The Dark side of Commercial pet food
Kibble = Not Real Food
For numerous years, the pet food industry has stayed consistent. Commercial pet food, crunchy kibble, or mushy canned food has been the leading choice of pet owners. But this convenience comes at the cost of the pet's health. These are processed foods that may not be the best for your pet's life and well-being.
All living things must consume the foods they were designed to eat to thrive. This is known as species-appropriate nutrition. Certain species will die if not fed appropriately. Dogs, like humans, are more resilient and can eat several things their bodies were not designed to eat. However, their health and vitality suffer.
Just as we humans can't live off eating McDonald's for the rest of our life, Dogs shouldn't be eating kibble
1. Feed Grade Ingredients
What’s alarming is that pet feeds that are allowed to contain diseased animal material and meat ingredients sourced from non-slaughtered animals - with no disclosure requirement.
The FDA says, “Processed pet food, including pet food consisting of material from diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, goes through high heat processing, which is designed to kill harmful bacteria...”
Rendering is one of the processing methods of sanitizing otherwise putrid, inedible animal by-products and animal waste. Many ingredients in pet food today are from rendering plants.
Consuming these highly processed ingredients leads to other issues:
2. Highly Processed Ingredients
Many of the nutrients in kibble are lost during the high-heat process, so flavor enhancers and synthetic nutrients are added to replace what has been lost.
Different types of acrylamide and other carcinogens are created in this process that could be detrimental to your dog’s long-term health.
3. High-Starch Carbohydrate Content
Grains and other high-starch carbohydrates like high-glycemic, genetically engineered corn, wheat, rice or potato make up the majority of kibble. Even grain-free kibble often contains high-levels of starchy carbs, including legumes, peas & lentils.
This creates metabolically stressful insulin, glucagon and cortisol spikes throughout the day. The high carb content also contributes to the growing epidemic of pet obesity.
4. Low Moisture
Kibble is a low-moisture product, which puts a dog in a constant state of dehydration. Think of it like eating nothing but Saltine crackers. When a dog gets dehydrated, they experience several harmful symptoms:
-
Loss of appetite
-
Reduced energy levels and/or lethargy
-
Panting
-
Sunken, dry-looking eyes
-
Dry nose and gums
-
Loss of skin elasticity
5. Increased Bacteria Risk
In dry pet food, there’s a risk for bacteria and endotoxins to be present. Also, storage mites can multiply rapidly in dry food. Pets can develop a hypersensitivity to storage mites, resulting in itchy inflamed skin, hair loss and ear infections.
6. Goes Rancid Quickly
As soon as you open a bag of dry food, the fats in the food & sprayed on the food during production start to go rancid. Long-term consumption of rancid fats in kibble can destroy vitamins, which can lead to vitamin, protein and fat deficiencies.
Even more alarming, many other health issues have been attributed to rancid fats including malnutrition, hair loss, diarrhea, kidney and liver disease, reproductive problems and even cancer and death.
7. Added Colors and Chemicals
Many food dyes, referred to by the Center for Science in the Public Interest as the “Rainbow of Risks”, have been banned because of their negative effects on laboratory animals. This report finds that several of the nine approved food dyes could be causing serious health issues, including cancer and hypersensitivity reactions.
We’ve shown that kibble is not the healthiest choice for your dog. As it stands, the only benefits of kibble are convenience and cost. You can easily store it and travel with it. Also, the majority of kibble options are fairly inexpensive, but you get what you pay for in terms of quality.
Deceptive Labels & Marketing Tricks
Make a sad dog
We’ve come to rely on pet food labels and what’s pictured on the bag or can, because the “food” itself - both in smell and appearance - has never been a very useful guide.
Neither is the bag, it turns out. A host of ingredient label tricks allow companies to mislead consumers, and numerous studies have found pet foods to contain ingredients not listed on their label, or missing those they claim to use.
_gif.gif)
But what about the “good” brands?
Pet food production in the India is held to precariously low safety and quality standards, which are hidden behind loose labeling and marketing regulations. Most 'Premium' dog food is imported from the USA & Sold here at exorbitant prices!
While the picture on the dry food packaging suggests that the brown pellet inside was made with a gorgeous roast chicken breast, the reality can instead be diseased chicken parts, mixed with starchy fillers, and processed at temperatures known to produce carcinogens.
And this can all be labeled “premium”, "natural", and even “organic.”
At some point, we all fall for marketing gimmicks by lying to ourselves! That's how the corporations win!
Source: AAFCO The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Source:AAFCO The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Source:AAFCO The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Source: AAFCO The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Pet Food should be...
Food!
We discovered that the key to our dogs’ well-being was real food in their bowls — not simply pictures of it on a bag. Fresh food can do wonders for dogs’ short- and long-term health.
The effects of this simple switch may seem like magic, but there’s no trick. It’s just the power of real fresh food.
_gif.gif)