The Truth about Commercial Pet Food
Clever marketing techniques have convinced that the "healthy", "natural", "premium" and "recommended by" labels on pet food must mean that the food inside the bag is good for our pets. Pet food manufacturers place images of fresh cut chicken breast or beef, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains on their packages, yet this is rarely what is actually inside the bag.
So here is the TRUTH:
Chances are you are feeding a pet food which contains more than one of the ingredients listed below. To promote the best health you can in your pet, read and understand the uses of the ingredients below and make sure to always read your labels!
Top Ingredients to Avoid in Your Pet Food
Corn, Corn Meal or Corn Gluten Meal
Corn has absolutely no nutritional value to pets and is difficult to digest and can cause skin sensitivities and itching. Corn is often listed as the first ingredient in many commercial pet foods, contributing to obesity, diabetes, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and many forms of cancer. Carnivores such as dogs and cats were never designed to obtain the majority of their energy requirements from carbohydrates. In fact, they have zero nutritional requirements for carbohydrates or grains. So the question begs to be asked, "If dogs and cats are carnivores, evolved for an almost exclusively meat-based diet, why then are commercial pet foods made with such high inclusions of cereal grains and carbohydrates?" The answer is simple; most pet food maker's focus on cost, convenience, and shelf life at the expense of nutrition.
Dr. T.J. Dunn D.V.M.- "There is ample proof that today's pet dogs and cats do not thrive on cheap, corn-based pet foods. Dogs and cats are primarily meat eaters; to fill them up with grain-based processed dry foods that barely meet minimum daily nutrient requirements has proven to be a mistake."
By-Products
By-products are the leftover waste from human food production. By-products are much less expensive and less digestible than muscle meat. The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones, etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent.
As defined by AAFCO, the Association of American Feed Control Officials, the organization that creates guidelines for livestock feed and pet food, "Chicken by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice."
Un-named by-products include "meat by-products". The AAFCO definition, "Meat by-products consist of the non rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hooves."
By-products are not classified as meat; in many commercial pet food, the exclusive use of by-products creates a food that does not contain any actual meat content, all to minimize costs. By-products have been classified as "unfit for human consumption" because they were presented to the meat packing factory as Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled (also known as the 4-D's).
Wheat or Wheat Meal Run/Gluten
Wheat is another ingredient found in many pet foods. The repetitive and persistent exposure of wheat to pets has resulted in allergies and intolerances to wheat and wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is also used as an inexpensive protein source in pet foods. Wheat gluten contamination was the cause of the massive 2007 Menu Foods pet food recall, which caused a countless numbers of animals to suffer from kidney failure, debilitation and death. This ordeal could have been avoided if the pet food companies involved used quality ingredients such as human grade meat rather than lower cost cereal alternatives.
Soy/Soybean Oil/Soybean Meal
Along with corn and wheat, soy is one of the most common allergens in our pets. Carnivores were never meant to eat soy, it is commonly used in pet food as an inexpensive substitute for meat protein. Worth noting is that approximately 89% of soy and 61% of corn crops are genetically engineered (GMO) which are shown to adversely affect our pet's overall health and vitality.
Powdered Cellulose, Oat Hulls, BHA/BHT, Ethoxyquin, Sugar, Dried Beet Pulp
Cellulose or powdered cellulose is essentially nothing more than 100% filler. Cellulose is commonly used in attic insulation and dried wood is the most common source for cellulose (I'm not kidding!) It is processed into a fine powder and used to add bulk and consistency to cheap pet foods. I would consider this ingredient appropriate for termites, but certainly not dogs or cats.
Oat/rice hulls are the hard protecting coverings of grains of oats or rice. In addition to protecting rice during the growing season, oat/rice hulls can be put to use as building material or fertilizer.
BHA/BTA's are used to preserve fats and have been linked to various types of cancers including stomach, bladder and thyroid. BHT has been banned from use in baby products in the USA and both BHA and BHT are banned entirely from use in human products in many countries throughout the world. Unfortunately, our pets do not receive the same protection.
Ethoxyquin is used as a food preservative and a pesticide. In pet foods it is typically found in meat and fish based ingredients. Ethoxyquin has been banned from use in human products because it is believed to cause cancer. It is important to note that when a manufacturer obtains an ethoxyquin preserved ingredient from a supplier or if it is added to pet food ingredients prior to food manufacture, the manufacturer is not required to list ethoxyquin on the pet food ingredient panel. The same applies to the other chemical preservatives. It is also important to note that the US Department of Agriculture lists Ethoxyquin as a pesticide which has been linked to kidney/bladder cancer and increased incident of stomach tumors.
Dried Beet Pulp is the left over residue from the product of table sugar. It's sole purpose in pet food is to fill it.
Sugar or sweetener is an absolutely unnecessary ingredient in pet foods, added to make the product more attractive. Continuous intake can promote hypoglycemia, obesity, arthritis and allergies. Pets also get addicted to foods that contain sugars so it can be tough to get them to eat something healthier.
So who uses these ingredients?
Royal Canin / Medi Cal (Mars Candy Bar Corporation)
- Corn
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Powdered Cellulose
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Soy
- Wheat Gluten
- Meat By-Products
- Chicken By-Products
- BHA
Science Diet / Hill's Prescription Diet (Colgate Palmolive)
- Corn
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Wheat
- Soy
- Cellulose
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Meat By-Products
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Beef By-Products
- Pork By-Products
- Animal Fat
- BHA / BHT
Purina - Makers of Beneful, Pro Plan, Purina ONE, Alpo, Dog/Cat Chow, Friskies, Fancy Feast, Purina Prescription Diets & More (Nestle)
- Corn
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Wheat
- Animal Fat
- Soy
- Sugar
- Propylene Glycol
- Poultry By-Product Meal
- Meat and Bone Meal
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Powdered Cellulose
- Artificial Colours (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2)
Pedigree (Mars Candy Bar Corporation)
- Corn
- Meat and Bone Meal
- Animal Fat
- BHA
- BHT
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Wheat
- Meat By-Products
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Chicken By-Product Meal
Whiskas (Mars Candy Bar Corporation)
- Corn
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Wheat
- Animal Fat
- Powdered Cellulose
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Soy
- Ethoxyquin
- BHA
- BHT
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Turkey By-Product Meal
Eukanuba (Proctor and Gamble)
- Corn Meal
- Chicken By-Products
- Beef By-Products
- Meat Broth
- Meat By-Products
- Wheat Gluten
- Powdered Cellulose
- Dried Beet Pulp
Ol Roy (Walmart Brand)
- Corn
- Wheat
- Soy
- Corn Syrup
- Meat and Bone Meal
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Animal Fat
- BHA
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Sodium Nitrate
- Artificial Colours
Iams / Iams Veterinary Formulas (Proctor and Gamble)
- Corn
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Meat By-Products
- Animal Fat
- Powdered Cellulose
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Ethoxyquin
Nutro (Mars Candy Bar Corporation)
- Corn Gluten Meal
- Wheat
- Wheat Gluten
- Dried Beet Pulp
- Powdered Cellulose
- Soy
- Rice Gluten
We carry the following pet foods:
