In this post from 18AUG18, Veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker discusses the latest marketing practice by some pet food companies; the hyping of “Clean” ingredients. While that may sound like a good thing, because of the lack of a legal definition of the term “Clean ingredients” puts this in the category of just more misleading marketing hype.
Key points highlighted by Dr. Becker are:
- The processed pet food industry is increasingly at a loss to understand how to keep pet parents happy and buying their products.
- The industry touts the self-funded “science” behind their pet food, but laments that consumers don’t trust it.
- The pet food industry also engages in misleading marketing practices intended to present their products as fresh, wholesome, “natural” and “clean.”
- Unless big pet food aligns its goals with those of pet parents, it will continue to lose ground as consumers find alternatives to processed diets.
I find that the following two paragraphs from Dr. Becker’s post summarize her concerns quite well:
“No, the science the pet food industry would like us to buy into is the science of learning how to keep dogs and cats alive (surviving, but not thriving) on biologically inappropriate, “feed-grade” diets that must include synthetic vitamins to meet minimum nutrition standards.”
“The science they tout involves testing the limits of dogs’ and cats’ tolerance for poor-quality, biologically inappropriate ingredients that have undergone extreme processing methods. The endgame is to keep carnivores alive on a processed diet of grains, starches and the poorest-quality animal protein they can get away with. It’s the science of dollars and cents. The cheaper the ingredients, the bigger the profit margin.” [ Emphasis Added ]
If you care about your pet’s health and what you feed them, you need to read Dr. Becker’s post. – https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2018/08/18/processed-pet-food-clean-eating.aspx
Recommended Resources
Articles on Don’s Blog ( http://www.words-woofs-meows.com )
- Pet Nutrition: Some Myths and Facts – Part 1 – My story with Gus – Maine Dog Magazine – Winter 2017 – http://bit.ly/Gus-Nutrition
- Pet Nutrition – The Science and Dogma of Pet Nutrition with Dr. Richard Patton – http://bit.ly/Video-Dr-Richard-Patton
- Pet Nutrition – What Do You Feed Your Dog? – WM-JUN2016 – http://bit.ly/WhatDoYouFeedYourDog
- Pet Nutrition – What Should I Feed My Pet? – http://bit.ly/What-Should-I-Feed-My-Pet
- Pet Nutrition – Should I Feed My Pet A Raw Diet? – http://bit.ly/ShouldIFeedMyPetARawDiet