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Dog & Cat Food

The Backstory

The pet food recall of 2007, the largest in history, was instigated by the deaths of 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs, sending pet owners across the country into a panic over what to feed their devoted companions. The FDA traced the outbreak back to the ingredient melamine, ground up and added to wheat gluten (a common pet food filler) that resembles protein in tests but, in reality, has no nutritional value. The contaminated products were all pulled and the wheat gluten suppliers have been held accountable, but there are still a good deal of nutritional and animal-rights problems with common pet food ingredients.

Meat byproducts in conventional pet food come from rendering plants, a final resting place of sorts for diseased, disabled, dying and sometimes even euthanized animals deemed unfit for human consumption (also called "downer animals"). Not only is this meat of questionable nutritional value, there's also the possibility that it could be contaminated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, which can infect cats. (There's no scientific evidence that BSE can infect dogs.)

Sweeteners, including cane molasses, corn syrup, fructose, sorbitol and sugar, can lead to hypoglycemia, obesity, tooth decay and allergies when consumed on a daily basis. And because pets can become addicted to sweeteners, switching to a healthier food can be difficult.

Coloring agents are unnecessary ingredients added to pet foods to hide the gray color of low-quality meats or to mask the color variation of ingredients. Coal tar dyes, such as FD&C Blue 2 and Red 40, are known human carcinogens that have also caused cancer in animal studies.

Grape pomace, a mixture of grape skin, pulp and seeds, is an antioxidant sometimes added to pet food. However, grapes have been shown to be toxic to dogs.

Propylene glycol is used to keep semi-moist kibble from drying out. The ingredient, which is also used as a solvent in antifreeze solutions and hydraulic fluids, has caused cardiovascular depression and coma in animal studies.

The preservatives butylated hydroxysanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene have both shown carcinogenic effects in animal studies.

Inexpensive pet food is usually made so by cheap fillers, such as cellulose from dried wood, soybean mill run and wheat mill run (byproducts of human food processing), that add volume but very little nutritional value to the food.

Animal Welfare
A ten-month undercover investigation in 2002 by the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) revealed abusive animal treatment in testing labs used by a prominent pet food manufacturer. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released an official complaint outlining the lab's violations, which include failures to provide necessary veterinary care, properly ventilate housing facilities, keep housing facilities clean and provide sufficient space. For a list of pet food manufacturers that have assured PETA in writing that they don't conduct animal testing, see PETA's Support Brands That Do Not Test on Animals list.