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It's A Dog Eat Dog Menu
"Soylent
Green is people" Charlton Heston screamed, running through
the streets of a futuristic NYC in the prophetic 1972 film of
the same name. He had just discovered the food being fed a starving
metropolis was made out of rendered people. Guess what! Commercial
pet food and much livestock feed is made of a contemporary Soylent
Green: dog eating dog, cat eating cat and cow eating cow.
In
'97 the FDA banned rendered protein a la Soylent Green yet commercial
production continues as never before. And now the FDA/ CVM and
AAFCO has produced a 2007 ruling that designates commercial pet
food the dumping ground for animal-waste including everything
from slaughterhouse leavings to euthanized pets from animal shelters
etc. The implications are staggering as incidents of salmonella,
e-coli poisoning and emerging diseases are on the rise.
"There
is no requirement that pet foods have pre-market approval by FDA."
The FDA website states the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
"establishes standards applicable for all animal feeds"
which includes proper identification of the product and listing
of ingredients. It goes on to say "If scientific data are
presented that show a health risk to animals of an ingredient
or additive, CVM can act to prohibit or modify its use in pet
food." Their statements suggest a serious oversight of the
pet food industry. Not so! Their existence is meaningless. They
stand for nothing.
Rendering
plants are the heart of commercial pet food production. These
plants produce raw protein by cooking animals such as discarded
carcasses, downed livestock, waste from poultry plants and euthanized
pets for several days at high temperatures and then puffing the
brew into various kibbles that are sprayed with grease from nasty
tallow-fats to make them palatable. These toxic kibbles are found
at chain-stores where the greasy odor wafts across aisles surrounding
the pet food section.
According
to an employee of Sacramento Rendering: "Thousands of pounds
of cats and dogs are picked up and brought here everyday"
for processing into meal. Imagine the amount of sodium-pentobarbital
and other pharmaceuticals passed on to Fluffy. It would be interesting
to learn if FDA/CVM veterinarians receive incentives from meal
and by-products industries. We already know vet clinics receive
a stipend for all the Science Diet sold from their offices. Why
else would most vets recommend Science Diet, ranked lower than
Whiskas and Purina?
AAFCO
has no authority to enforce any standards and they have no standards
to enforce. This is apparent by their support of the '07 FDA ruling
that says "specific risk materials" (SRM) in the guise
of "by-products" can only be used in pet food. This
garbage should not be used anywhere! It's considered imperative
to keep SRM out of human food via livestock feed - yet rendering
plants are known to throw all raw meat into the same rendering
'pots' used for livestock feed - along with drugs, pesticides,
salmonella, flea collars, bad meat in plastic wrappers and manures
of every description including human sewage sludge. It is a totally
unregulated industry from which hundreds of tons of this "Soylent
Green" are shipped out to feed pets and livestock. Humans
that eat commercial-meat are getting their dose of soylent via
livestock feed. When "by-product", "digest"
or "meal" appears in the ingredients list of commercial
pet food it must be avoided.
Bad
Chemicals:
Most of us think of veterinarians as Fluffy's protectors. Yet
policy makers at the FDA/CVM allow possible disease causing chemicals
into pet food. BHA is used to preserve oil and fats. At high levels
it is known to cause cancer in mice, hamsters etc. Animal Protection
Institute associates it with stomach and urinary tract cancer.
Hill's
Science Diet is the biggest user of the very worse preservative
Ethoxyquin (EQ). Veterinarians continue to line their office walls
with the foul stuff and recommend it to clients for various cat
and dog diseases. EQ is a rubber stabilizer-insecticide similar
to Agent Orange and travels from Monsanto labeled with skull &
crossbones and the word "poison." EQ is not listed in
ingredients when included in fish meal. Much is found on the internet
regarding these preservatives. Read labels.
Propylene
Glycol is a petroleum product used as antifreeze, brake fluid,
de-icing fluids etc. It is approved by the FDA as a food additive
and widely used in pet foods to adjust viscosity and keep materials
in solution by absorbing water which it continues to do after
ingestion. It decreases the moisture content in the intestines,
a bad idea particularly in dry, desert environments. It is banned
from cat food but is still used in canned dog food. Poor woofers!
Material Safety Data Sheets claim it may cause changes in EEG
and central nervous system depression.
Human
Grade Food:
There are many alternatives to toxic commercial cat and dog food
brands and I'm hopeful it will have a positive effect on your
cat or dog's behavior. I make homemade dog food using Dr. Harvey's
Canine Health dehydrated mix as the base to which is added organic
chicken thighs (or other organic meat), Probiotics, Omega 3 Oil
and minerals. An abundance of wonderful dry, human grade mixes
for dogs and cats is available and several include a dried meat
source. Some of the best dog food can be found at the following
companies on the internet: Honest Kitchen, Ziwi Peak(with meat),
Europa(no grains), Peak Waggers Gourmet and Sojo's European Style.
Dr. Harvey's is one of the most economical.
There's
a wide range of prepared human grade food but one must do the
research because AAFCO, in control of wording on packaging, doesn't
allow human grade to appear on the outside of the package, but
it does appear in the content of company websites. Be sure to
check labels even if your pet food states "organic dog food"
or "natural beef". When it is not mentioned, it might
not be human grade. I suggest some of the following: California
Natural (economical), Canidae, Wellness, Timberwolf and Eagle
Pack and there are many others.
Feeding
the same food month after month is not advised. Humans need variety
and so do our pets, for both emotional and physiological reasons.
And it's good to remember cats are very different from dogs. They
never really lose their wild-needs, a sensitivity that should
be honored for their good health. Big jungle hunters thrive on
raw food and must have taurine.
Don't
confuse "human grade" with labels such as "premium",
"super premium", "ultra premium", "natural",
or "gourmet". The FDA makes it clear on p4 of "Pet
Food Labels" at their website that these labels mean nothing.:
"They are not required to contain any different or higher
quality ingredients." It is plain to see human grade is the
only way to avoid meal, by-products, animal digest, ethoxyquin,
BHA and BHT. Family members deserve better than Soylent Green.
General
Care:
Disease and chronic illness are on the rise in the pet population.
A general consensus among published alternative vets blames deteriorating
health on the breakdown of the immune system caused by gross overuse
of vaccines, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and scanky commercial
pet food.
Become
involved in the wellness process, do the research and rely more
on alternative DVMs. You'll learn that alternative Docs advise
against more than one set of vaccinations and you never give them
at the same time as a spay or neuter. It's too much of a shock
to the system. Unfortunately the average veterinarian usually
recommends giving the whamaroo, everything at once treatment because
it is much more convenient and profitable for them.
When
an anti-inflammatory drug such as Prednisone is advised check
out Vaxamine, a natural substance made from frankincense. You
can find it for pets (including cats) and for humans. The only
difference between the two is the flavoring in the pet products.
It has created a miracle for my pets and everyone else I've recommended
it to. If you are uncertain and have questions, speak to the veterinarian,
Dave Biehl at doc@heartlandvetsupply and he will share his personal
experiences with Vaxamine.
Keep
an eye on your pet's poop; make it a daily routine. It's the best
way to determine Snoopie's general health.
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