What's in your dog or cat food? What pet food company can you trust?
Get the facts about pet food recalls and see our picks for safer pet food.
Are Pet Food Companies Killing Our Pets?
Decide for Yourself. Is Your Dog Food is Safe?
Dear Friends,
|
I am writing to tell you about the disturbing information I have found after hours of online research concerning the pet food industry. Most likely you have come to this page because you are concerned about your pet's health just as I am. By now most of you have already heard about the pet food recalls due to poisoned wheat gluten from china. A substance know as melamine was found in many brands of off the shelf dog food including dry food, canned food, and pet treats. Melamine is a chemical found in fertilizers. A pet food recall has been issued for more than 70 different brands of pet food and over 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food were affected. This is not the first pet food recall and will most likely not be the last. Many dogs and cats have already died due to ingesting large quantities of contaminated dog food and cat food over the last 20 years. Recently there have been many law suites filed against the pet food industry because of the lack of quality assurance in the pet food manufacturing process. I was personally outraged to discover that pets are dying from ingesting large quantities of the contaminated food believed to be safe. I was even more shocked to learn that ingredients found in our pet food may be poisoning our pets to a slow painful death over time. |
Meet Roxy the Boxer. Beautiful isn't she? |
The main culprits believed to cause this slow death of our pets are BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole), BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), and Ethoxyquin (Used commonly as fruit pesticide and Rubber preservative). What is more alarming is that these ingredients are not even required to be listed on the pet food label as long as they are added before the ingredient gets to the pet food processing plant. You should check the label on your pet's food and check the manufacturers website to see if the food you are feeding your pets contain these chemical preservatives.
The Department Of Pathology, Nagoya City University Medical School in Japan found that Ethoxyquin affected the kidneys and caused other types of tumors. Other studies suggest that BHA and BHT may contribute to increased tumor rates and kidney failure in pets as well. As a side note you should be aware that you are consuming BHA and BHT in many of the foods you eat! The quantities found in dog food can be up to 300 times greater that what you will ever consume in any given meal.
Many of these same chemical compounds found in pet food are not even allowed to be added to pet foods processed in many overseas countries. So why are US companies still using these chemicals in our pet food? Because they can. It is all about greed. These chemicals increase the shelf life of pet food allowing it to be mass produced so it can stay "fresh" for up to 2 years! Would you eat dry food that is two years old? I think not!
Another alarming fact about dog and cat food you should be aware of is this. The term "meat by-products" on your dog food label will alarm you once you really know what it means. Meat by-products in pet food usually means all the parts of the animal not normally consumed by humans or rejected for human consumption including feet, brains, bones, blood, intestines, lungs, spleens, ligaments, fat trimmings, unborn babies, and other parts. The meat and meat by-products found in your dog's or cat's food may also come from dead, dying, diseased, or disabled animals not permitted to be processed for human consumption. Many of these animals were euthanized and traces of pentobarbital can be found in many popular dog and cat foods. If you don't feel like throwing your "potentially" unsafe bag of dog food or cat food back at the company that sold it to you and demanding your money back then you should go ahead and leave this page. If the food used in processing for our dogs and cats is not safe for us to eat it should we give it to our loyal pets who trust and love us unconditionally?
I love my dog as I am sure you love your pet. Roxy is like a family member. The thought of giving her any off the shelf food without doing a little research first is a thing of the past. Just like many of you who are reading this for the first time, I too believed the off the shelf food I was feeding my dog was safe and nutritious. Now I know better.
Another issue concerning off the shelf dog food is the fact that a large percent of the main ingredients are indigestible grains including many types of corn and wheat which pass right through your pets system without being digested. These fillers can lead to many other problems with your dog or cats digestive tract and can also lead to food intolerance. These grain fillers can also cause allergic reactions including skin irritations in many animals. Have your dogs or cats developed any unexplained skin rashes, skin irritations, or allergies lately?
The good news is there are off the shelf and special order foods that are safer and more nutritious than some of the brands you may be currently feeding your pet. And when you compare nutrition levels between typical off the shelf foods with higher quality dog and cat foods you start to understand that you can feed less and get better nutritional results. The price of good nutrition and safety is not that much more to pay to protect the health of your pet.
For example, if you feed your 50 pound dog brand "O" off the shelf dog food from store "W" you will most likely have to give your dog about 3 to 4 cups a day to provide them enough nutrition and "filler" to keep them satisfied and to maintain the "appearance" of healthiness. However, with a more nutritious and safely processed dog food you could feed a 50 pound dog 2 or 2-1/2 cups a day and achieve greater nutritional value and optimal health for your pet.
So if brand "O" cost $13.00 from store "W" and brand "N" costs $35.00 from store "P" and lasts 1/3 longer, you are really only spending around $9.00 more to ensure your pet's continued health and long happy life! Is your pet worth $9.00 more a bag to you? If not then you should not own a pet. Sorry, that is just my opinion. Pet owners must be responsible because it is obvious that most of the pet food companies are not going to take responsibility for ensuring our pet's health.
Common sense dictates a more nutritious diet should extend the lifespan and well being of your pet. Dogs have the genetic ability to live to be 15 to 20 years old but most die around 8 to 12 due to many factors the first being a poor diet from the day they were born. Many pets are dying even younger than that. In my research I have read many stories of pets dying as young as 4 or 5 years of age. Don't let this happen to your family pet.
My Roxy baby is 3-1/2 years old and I feel guilty for not knowing this information sooner. Now that I know I will no longer continue to feed her food additives, fillers, chemicals, rejected diseased meat, and preservatives that may be slowly killing her prematurely. What surprises me most is that of the four veterinarians I have ever taken my dog to not one has never actively tried to educate me on the importance of good food for my pet. Has yours? If they have then you have a great vet! It is up to you. Our dogs and cats cannot buy their own food. Please tell other pet owners to visit this page.
In my research I have found a few off the shelf or special order dog foods that meet higher standards of processing than most other brands. I have also visited each of the following brands websites to check if they admit to not using BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin. So far I am pretty confident that these dog foods are the best pet foods available. Check the website of each manufacturer and decide for yourself. If you find any disturbing information about any of the brands I have listed below be sure to contact me so I can investigate and remove it. Let me know if you have found other safe brands of dog food. Many of these companies also produce cat food.
Our List of safer dog and cat foods.
Natures Recipe - I put this as my number one choice for a few reasons but mainly for it's price, quality, and the fact that PetSmart carries it which will make it easy to find.
Innova - This is an excellent quality dog food and can be found at many veterinarian hospitals and feed stores.
Life's Abundance - I am not currently a distributor for this dog food but believe it is the best in overall quality.
Azmira - One of the best and carried at 1-800-PetMeds
Newmans Own Organic - Very nutrient rich and top quality dog and cat food. Part of proceeds go to charity.
If you know of any other dog or cat foods that do not contain harmful ingredients please contact us with the name so we can add it to our list.
Be sure to to add our safe pet food for dogs and cats page to your favorites.
|
|
