Palatability sprays, cheap ingredients from China, fillers, rendered animal by-products, and even some things that aren't even food - there is a lot of bad stuff in pet food, and it needs to stop. You can help by voting with your wallet.With pet food, sometimes the more you know, the more you wish you didn't. But if it means the difference between sickness and health for your pet, it's better to know what you are up against. We are here to help.
What to Avoid:
These are just some of the categories of ingredients that you will not find in any of the products carried at Desert Raw Holistic Pet.
- Rendered meat - Many kibbles and cheap canned foods have rendered meat as their main ingredients. Rendering factories take the parts of animals that are not usable in the human market - things like the feet, eyes, guts, etc., and grind them all together. So if you see "Animal Byproduct," that is what you are getting. It has no real nutritional value, and here is the worst, almost too awful to be true part - animals that are euthanized at veterinarian offices or kill-shelters are usually picked up by courier companies owned by rendering factories, and that is where they end up - ground up into meat. Studies have shown some cheap kibbles that use these rendering factories contain unsafe levels of phenobarbital - the chemical used to euthanize animals.
- Cheap Fillers - Things like corn, wheat, peas, alfalfa, barley, rice, soy, and more often make it into the first few ingredients of pet foods. Often they will divide up the parts of the filler (i.e. pea protein, pea powder, etc.,) to push meat up higher on their ingredient list so it looks like it's the main ingredient when it isn't. Most of these fillers are high-carbohydrate (which defeats the purpose of a "grain-free" food, btw) and not easily digested by pets - they lack the digestive enzymes humans have that break down carbohydrates. So these fillers are cheap, tax the body, and have no real nutritional value.
- Chemical Enhancers - Because the food is so fake,dogs and cats would not know it was food they were supposed to eat if there weren't chemical enhancers to make the food taste like something. Other chemicals act as preservatives to lengthen shelf life or meet AAFCO nutritional standards, but these fillers are essentially low-level toxins that the pet body can't absorb. The result can be anything from allergies and itching to cancer, smelly, icky coat, and giant, goopy poops. A wildlife preserve in Minnesota has done studies on dogs with behavioral issues and have found that when switching them to a raw diet, they are less likely to be aggressive and have other behavioral issues.
But my Vet says Raw is dangerous/awful/evil, etc...
There is a lot of misinformation out there about raw diets, especially in the veterinary community. If your vet says you shouldn't feed a raw diet and you don't feel comfortable doing so, that is fine. Desert Raw Holistic Pet can still provide you with the best canned and kibble options available, and your pet can still have a long, healthy life with the right supplements and care.
Most people end up turning to a raw diet when the answers their vets give them just don't seem good enough. They are often facing expensive treatments or surgeries, or even putting their beloved pet down. They begin looking for another alternative, and they turn to the idea of a complete change of diet. They recognize that, as they have learned for themselves, a natural, whole food diet of healthy, quality ingredients can make dramatic changes to health. If you are looking for answers, here are some things you should know:
Most people end up turning to a raw diet when the answers their vets give them just don't seem good enough. They are often facing expensive treatments or surgeries, or even putting their beloved pet down. They begin looking for another alternative, and they turn to the idea of a complete change of diet. They recognize that, as they have learned for themselves, a natural, whole food diet of healthy, quality ingredients can make dramatic changes to health. If you are looking for answers, here are some things you should know:
- Veterinarians, while doing their best, receive very little nutritional training. Only holistic vets who go to an additional four years of training post-vet school are truly qualified to speak about pet nutrition. In addition, veterinary schools usually have their nutrition courses sponsored by or taught by one of the big three kibble companies, and this opens up the door for biased information. Consider talking to a holistic vet or an integrative vet to get a second opinion about your pet's dietary needs.
- The American Veterinary Medical Association came out in 2012 against raw diets, under pressure from lobbyist organizations that demanded they make a statement. The AVMA is heavily sponsored by big kibble companies and pet vaccine companies, and the studies they cite linking issues to raw feeding leave much to be desired - see this article, or this article for more information.
- Western medicine takes a very different approach than holistic medicine, and it definitely has it's place, especially in emergency situations. But nutrition is part of the holistic world, and most veterinarians are looking through the lens of Western medicine. For almost every chronic disease out there, there is a nutritional alternative to traditional Western medications. Healing through food is growing in popularity for a very simple reason - it absolutely works.
- To learn more about the myths of raw feeding that are commonly perpetuated, and the counter-arguments, watch this video produced by the experts - our local Steve's Real Food. ;-)