Pet Food Recall Must Lead to a Revolution

The Honest Kitchen Provides Educational Resources to Help Owners Select and Prepare Healthy Foods

By Lucy Postins, Canine nutritionist for The Honest Kitchen, a San Diego pet food manufacturer whose human-grade, dehydrated raw diets are produced in a human food facility, not in a pet food plant.


The huge, tragic surge in companion animal illness and fatalities in recent months continues to stun pet owners across the nation. As investigators attempt to unearth the cause, there is a hope that those animals who have lost their lives or been sickened from eating contaminated products, won't have done so in vain.

The pet food revolution must begin. The industry needs to stop chortling at the fact that pet owners see their pets as members of the family, and address the truth: Pets don't deserve food that is unfit for people. Pets deserve quality. Pets trust us with their lives and they deserve wholesome, healthy, safe food that is manufactured under higher scrutiny. Manufacturers and their suppliers need to be accountable, and integrity must prevail.

The recall has at least served to enlighten pet owners about the perils of feeding conventional, feed-grade products to their companions -- and now owners are hyper-vigilant, on high alert for any adverse health conditions. Now, people understand how diet can affect health, and pet guardians are eager to learn about how to feed their animal companions more healthfully.

Humans don't expect to maintain optimal health on a diet that consists entirely of breakfast cereal or fast food -- and it stands to reason that the same holds true for other species, too.

The incidence of cancer in pets has increased directly in proportion to the introduction of commercial, low quality foods during the 1940's and 50's. Even before this terrible recall, kidney disease was already the leading cause of death in cats and 25% of dogs were thought to have some form of this condition. (Source: Goldsteins' Wellness & Longevity Program).

The link has been made between a highly-processed diet that contains by products, fractions of foods (versus whole foods), laden with chemicals and fillers, and the resultant, less than perfect health. When fed as the sole diet day after day, fast 'convenience' food eventually leads to an increased risk of illness, including renal problems, digestive issues, dental decay, hypo-thyroidism and urinary tract disease. http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1 is an excellent resource.

Newspaper articles have cautioned owners not to feed home cooked or raw diets. For those who have been raising their animals to lead long, healthy lives by doing so for many years, this information is most irritating.

It certainly takes some homework to prepare balanced, nutritional meals (The Whole Dog Journal is an excellent resource) -- but it's not all that much trickier than providing our children with wholesome nutrition, when a broad array of foods is offered throughout the week.

While raw diets can present a minimal risk of contamination or trauma when stored or handled incorrectly, or fed improperly, these 'innovative' approaches to nutrition may be the key to better health when prepared and served mindfully.

The risks of acute or chronic detrimental effects on health, from feeding low grade commercial canned and extruded foods far outweigh the slight risks from other options.

The following 'clip and carry' table outlines 'the good, the bad and the ugly' of pet food. Pet owners should try to purchase diets that contain ingredients only found in the 'Good' column. To print out a handy chart to have with you for shopping, just click here.

MEATS GOOD BAD UGLY
  Named Meats (or meals) Meat Meal (un-named species) Meat & Bone Meal (unspecified)
  Beef   Meat By Products
  Chicken, Turkey Poultry Meal (un-named species) Poultry By Products
  Venison, Duck   Poultry Digest
  Salmon Fish Meal (un-named species) Fish Protein Digest
   Lamb   Animal Digest (Intestinal Contents)
FATS & OILS GOOD BAD UGLY
  Safflower Oil Soybean Oil Rendered Animal Fats
  Flaxseed Oil Corn Oil Poultry Fat
  Olive Oil Cottonseed Oil Vegetable Oil (unspecified type)
  Salmon Oil
Fish Oil (unspecified type)
 
OTHER PROTEIN GOOD BAD UGLY
  Eggs (Dried) Egg Product Poultry Hatchery By-Product
  Yogurt, Keffir   Soy Protein Isolate
 
Cheese product
Blood Meal, Plasma Protein
VEGETABLES & FRUITS GOOD BAD UGLY
  Leafy Greens, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Broccoli, Zucchini, Celery, Green Beans Peas Tomato Pomace (A By-Product of ketchup production)
  Potatoes, Yams Onion Potato Product, Potato Starch
  Apples, Melon, Banana, Papaya, Mango   Apple Pomace
  Cranberries, Blueberries
  Peanut Meal, Peanut Hulls, Sorghum
PRESERVATIVES GOOD BAD UGLY
  Rosemary
Citric Acid, Mixed Tocopherols
BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, TBHQ
GRAINS GOOD BAD UGLY
  No Grain Husks Hulls, Middlings
  Organic Grains Wheat Gluten, Protein Concentrates
  Whole Grains Corn Apple Pommace
  Non-gluten Grains - Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet Soy, Soybean Meal Peanut Meal, Peanut Hulls, Sorghum
  Teff, Spelt, Oats, Barley, Rye, Beet Pulp Rice Gluten, Brewer's Rice
    Brewer's Dried Yeast
 
VITAMINS & MINERALS GOOD BAD UGLY
  Amino Acid Chelates Medadione Sodium Bisulphate Iron / Ferrous Oxide (=Rust)
  Fewer = better
   Many = food based ingredients are nutritionally deficient
OTHER GOOD BAD UGLY
  Herbs & Botanicals Ingredient Splitting (one ingredient listed more than once) Colors (esp. Caramel Color, Titanium Dioxide)
  Enzymes Salt, Sea Salt Corn Syrup
  Apple Cider Vinegar
Sugar
Glycerin
PROCESSING GOOD BAD UGLY
  Raw, Fresh, Frozen, Freeze Dried, Dehydrated   Canned & Extruded
  Organic, Hormone Free, GMO Free GMO Genetically Modified

 

 
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