contain meat
by-products that usually come "from diseased cows or sick chickens."
"These are terrible foods" they warn their readers. And the fact that they
contain chemical preservatives (to keep the high fat content from going
rancid) and artificial coloring agents and dyes (for eye appeal of pet
owners), not to mention appetite stimulants (salt, sugar, glucose,
sucrose, fructose, phosphoric acid) only makes their impact upon the
average animal liver that much more deadly.
Natural Pet Cures by Dr John Heinerman, page 204
Cattle—dead, diseased, dying and disabled (4-D)—can
legally be rendered and used in pet foods in the United States and in
Canada. Rendering will not eradicate any of the TSEs, including the
chronic wasting disease in deer, elk, and roadkill, which can also be
rendered for use in pet food. The U.S. government believes it is safe to
render diseased cattle for use in pet foods because this practice does not
affect humans since we don't eat dogs and cats. But rendering diseased
cattle into pet food does potentially endanger our animal companions. This
is already happening in Europe. If dogs and cats succumb to a TSE disease,
would their owners know the actual cause?
Food Pets Die For by Ann N Martin, page 100
Although you won't see it on the label, since it is
often added at the rendering plant and not by the manufacturer, ethoxyquin
(EQ) is used to preserve most dry pet food. First used as a rubber
stabilizer, EQ is the most powerful of all preservatives and may be the
most toxic. Originally, it was permitted in livestock food. So since pet
food is considered
animal feed, the
use of EQ is also permitted in pet food. The fish industry uses high
levels of EQ; factory workers exposed to it exhibited side effects similar
to those of agent orange: a dramatic rise in liver or kidney damage,
cancerous skin lesions, hair loss, blindness, leukemia, fetal
abnormalities, and chronic diarrhea. In animals, EQ has been linked to
immune deficiency syndrome; spleen, stomach, and liver cancers; and a host
of allergies.
Healing Pets With Nature's Miracle Cures By Henry Pasternak DVM CVA,
page 11
In Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health
for Dogs & Cats (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Inc., 1995), the author, a
renowned veterinarian, lists a number of other factors that could expose a
family dog or cat to possible carcinogens. "These include," he writes, "…
consuming pet foods high in organ meats and meat meal (concentrators of
pesticides, and growth hormones used to fatten cattle, which can promote
cancer growth) as well as in preservatives and artificial colors known to
cause cancer in lab animals."
Natural Pet Cures by Dr John Heinerman, page 78
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Yes, it's "REAL"...this photo
shows what happens to our beloved Pets when we euthanize and don't cremate
them.Just as chilling, is
the news that
dog and cat furs have been (and are STILL
being!) used to make Coats.
Get The
Facts:
What’s
Really in Pet Food,
From...
Plump whole
chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the wholesome
nutrition your dog or cat will ever need.
These are
the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and
advertising. This is what the $11 billion per year U.S. pet food industry
wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their
products.
This report
explores the differences between what consumers think they are buying and
what they are actually getting. It focuses in very general terms on the
most visible name brands — the pet food labels that are mass-distributed
to supermarkets and discount stores — but there are many highly respected
brands that may be guilty of the same offenses.
What most
consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the
human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a market for
slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and
similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes
intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal
parts.
Three of
the five major pet food companies in the United States are
subsidiaries of major multinational companies: Nestlé (Alpo, Fancy
Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, and Ralston Purina products such
as Dog Chow, ProPlan, and Purina One), Heinz (9 Lives,
Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles-n-Bits, Nature’s Recipe),
Colgate-Palmolive (Hill’s Science Diet Pet Food). Other leading
companies include Procter & Gamble (Eukanuba and Iams), Mars (Kal
Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba, Waltham’s), and Nutro. From a
business standpoint, multinational companies owning pet food manufacturing
companies is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have increased
bulk-purchasing power; those that make human food products have a captive
market in which to capitalize on their waste products, and pet food
divisions have a more reliable capital base and, in many cases, a
convenient source of ingredients.
There are
hundreds of different pet foods available in this country. And while many
of the foods on the market are similar, not all of the pet food
manufacturing companies use poor quality or potentially dangerous
ingredients.
Ingredients
Although
the purchase price of pet food does not always determine whether a pet
food is good or bad, the price is often a good indicator of quality. It
would be impossible for a company that sells a generic brand of dog food
at $9.95 for a 40-lb. bag to use quality protein and grain in its food.
The cost of purchasing quality ingredients would be much higher than the
selling price.
The protein
used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle, swine,
chickens, lambs, or other animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts such as
lean muscle tissue are trimmed away from the carcass for human
consumption. However, about 50% of every food-producing animal does not
get used in human foods. Whatever remains of the carcass — bones, blood,
intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally
consumed by humans — is used in pet food, animal feed, and other products.
These “other parts” are known as “by-products,” “meat-and-bone-meal,” or
similar names on pet food labels.
The Pet
Food Institute — the trade association of pet food manufacturers —
acknowledges the use of by-products in pet foods as additional income for
processors and farmers: “The growth of the pet food industry not only
provided pet owners with better foods for their pets, but also created
profitable additional markets for American farm products and for the
byproducts of the meat packing, poultry, and other food industries which
prepare food for human consumption.
Many of
these remnants provide a questionable source of nourishment for our
animals. The nutritional quality of meat and poultry by-products, meals,
and digests can vary from batch to batch. James Morris and Quinton Rogers,
two professors with the Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of
California at Davis Veterinary School of Medicine, assert that, “There is
virtually no information on the bioavailability of nutrients for companion
animals in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. These
ingredients are generally by-products of the meat, poultry and fishing
industries, with the potential for a wide variation in nutrient
composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the
current Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient
allowances (‘profiles’) do not give assurances of nutritional adequacy and
will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values are
incorporated.
Meat and
poultry meals, by-product meals, and meat-and-bone meal are common
ingredients in pet foods. The term “meal” means that these materials are
not used fresh, but have been rendered. What is rendering? Rendering, as
defined by
Webster’s Dictionary,
is “to process as for industrial use: to render livestock carcasses and to
extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by melting.” Home-made chicken soup,
with its thick layer of fat that forms over the top when the soup is
cooled, is a sort of mini-rendering process. Rendering separates
fat-soluble from water-soluble and solid materials, removes most of the
water, and kills bacterial contaminants, but may alter or destroy some of
the natural enzymes and proteins found in the raw ingredients. Meat and
poultry by-products, while not rendered, vary widely in composition and
quality.
What can
the feeding of such products do to your companion animal? Some
veterinarians claim that feeding slaughterhouse wastes to animals
increases their risk of getting cancer and other degenerative diseases.
The cooking methods used by pet food manufacturers — such as rendering,
extruding (a heat-and-pressure system used to “puff” dry foods into
nuggets or kibbles), and baking — do not necessarily destroy the hormones
used to fatten livestock or increase milk production, or drugs such as
antibiotics or the barbiturates used to euthanize animals.
Animal and
Poultry Fat
You may
have noticed a unique, pungent odor when you open a new bag of pet food —
what is the source of that delightful smell? It is most often rendered
animal fat, restaurant grease, or other oils too rancid or deemed inedible
for humans.
Restaurant
grease has become a major component of feed grade animal fat over the last
fifteen years. This grease, often held in fifty-gallon drums, may be kept
outside for weeks, exposed to extreme temperatures with no regard for its
future use. “Fat blenders” or rendering companies then pick up this used
grease and mix the different types of fat together, stabilize them with
powerful antioxidants to retard further spoilage, and then sell the
blended products to pet food companies and other end users.
These fats
are sprayed directly onto extruded kibbles and pellets to make an
otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. The fat also acts as a
binding agent to which manufacturers add other flavor enhancers such as
digests. Pet food scientists have discovered that animals love the taste
of these sprayed fats. Manufacturers are masters at getting a dog or a cat
to eat something she would normally turn up her nose at.
Wheat, Soy,
Corn, Peanut Hulls, and Other Vegetable Protein
The amount
of grain products used in pet food has risen over the last decade. Once
considered filler by the pet food industry, cereal and grain products now
replace a considerable proportion of the meat that was used in the first
commercial pet foods. The availability of nutrients in these products is
dependent upon the digestibility of the grain. The amount and type of
carbohydrate in pet food determines the amount of nutrient value the
animal actually gets. Dogs and cats can almost completely absorb
carbohydrates from some grains, such as white rice. Up to 20% of the
nutritional value of other grains can escape digestion. The availability
of nutrients for wheat, beans, and oats is poor. The nutrients in potatoes
and corn are far less available than those in rice. Some ingredients, such
as peanut hulls, are used for filler or fiber, and have no significant
nutritional value.
Two of the
top three ingredients in pet foods, particularly dry foods, are almost
always some form of grain products. Pedigree Performance Food for Dogs
lists Ground Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, and Corn Gluten Meal as its
top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals for cats lists Ground Yellow
Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, and Poultry By-Product Meal as its first three
ingredients. Since cats are true carnivores — they must eat meat to
fulfill certain physiological needs — one may wonder why we are feeding a
corn-based product to them. The answer is that corn is a much cheaper
“energy source” than meat.
In 1995,
Nature’s Recipe pulled thousands of tons of dog food off the shelf
after consumers complained that their dogs were vomiting and losing their
appetite. Nature’s Recipe’s loss amounted to $20 million. The problem was
a fungus that produced vomitoxin (an aflatoxin or “mycotoxin,” a toxic
substance produced by mold) contaminating the wheat. In 1999, another
fungal toxin triggered the recall of dry dog food made by Doane Pet
Care at one of its plants, including Ol’ Roy (Wal-Mart’s brand)
and 53 other brands. This time, the toxin killed 25 dogs.
Although it
caused many dogs to vomit, stop eating, and have diarrhea, vomitoxin is a
milder toxin than most. The more dangerous mycotoxins can cause weight
loss, liver damage, lameness, and even death as in the Doane case. The
Nature’s Recipe incident prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
to intervene. Dina Butcher, Agriculture Policy Advisor for North Dakota
Governor Ed Schafer, concluded that the discovery of vomitoxin in Nature’s
Recipe wasn’t much of a threat to the human population because “the grain
that would go into pet food is not a high quality grain.”3
Soy is
another common ingredient that is sometimes used as a protein and energy
source in pet food. Manufacturers also use it to add bulk so that when an
animal eats a product containing soy he will feel more sated. While soy
has been linked to gas in some dogs, other dogs do quite well with it.
Vegetarian dog foods use soy as a protein source.
Additives
and Preservatives
Many
chemicals are added to commercial pet foods to improve the taste,
stability, characteristics, or appearance of the food. Additives provide
no nutritional value. Additives include emulsifiers to prevent water and
fat from separating, antioxidants to prevent fat from turning rancid, and
artificial colors and flavors to make the product more attractive to
consumers and more palatable to their companion animals.
Adding
chemicals to food originated thousands of years ago with spices, natural
preservatives, and ripening agents. In the last 40 years, however, the
number of food additives has greatly increased.
All
commercial pet foods must be preserved so they stay fresh and appealing to
our animal companions. Canning is a preserving process itself, so canned
foods contain less preservatives than dry foods. Some preservatives are
added to ingredients or raw materials by the suppliers, and others may be
added by the manufacturer. Because manufacturers need to ensure that dry
foods have a long shelf life to remain edible after shipping and prolonged
storage, fats used in pet foods are preserved with either synthetic or
“natural” preservatives. Synthetic preservatives include butylated
hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl
gallate, propylene glycol (also used as a less-toxic version of automotive
antifreeze), and ethoxyquin. For these antioxidants, there is
little information documenting their toxicity, safety, interactions, or
chronic use in pet foods that may be eaten every day for the life of the
animal.
Potentially
cancer-causing agents such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are permitted at
relatively low levels. The use of these chemicals in pet foods has not
been thoroughly studied, and long term build-up of these agents may
ultimately be harmful. Due to questionable data in the original study on
its safety, ethoxyquin’s manufacturer, Monsanto, was required to perform a
new, more rigorous study. This was completed in 1996. Even though Monsanto
found no significant toxicity associated with its own product, in July
1997, the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine requested that
manufacturers voluntarily reduce the maximum level for ethoxyquin by half,
to 75 parts per million. While some pet food critics and veterinarians
believe that ethoxyquin is a major cause of disease, skin problems, and
infertility in dogs, others claim it is the safest, strongest, most stable
preservative available for pet food. Ethoxyquin is approved for use in
human food for preserving spices, such as cayenne and chili powder, at a
level of 100 ppm — but it would be very difficult to consume as much chili
powder every day as a dog would eat dry food. Ethoxyquin has never been
tested for safety in cats.
Some
manufacturers have responded to consumer concern, and are now using
“natural” preservatives such as Vitamin C (ascorbate), Vitamin E (mixed
tocopherols), and oils of rosemary, clove, or other spices, to preserve
the fats in their products. Other ingredients, however, may be
individually preserved. Most fish meal, and some prepared vitamin-mineral
mixtures, contain chemical preservatives. This means that your companion
animal may be eating food containing several types of preservatives.
Federal law requires preservatives to be disclosed on the label; however,
pet food companies only recently started to comply with this law.
Additives
in Processed Pet Foods
Anticaking
agents
Antimicrobial agents
Antioxidants
Coloring agents
Curing agents
Drying agents
Emulsifiers
Firming agents
Flavor enhancers
Flavoring agents
Flour treating agents
Formulation aids
Humectants
Leavening agents
Lubricants
Nonnutritive sweeteners
Nutritive sweeteners
Oxidizing and reducing agents
pH control agents
Processing aids
Sequestrants
Solvents, vehicles
Stabilizers, thickeners
Surface active agents
Surface finishing agents
Synergists
Texturizers
While the
law requires studies of direct toxicity of these additives and
preservatives, they have not been tested for their potential synergistic
effects on each other once ingested. Some authors have suggested that
dangerous interactions occur among some of the common synthetic
preservatives.4 Natural preservatives do not provide as long a
shelf life as chemical preservatives, but they are safe.
The
Manufacturing Process
How Pet
Food Is Made
Although
feeding trials are no longer required for a food to meet the requirements
for labeling a food “complete and balanced,” most manufacturers perform
palatability studies when developing a new pet food. One set of animals is
fed a new food while a “control” group is fed a current formula. The total
volume eaten is used as a gauge for the palatability of the food. The
larger and more reputable companies do use feeding trials, which are
considered to be a much more accurate assessment of the actual nutritional
value of the food. They keep large colonies of dogs and cats for this
purpose, or use testing laboratories that have their own animals.
Most dry
food is made with a machine called an expander or extruder. First, raw
materials are blended, sometimes by hand, other times by computer, in
accordance with a recipe developed by animal nutritionists. This mixture
is fed into an expander and steam or hot water is added. The mixture is
subjected to steam, pressure, and high heat as it is extruded through dies
that determine the shape of the final product and puffed like popcorn. The
food is allowed to dry, and then is usually sprayed with fat, digests, or
other compounds to make it more palatable. Although the cooking process
may kill bacteria in pet food, the final product can lose its sterility
during the subsequent drying, fat coating, and packaging process. A few
foods are baked at high temperatures rather than extruded. This produces a
dense, crunchy kibble that is palatable without the addition of sprayed on
palatability enhancers. Animals can be fed about 25% less of a baked food,
by volume (but not by weight), than an extruded food.
Ingredients
are similar for wet, dry, and semi-moist foods, although the ratios of
protein, fat, and fiber may change. A typical can of ordinary cat food
reportedly contains about 45-50% meat or poultry by-products. The main
difference between the types of food is the water content. It is
impossible to directly compare labels from different kinds of food without
a mathematical conversion to “dry matter basis.”5 Wet or canned
food begins with ground ingredients mixed with additives. If chunks are
required, a special extruder forms them. Then the mixture is cooked and
canned. The sealed cans are then put into containers resembling pressure
cookers and commercial sterilization takes place. Some manufacturers cook
the food right in the can.
There are
special labeling requirements for pet food, all of which are contained in
the annually revised Official Publication of AAFCO.6 The use of
the terms “all” or “100%” cannot be used “if the product contains more
than one ingredient, not including water sufficient for processing,
decharacterizing agents, or trace amounts of preservatives and
condiments.” Products containing multiple ingredients are covered by AAFCO
Regulation PF3(b) and (c). The “95% rule” applies when the ingredient(s)
derived from animals, poultry, or fish constitutes at least 95% or more of
the total weight of the product (or 70% excluding water for processing).
Because
all-meat diets are usually not nutritionally balanced, they fell out of
favor for many years. However, due to rising consumer interest in high
quality meat products, several companies are now promoting 95% and 100%
canned meats as a supplemental feeding option.
The “dinner” product is defined by the 25% Rule, which
applies when “an ingredient or a combination of ingredients constitutes at
least 25% of the weight of the product” (excluding water sufficient for
processing) as long as the ingredient(s) shall constitute at least 10% of
the total product weight; and a descriptor that implies other ingredients
are included in the product formula is used on the label. Such descriptors
include “recipe,” “platter,” “entree,” and “formula.” A combination of
ingredients included in the product name is permissible when each
ingredient comprises at least 3% of the product weight, excluding water
for processing, and the ingredient names appear in descending order by
weight.
The “with”
rule allows an ingredient name to appear on the label, such as “with real
chicken,” as long as each such ingredient constitutes at least 3% of the
food by weight, excluding water for processing.
The
“flavor” rule allows a food to be designated as a certain flavor as long
as the ingredient(s) are sufficient to “impart a distinctive
characteristic” to the food. Thus, a “beef flavor” food may contain a
small quantity of digest or other extract of tissues from cattle, without
containing any actual beef meat at all.
What
Happened to the Nutrients?
Dr. Randy
L. Wysong is a veterinarian and a long-time critic of pet food industry
practices, he said, “Processing is the wild card in nutritional value that
is, by and large, simply ignored. Heating, cooking, rendering, freezing,
dehydrating, canning, extruding, pelleting, baking, and so forth, are so
commonplace that they are simply thought of as synonymous with food
itself.”7 Processing meat and by-products used in pet food can
greatly diminish their nutritional value, but cooking increases the
digestibility of cereal grains.
To make pet
food nutritious, pet food manufacturers must “fortify” it with vitamins
and minerals. Why? Because the ingredients they are using are not
wholesome, their quality may be extremely variable, and the harsh
manufacturing practices destroy many of the nutrients the food had to
begin with.
Contaminants
Commercially manufactured or rendered meat meals and by-product meals are
frequently highly contaminated with bacteria because their source is not
always slaughtered animals. Animals that have died because of disease,
injury, or natural causes are a source of meat for meat meal. The dead
animal might not be rendered until days after its death. Therefore the
carcass is often contaminated with bacteria such as Salmonella and
Escherichia coli. Dangerous E. Coli bacteria are estimated to contaminate
more than 50% of meat meals. While the cooking process may kill bacteria,
it does not eliminate the endotoxins some bacteria produce during their
growth and are released when they die. These toxins can cause sickness and
disease. Pet food manufacturers do not test their products for endotoxins.
Mycotoxins
— These toxins comes from mold or fungi, such as vomitoxin in the Nature’s
Recipe case, and aflatoxin in Doane’s food. Poor farming practices and
improper drying and storage of crops can cause mold growth. Ingredients
that are most likely to be contaminated with mycotoxins are grains such as
wheat and corn, cottonseed meal, peanut meal, and fish meal.
Labeling
The
National Research Council (NRC) of the Academy of Sciences set the
nutritional standards for pet food that were used by the pet food industry
until the late 1980s. The NRC standards, which still exist and are being
revised as of 2001, were based on purified diets, and required feeding
trials for pet foods claimed to be “complete” and “balanced.” The pet food
industry found the feeding trials too restrictive and expensive, so AAFCO
designed an alternate procedure for claiming the nutritional adequacy of
pet food, by testing the food for compliance with “Nutrient Profiles.”
AAFCO also created “expert committees” for canine and feline nutrition,
which developed separate canine and feline standards. While feeding trials
can still be done, a standard chemical analysis may be also be used to
determine if a food meets the profiles.
Chemical
analysis, however, does not address the palatability, digestibility, or
biological availability of nutrients in pet food. Thus it is unreliable
for determining whether a food will provide an animal with sufficient
nutrients.
To
compensate for the limitations of chemical analysis, AAFCO added a “safety
factor,” which was to exceed the minimum amount of nutrients required to
meet the complete and balanced requirements.
The
digestibility and availability of nutrients is not listed on pet food
labels.
The 100%
Myth — Problems Caused by Inadequate Nutrition
The idea of
one pet food providing all the nutrition a companion animal will ever need
for its entire life is a myth.
Cereal
grains are the primary ingredients in most commercial pet foods. Many
people select one pet food and feed it to their dogs and cats for a
prolonged period of time. Therefore, companion dogs and cats eat a
primarily carbohydrate diet with little variety. Today, the diets of cats
and dogs are a far cry from the primarily protein diets with a lot of
variety that their ancestors ate. The problems associated with a
commercial diet are seen every day at veterinary establishments. Chronic
digestive problems, such as chronic vomiting, diarrhea, and inflammatory
bowel disease are among the most frequent illnesses treated. These are
often the result of an allergy or intolerance to pet food ingredients. The
market for “limited antigen” or “novel protein” diets is now a
multi-million dollar business. These diets were formulated to address the
increasing intolerance to commercial foods that animals have developed.
The newest twist is the truly “hypoallergenic” food that has had all its
proteins artificially chopped into pieces smaller than can be recognized
and reacted to by the immune system.
Dry
commercial pet food is often contaminated with bacteria, which may or may
not cause problems. Improper food storage and some feeding practices may
result in the multiplication of this bacteria. For example, adding water
or milk to moisten pet food and then leaving it at room temperature causes
bacteria to multiply.8 Yet this practice is suggested on the
back of packages of some kitten and puppy foods.
Pet food
formulas and the practice of feeding that manufacturers recommend have
increased other digestive problems. Feeding only one meal per day can
cause the irritation of the esophagus by stomach acid. Feeding two smaller
meals is better.
Feeding
recommendations or instructions on the packaging are sometimes inflated so
that the consumer will end up purchasing more food. However, Procter &
Gamble allegedly took the opposite tack with its Iams and Eukanuba lines,
reducing the feeding amounts in order to claim that its foods were less
expensive to feed. Independent studies commissioned by a competing
manufacturer suggested that these reduced levels were inadequate to
maintain health. Procter & Gamble has since sued and been countersued by
that competing manufacturer, and a consumer complaint has also been filed
seeking class-action status for harm caused to dogs by the revised feeding
instructions.
Urinary
tract disease is directly related to diet in both cats and dogs. Plugs,
crystals, and stones in cat bladders are often triggered or aggravated by
commercial pet food formulas. One type of stone found in cats is less
common now, but another more dangerous type has become more common.
Manipulation of manufactured cat food formulas to alter the acidity of
urine and the amount of some minerals has directly affected these
diseases. Dogs also form stones as a result of their diet.
History has
shown that commercial pet food products can cause disease. An often-fatal
heart disease in cats and some dogs is now known to be caused by a
deficiency of the amino acid taurine. Blindness is another symptom of
taurine deficiency. This deficiency was due to inadequate amounts of
taurine in cat food formulas, which itself occurred because of decreased
amounts of animal proteins and increased reliance on carbohydrates. Cat
foods are now supplemented with taurine. New research suggests that
supplementing taurine may also be helpful for dogs, but as yet few
manufacturers are adding extra taurine to dog food. Inadequate potassium
in certain feline diets also caused kidney failure in young cats;
potassium is now added in greater amounts to all cat foods.
Rapid
growth in large breed puppies has been shown to contribute to bone and
joint disease. Excess calories and calcium in some manufactured puppy
foods promoted rapid growth. There are now special puppy foods for large
breed dogs. But this recent change will not help the countless dogs who
lived and died with hip and elbow disease.
There is
also evidence that hyperthyroidism in cats may be related to excess iodine
in commercial pet food diets.9 This is a new disease that first
surfaced in the 1970s, when canned food products appeared on the market.
The exact cause and effect are not yet known. This is a serious and
sometimes terminal disease, and treatment is expensive.
Many
nutritional problems appeared with the popularity of cereal-based
commercial pet foods. Some have occurred because the diet was incomplete.
Although several ingredients are now supplemented, we do not know what
ingredients future researchers may discover that should have been
supplemented in pet foods all along. Other problems may result from
reactions to additives. Others are a result of contamination with
bacteria, mold, drugs, or other toxins. In some diseases the role of
commercial pet food is understood; in others, it is not. The bottom line
is that diets composed primarily of low quality cereals and rendered meat
meals are not as nutritious or safe as you should expect for your cat or
dog.
Because pet food manufacturers frequently change the formulations of their
products and API would not have conducted the necessary testing, we are
unable to offer endorsements for particular brands of pet food. Many of
our staff choose to make their own pet food or to purchase natural or
organic products found in most feed and specialist stores but we cannot
recommend brands that would be right for your companion animal or animals.
All natural and Holistic, Hormone-free, Steroid-free, Antibiotic-free and
chemical-free!
-Never has and Never will use Corn or
Wheat or Rendered Meats...
It's our promise to you!
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You should always consult with a healthcare
professional before taking any dietary, nutritional, herbal or homeopathic
supplement. All information contained on this web site is for
informational purposes only. The United States Food and Drug
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Therefore, the information provided on this web site is not intended to
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