What You Should Know About Pet Food

Two Minute Dog Advice guest columnist Wendy Nan Rees offers some important information about what goes into making pet food.

Recently, I interviewed my good friend Russell Louie from Optimum Choices. What Russell told me about pet food blew my mind, and I believe that all pet lovers need to be made aware of this information. Below is an overview of the important information from the broadcast.

Russell and his wife have studied holistic health and spirituality for over 25 years and lived a holistic lifestyle for over 55 years. Russell’s education includes a degree in geophysical engineering and he is a Certified Reiki Master. Russell specializes in integrating his scientific background with his knowledge of holistic health to create wellness programs that promote optimum health for both people and pets. Russell’s greatest talent is being able to cut through all the marketing hype to tell people what is truly holistic.

The commercial pet food industry was created about 50 years ago not only to provide convenience for pet owners, but to make a profit from the waste of the human food industry. These large conglomerate food companies decided to take food unfit for human consumption and turn it into profitable pet food. So, these are the secrets that only insiders know.

This may sound horrible, but why did they do this? To understand why, one has to look at the value of pets 50 years ago.

Dogs today are no longer “just a dog”, but a full-fledged member of the family. Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald (Animal Planet) said a survey was conducted in 1957 posing the question: Do you consider your pet(s) a part of your family? The same survey was repeated in 2004. Here are the results.

• 1957: 43% answered yes
• 2004: 97% answered yes

It's obvious that our perceptions about our pets have clearly changed.

Pet food companies claim that their food is “complete and balanced”. These claims are based on only short feeding trials and limited research. There aren’t many studies done over ten year periods to determine the long term effects of their pet food formula. When looking at the long term nutritional needs of our pets, Russell feels the common commercial dry kibble diet is very poor nutritionally.

Russell Louie and his wife came to this conclusion based on all the books and research they did after their first two cats died of kidney failure at age 17. They believe that as carnivores, dogs need 60-80% meat and cats need 70-90% meat to be healthy and thrive. Most dry kibble cannot contain more than 50% meat because it clogs up the processing equipment. Most cheap dry kibble is less than 30% meat (check the label or the manufacturer’s website).

One of the tricks pet food manufacturers use to reach their minimum protein percentages is to add the vegetable protein content from all the grains they use together with the meat protein. However, vegetable protein is not as efficiently used by carnivores, and it's a poor and cheap choice for protein in pet food.

The grains in pet food are more likely to contain toxic molds, pesticides and man-made contaminants (such as melamine) than grains for human consumption. Remember, pet food companies use food that is unfit for human consumption.

The fattening starches such as corn, wheat, potato or tapioca used to hold dry kibble together could also be contributing to the epidemic of obesity and other health issues in our dogs and cats. Carnivores simply would not get this high ratio of carbohydrates in their native diet in the wild.

I was afraid to pose the question, but asked if there were any other questionable ingredients in our pets' food.

Meat by-products can include indigestible materials such as beaks, feet, feathers and hair. Cattle that are dead, dying, and diseased or disabled (the “4 D’s”) can be used in pet food, and the dead cattle may have been lying in a pasture for days rotting.

Most pet food manufacturers have quit using BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin as preservatives due to concerns that they may cause cancer. However, if a pet food manufacturer receives raw ingredients that already contain these preservatives, they are not required by law to list it on the label. Some pet food manufacturers go by the philosophy, "Don’t ask, don’t tell".

I hope this tip has peaked your interested as much as it did mine. To hear the April 15th interview with Russell Louie in its entirety, go to www.healthylife.net and go to the archived shows for Wendy's Animal Talk.

For more information on Optimum Choices and holistic options for your pet, visit Russell’s website at www.OptimumChoices.com. To receive the free report entitled What the Pet Food Companies Don't Want You to Know; check the box at the bottom of the subscription form.

“Remember the animals in your life are not just your pets they’re your friends” WNR

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