Feelings about pets, and animals in general, are varied and personal. I love my pets like family, but I know that’s not true of everyone.
I’ve recently started thinking more about what we feed our pets. The health of my dog, Belle, especially, has driven me to do some research and start exploring other avenues. She’s an adorable 13-year-old beagle, and most likely has just a few months left to live. She has an aggressive form of sarcoma (cancer) and even with a recent surgical removal of her tumor, the vet tells me that it can and will return, probably soon, and all I can do is keep checking her and make her as happy and comfortable as I can for the coming months.
Something new I learned while talking to the vet about the diagnosis is that making sure she’s eating a high-quality, mostly protein diet can extend her life. Apparently the carbs and sugar found in larger amounts in lower-quality pet foods help feed and grow cancer cells. That was quite an eye-opener. Poor-quality food can also lead to allergies, tummy trouble, gas and skin problems in your pets.
According to FDA regulations, pet food must meet the following conditions: be safe to eat, be produced under sanitary conditions, be free of harmful substances and be truthfully labeled. These regulations sound good, but what bothers me is the vagueness of the term “harmful substances.” Who decides what’s harmful? What’s the standard? “Truthfully labeled” is equally unhelpful because corporations have made coming up with new names for ingredients an art form. Which sounds better on a pet food label? Meat industry by-products? Or various organs and eyeballs? They can be the same thing. By-products include all of an animal not deemed suitable for human consumption, including internal organs and can include diseased tissues and tumors.
The pet food industry is worth nearly $25 billion every year in the U.S., and they do it with cute commercials, ambiguous wording and the learned ability to produce pet food the cheapest way possible. The agriculture and pet food industries play well with each other. Typical pet food companies purchase the waste of the various agriculture industries: farming, chickens, dairy, beef and more and use it as ingredients. That in itself is not a deal-breaker for me when it comes to dogs. Using the entire animal is a respected tradition, and dogs don’t care if the protein they’re consuming is a nice filet or gross organ meat. They’re dogs. They’ll eat garbage and shoes. But the pet food industry has essentially become a waste disposal system.
The responsibility, then, is on us humans, who have domesticated these animals over time, to make sure their diet is good enough that they don’t just survive, but thrive and live, long, healthy lives. Dogs are omnivores, meaning they can and will eat both plants and animals. So a balanced diet of half-decent proteins, fats and vegetables sounds pretty good to me. (In contrast, cats are carnivores, they do not want your weird celery.)
So the problem is sourcing decent pet food and it is not as easy as you’d think. Even some of the more expensive, fancy foods are scary, because they do animal testing. Not something I want to encourage with my shopping. In my research, I found commercial pet food companies that do animal testing include Iams, Hill’s Science Diet, Pedigree, Purina, Friskies, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Whiskas, Eukanuba, Sheba and Baker’s Complete.
Then there’s the issue of fillers. Fillers allow the pet food companies to bulk up the product without spending much. They can include things like wheat, rice, corn, corncobs, feathers, soy, cottonseed hulls, peanut shells, citrus pulp, straw and wheat. Some of these just have no nutritional value and some of them are repulsive and bad for your animal. The pet food industry has also been the subject of 27 recalls this year alone.
Pricing the top-quality pet food options that don’t test on animals is enough to give a normal person heart palpitations. I looked at one product that was $65 for a 40-pound bag. If my dogs combined consume about 10 cups of dog food a day, they’re going to go through that bag pretty quick. (There’s some volume to weight math I’m skipping here, but you get the idea.) You can and should check with your vet before making diet changes and they may have some recommendations. The most nutritious diet for your pet can vary based on age, weight, activity level and health conditions.
I’ve decided to start experimenting with making my own dog food at home. I’m betting that it will be cheaper in the long run and I’ll always know what they’re eating. If you decide to try it as well, do some research, consult your vet and look up some easy recipes online. Almost any protein you can think of can be included, as well as seafood products including tuna or sardines, beans, rice, most vegetables, things like olive oil or coconut oils for healthy fats and whole hard-boiled eggs, including the shell. It’s good for their digestion and full of nutrition. Smash them up whole or grind the shells up and add them separately. Cat food is doable as well, just with different ingredients.
Good luck and hug your fur babies.
Miranda Beverly is the front-end manager and marketing coordinator at Maple City Market in downtown Goshen.
