Does your Pet's Food Make the Grade?

Start with a grade of 100: •For every listing of “by-product”, subtract 10 points •For every non-specific animal source (”meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or fat reference, subtract 10 points •If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points •For every grain “mill run” or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points •If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (I.e. “ground brown rice”, “brewers rice”, “rice flour” are all the same grain), subtract 5 points •If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points •If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points •If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points •If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points •If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points •If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points •If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points •If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points •If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point •If it contains salt, subtract 1 point Extra Credit: •If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points •If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points •If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points •If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points •If the food contains fruit, add 3 points •If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points •If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points •If the food contains barley, add 2 points •If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points •If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point •If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point •For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count “chicken” and “chicken meal” as only one protein source, but “chicken” and “beef meal” as 2 different sources), add 1 point •If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point •If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point Score: 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69 and below = FAIL A sample of "popular" store brands scored: Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 F Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F Purina Beneful / Score 17 F Purina Dog / Score 62 F Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F The sickening truth about pet food is that most pet food companies spend more money on advertising than creating a healthy food with quality ingredients. More than 95% of pets derive their nutritional needs from a single source, processed pet foods. When people think of pet food many envision whole chicken meat, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains and all the nutrition that their dog or cat would ever need, images that pet food manufacturers promote in their advertisements and print on their food bags. What these companies do not reveal is that instead of wholesome chicken meat, they have substituted chicken heads, feet, feathers and intestines. Those choice cuts of beef are really cow brains, tongues, esophagi, fetal tissue dangerously high in hormones and even diseased and cancerous meat. Those whole grains have had the starch removed for corn starch powder and the oil extracted for corn oil or they are just hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Grains used that are truly whole have usually been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, poor quality or poor handling practices, which is obvious by the fact that most pet food recalls are the result of toxic grain products such as Corn or Wheat. Pet food is one of worlds most synthetic edible products, containing virtually no whole ingredients. The pet food industry is an 11 billion dollar a year, unregulated operation that feeds on the garbage that otherwise would and should end up in a landfill. Pet food manufacturers have become masters at getting pets to eat things they would normally turn their nose up at. Think about all those commercials showing happy, healthy pets eating pet food from brightly colored bags while their "owners" gloat over only feeding the best. Pet food companies have found in very profitable to use cheap fillers in their pet food. The amount of grain products, especially corn, used in pet food has risen sharply over the last decade to where it is usually one or two of the top three ingredients. For instance one Purina brand lists ground yellow corn, poultry by-products and corn gluten meal as its top three ingredients. Notice that two of the three ingredients are corn based products from the same source. This is an industry practice know as splitting. When components of the same ingredient are listed separately (ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal) it appears that there is less corn then poultry-by products, when it truth the corn ingredients when added together may weigh more then the chicken by-products. This is all very overwhelming, and you are probably thinking "Where do I start?" If yuo truly want to give your pet better nutrition, send us an email and we can recommend some great pet food manufactorers and even let you know where you can buy them locally. They are much better options out there than the grocery store brands. If your pet food is one that advertses on prime time TV, its time to make the switch. We are more than happy to help you and your pets.