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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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