Dog Food: Would You Dare to Eat It?

I ate dog food. Not because I was hungry and couldn't afford a hamburger - it was a dare and I took it. I'd read that during times of recession, desperate individuals bite the bullet (or should I say kibble nugget) and opt for a can of cat food over a can of tuna. It’s sad but true - also somewhat revolting. So what does it taste like? If you can’t wait to find out the results of my taste test, just scroll down past the scary stuff about American pet food standards.

I always had a sneaking suspicion that the meat in dog food wasn’t of the highest quality, but I recently discovered that in the U.S., the FDAactually permits the remains of dead dogs and cats to be included in pet food. The problem here is not that there are dead animals in dog food. (I’d hate to see some living animals squirming around when you open the can), the problem is that your pet is subjected to forced cannibalism. I can just see the new Broadway musical (with apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber) – Sweeney Dogg, the Demon Barker of Treat Street.

There are some, but not many guidelines in the United States regarding the ingredients in dog food. I suspect that not many people read them (probably out of trepidation) and even fewer understand them. Not to belittle the general American public, heaven forbid, but I venture to guess that most pet owners think nothing of serving commercially prepared pet food to their beloved pets. After all, the TV ads are downright adorable and the animals certainly look more than pleased with what the industry has to offer. But the fact remains that most of us haven’t the slightest idea of what goes into pet food and we certainly haven't a clue as to what it tastes like.

Here Are a Few Basic Facts:

Pet food standards are established by the Center for Veterinary Medicine for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pet food product names (in most states) are dictated by the regulations of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). There’s also a trade association of pet food manufacturers called the Pet Food Institute. They support the rules laid down by AAFO and the FDA.

In the human food industry, food is given a “taste test” before it goes to market. That’s a no-brainer, but contrary to the benevolent notion that pets are people too, when it comes to pet food this is not the case. Under the law, in the U.S. at least, dog food does not require a taste test, even by a  panel of dogs.

It’s also interesting to note that dog food labeled “contains real beef”, has to contain a whopping 3% beef. What kind of beef? I’ll get to that later, but it is heartening to know that some dog foods contain as much as 95% beef. They have to be labeled “beef for dogs”. What about “real beef flavor”? How much beef does that have to contain? 1%? Nope. The answer is None. The “flavor” is artificial. The next time you shop for dog food, you might want to read those labels.

Getting back to the US Department of Agriculture, according to the FDA, "Meats and animal tissues intended for animals other than people are not subject to USDA inspection."

It's true, ingredients used in pet foods are definitely not of the same quality as those used in people foods. Animals get the leftovers. That may be ok in your kitchen, but in pet food industry leftovers do not equate to last night’s pot roast. Rendered meat includes brains, intestines, beaks, feet, and other unmentionable parts, many of which are rancid, rotting or diseased. Leftover grains include feeding oatmeal and brewer’s rice.

The FDA's pal, The Pet Food Institute supports using animal “by-products” in pet food since it provides additional income for American food processors and farmers.

One of the main sources for fats in pet food is rancid restaurant grease. Yes that's right, rendered and rancid.

It reminds me of the old joke where a garbage man shouts up to the old bag lady in the tenement, “Hey Lady, got any garbage today?”….She replies, “No, send up three bags”.

I can just hear the guy from the Del Monte pet food plant on the phone with McDonalds. “We’ll take three hundred kilos of rancid grease, please”.

You laugh, but it's true. Rancid restaurant grease, along with fats from slaughtered animals, is rendered into feeding fats that are used in animal foods.

What does "4-D" stand for, you ask ?

It stands for - meat from animals that were diseased, down, (unable to rise to be slaughtered) dying or dead at the slaughter plant. These animals aren’t good enough for human consumption, but they’re good enough for your pet! Nice.

I know you’re now totally convinced to buy organic dog food, and I commend you, but before you scroll down to the links below, check out this tasty fact:

Samples taken from dog food have been found to contain drugs not allowed in the human food chain. The FDA took a break from partying with the big pharmaceutical guys and did us a good turn. They found Procaine, (used in some antibiotics for cattle), along with pentobarbital, (used for animal euthanasia), in several brands of dry pet foods. You may remember the recall a few years back. Hopefully they are not too distracted nowadays with other farcical issues.

Aside from the above mentioned, unfortunate incident and the revolting practices within the pet food industry, I haven’t seen it written that pet food is actually poisonous or unfit for human consumption. After all, if we doggie and kitty-lovers thought it wasn't fit for people, we wouldn't give it to our pets, right? Having said that, I thought it only fair to try it out myself – strictly in the interest of science. Well, perhaps to please you too. It shows you what lengths someone will go to just to get traffic.

Anyway, I started out with Jerky Treats then worked my way up to the canned slop.

I tried the Turkey variety (although they do come in Beef). The packaging says, “made with real meat”, so it must be that 3% that makes Fido go giddy.

• Ingredients: Aside from the expected “American” Turkey, there’s Soy Grits, Beef (odd), Meat By-Products, (uh-oh), Sugar, Liver, Gelatin, Glycerin, Salt, Garlic Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor, Sorbic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (the ususal preservatives) and Rosemary Extract (a gourmet touch).

• Presentation: These don't look anything like people jerky. They're brown rather than a rich oxblood color and they don't have that dehydrated leather-look. More like smashed granola bar.
  

• Texture: Far too chewy. Not as tough as I expected. ..and really dry. (would go better with a Guiness).

• Smell: Strong and nasty, like artificially smoked bacon, but hey, I don’t have the fine tuned oleofactory glands of a dog.

• Taste: Mildly smoky with a touch of sawdust.

This is the one that so many pet owners buy because of the cutsie advertising hype.

Ingredients: They are so numerous I had to edit them down. In a nutshell, (or should I say corn husk) they are:

• Whole grain corn, (the hybrid type used in feeding cattle and for making hi-fructose corn syrup), poultry meal, (I guess that’s what grandma hen serves), soybean meal, beef fat, (rancid to be sure), brown rice, apples, peas, carrots, (ok, good) animal digest (is that like Architectural Digest?) calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, choline chloride, potassium chloride, (preservatives I presume), vitamins and minerals (very thoughtful), caramel color, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1 blue 2, rosemary extract. (the only flavoring I can distinguish).

• Presentation: Fanciful mix of colors and shapes – like Chex party mix.

• Texture: Definitely has a crunch. Not recommended for people with cracked fillings, braces, or those over 50 years of age.

• Taste: Like stale cardboard. Fresh cardboard is probably more palatable. Surprising aftertaste!

• Smell: See Taste
  

Oh one other thing, the bag doesn’t stay closed properly.

Ok now for the final test. It was not easy. I slipped on a pair of Depends and had my faithful husband standing by to rush me to hospital if needed.

• Ingredients: (provide your own comments this time) Poultry, water sufficient for processing, meat by-products, liver, bacon (preserved with sodium nitrate), ground rice, guar gum, potassium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, salt, natural & artificial flavors, carrageenan, iron oxide, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, vitamin A supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, vitamin D-3 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, potassium iodide, folic acid, sodium selenite, biotin

• Presentation: What’s to say? The color is brownish, kinda like $#!t, but dogs are supposed to be colorblind anyway. There’s no big chunks so that’s good for older dogs with fewer teeth. This is actually true and the only thing this piece of dog dirt merits.

• Texture: Quite moist. On par with a good strained chopped liver, but without the love.

• Smell: Akin to yesterday’s garbage – the one that accumulated all day – minus the coffee grounds.

• Taste: Ok if any dog food contains dead puppy parts and rancid fat it’s gotta be this one. The taste test was followed by a shot of tequila – salt and lime included. If I had a Flagyl tablet I’d have swallowed it too.

It’s curious that the cheapest canned tuna (found in a rural Walgreens), was actually less expensive than the same size canned cat food. I give ten points to Sam W. It’s good to know that if you shop smart, you can feed your cat something that probably doesn’t contain dead kitty in it. You can also find really cheap sardines in the supermarket (not Whole Foods) if you look hard. They may contain tomatoes or mustard, but your cat will love ‘em. Mine did and she lived to the age of 17.

My advice would be to formulate your own pet food from human-grade ingredients; however, if you’re not counting pennies, you can find excellent, good-tasting organic dog food on-line.

Here's proof:

In a blind taste test by the American Association of Wine Economists - an impartial (and no doubt drunk) panel of volunteers, participants could not tell the difference between pâté and organic dog food.

So, now that you know that run-of-the-mill commercial dog food it’s marginally edible, the question remains… Is it safe to eat?  Well yes, but if you have an accident on the carpet don’t come running to me.

http://preciouspets.org/healthypetnet/

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/karma-organic.asp

Naturapet even has a drop down comparison menu. I was surprised to find Eukanuba on the negative side of the menu.

You can also purchase the tried and true, Newman's Own Organic Pet Foods from the Amazon links below.

© Copyright Green Lotus, 2011. All rights reserved.

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