The scoop on what to feed your pet - MSNBC
Fancy food for Fido? - Creature Comforts - MSNBC.com
"People who choose healthy food for themselves often want the same choices for their dogs and cats. And pet food manufacturers have responded with enthusiasm, creating diets that are labeled as "natural" or "organic" or that contain ingredients believed to promote health, including blueberries; salmon oil, which is high in essential fatty acids; and glucosamine and chondroitin, food supplements that are believed to promote joint health... We all want to feed the best to our pets, but beware of marketing terms that don’t necessarily mean anything. Terms such as “natural” or “premium” have no official legal definition when it comes to pet foods.
The word ‘natural’ is loosely defined, and a food with some ‘natural’ ingredients may also contain a lot of what most of us would consider very ‘unnatural’ items as well,” says Jean Hofve, a veterinarian in Jamestown, Colo. “The terms ‘premium,’ ‘super-premium’ and ‘human-grade’ have no meaning and can be misleading. Claims of ‘human-grade’ or ‘USDA-inspected’ do not guarantee any official sanction or oversight of the production of those ingredients..."
They make a good point about ingredient-splitting, which we'll cover in more details in our interview with The Honest Kitchen. Although I differ in opinion about their stance on organic foods. I believe that if it's pesticide free, it is a safer product. Pesticides and heavy metals for example can build up systemically in plants... And end up in processed foods.
Also, as far as I know, the FDA and USDA will not just let you put anything on food labels. If it says "human grade-food", it applies to the ingredients as well as the manufacturing plant. Foods that cannot carry the label can be of undesirable origins (like road kills, euthanized animals from shelters, etc.). And a food processing plant that makes products for human consumption must meet strict standards of sanitary conditions.
A reputable pet food maker that does not use questionable meats and produce in their foods will be "open book" about it. Companies like Evangers, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Wysong, and other trustworthy food makers won't risk their reputation by cutting corners and sneak in cheap meat byproducts. Unlike the big mass-producing commercial food conglomerates.
"People who choose healthy food for themselves often want the same choices for their dogs and cats. And pet food manufacturers have responded with enthusiasm, creating diets that are labeled as "natural" or "organic" or that contain ingredients believed to promote health, including blueberries; salmon oil, which is high in essential fatty acids; and glucosamine and chondroitin, food supplements that are believed to promote joint health... We all want to feed the best to our pets, but beware of marketing terms that don’t necessarily mean anything. Terms such as “natural” or “premium” have no official legal definition when it comes to pet foods.
The word ‘natural’ is loosely defined, and a food with some ‘natural’ ingredients may also contain a lot of what most of us would consider very ‘unnatural’ items as well,” says Jean Hofve, a veterinarian in Jamestown, Colo. “The terms ‘premium,’ ‘super-premium’ and ‘human-grade’ have no meaning and can be misleading. Claims of ‘human-grade’ or ‘USDA-inspected’ do not guarantee any official sanction or oversight of the production of those ingredients..."
They make a good point about ingredient-splitting, which we'll cover in more details in our interview with The Honest Kitchen. Although I differ in opinion about their stance on organic foods. I believe that if it's pesticide free, it is a safer product. Pesticides and heavy metals for example can build up systemically in plants... And end up in processed foods.
Also, as far as I know, the FDA and USDA will not just let you put anything on food labels. If it says "human grade-food", it applies to the ingredients as well as the manufacturing plant. Foods that cannot carry the label can be of undesirable origins (like road kills, euthanized animals from shelters, etc.). And a food processing plant that makes products for human consumption must meet strict standards of sanitary conditions.
A reputable pet food maker that does not use questionable meats and produce in their foods will be "open book" about it. Companies like Evangers, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Wysong, and other trustworthy food makers won't risk their reputation by cutting corners and sneak in cheap meat byproducts. Unlike the big mass-producing commercial food conglomerates.
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