How Is Pet Food Like Buying A Car, you ask? Look at it this way. You wouldn’t buy a car without looking under the hood would you? Well, that’s where we have found ourselves today when it comes to natural pet foods. A dangerous and unfortunate fact.
Gone are the days, when we thought we could rely on the packaging when it said “All Natural”. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case anymore. Now you have to look under the hood of the pet food you are feeding since you can’t believe the packaging and look beyond the marketing claims. A little due diligence is needed on your part to be informed.
We offer our customers peace of mind that the research has been done and the products are picked bearing in mind the ingredient sourcing. My years in the natural pet food industry have given me the inside scoop on how a consumer might be fooled and misled. We share the inside scoop on pet foods with our clients.
The USDA does not require foods that are genetically modified to be labeled with GMO as an ingredient. On top of that, foods with GMO ingredients can be labeled as ‘all-natural’. As an additional challenge, although organic ingredients may not be genetically engineered, there is still a risk of cross contamination, through pollination and/or during manufacturing. That risk is so high that even some organic foods may still contain GMOs.
Institute for Responsible Technology, compiled a partial list of crops, foods and food ingredients that have been genetically modified as of May, 2010 and a basic index of hidden sources of GMO’s in the food supply.
Click Here To Read the List: http://nongmoshoppingguide.com/brands/invisible-gm-ingredients.html
Currently Commercialized GM Crops in the U.S. (Number in parentheses represents the estimated percentage that is genetically modified.) Soy (91%) Cotton (71%) Canola (88%) Corn (85%) Sugar Beets (90%) Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%) Alfalfa (at Supreme Court), Zucchini and Yellow Squash (small amount).
Some Other Sources of Genetically Modified Oganisms:
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Dairy products from cows injected with the GM hormone rbGH
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Food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®) and rennet used to make hard cheeses
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Meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GM feed
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Honey and bee pollen that may have GM sources of pollen
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Contamination or pollination caused by GM seeds or pollen
Are you wondering how this can affect you and your pet?
In 2009, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) stated that, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with genetically modified (GM) food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. American Academy of Emergency Medicine , AAEM has asked physicians to advise all patients to avoid GM foods. In reality, FDA scientists had repeatedly warned that GM foods can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, infertility, immune suppression and nutritional problems. They urged long-term safety studies, but were ignored.
Dogs Naturally Magazine recently said this: “The label on your pet food or treat may conceal a little lie – and this lie could cost your pet’s health or even his life. There is something inherently wrong with most processed foods that pet owners are unaware of. The heating and processing that these foods undergo create a fundamental change that could have dangerous ramifications it renders the food essentially dead. What goes in as good healthy ingredients is not what comes out once it is heated, sterilized, irradiated and extruded and nearly all dog foods will not meet AAFCO standards once they are heated. As a consequence, the vitamins and minerals mube added back in for the food to pass AAFCO requirements”.
Combine this frightful fact with another one like; your dog food might say natural and made in the USA but ingredients included are from China or a source that fed their animals poorly and or with GMO grown feed”.
Jeffrey Smith/Institute for Responsible Technology shares “how animals were on the mend when taken OFF GMO foods”: “These were veterinarians and farmers who had taken livestock, pigs and cows off of GMO feed. What do you suppose happened? Death rates dropped, still born rates were down, litter size was up, and overall health improved. One farmer was ecstatic about the huge increase in milk production in his herd; another described how healthy his pigs looked even down to reduced blood shot eyes. The vets I spoke with had all been in practice long before 1996, when GMOs were introduced. Each had his stories about the surge in diseases and disorders after GM feed came on the scene. One told me that the jump in dog and cat allergies correlated exactly with the introduction of GM pet food. Whenever he switched his allergic animals to an organic (non-GMO) brand, their symptoms such as itching would usually disappear. Others described inflammation, infections, and gastrointestinal disorders. Both vets and farmers saw differences inside GM-fed animals during autopsies or butchering, including liver damage, stomach ulcers, discoloration, and an awful stench. One farmer said that after seeing the alterations inside GM-fed animals, he and his wife started a strict non-GMO policy for their family’s meat.” (Apparently the vets who started their practices after GMO’s entered the food supply consider all these problems normal.)
Consider this when in the grocery store considering a big corporate pet food company’s line. Over the past 10 years they have been forced to appear to be a less expensive option with all natural superior ingredients. Wrong. We know this is all about money and profits. Ask questions, can the big dog food companies tell you where their chicken comes from and what those animals ate? Think before you jump for the natural chicken jerky advertised all day on TV from the grocery store. Is it from China? The commercial never says all natural, only that it’s real chicken jerky, but never that it is free of chemical preservatives. Shame on them!
Be proactive with your pets health, as you would be with your own health and diet. The industry is still resisting regulations because it will cut into the profit margin. Feed Raw Whole Foods. Ask questions, trace the sourcing if you can.
A lot of really good companies that are taking the high road are making this information available to its customers. Look for human grade ingredients, stay away from chemicals. Our dogma “No Chemicals In, On, Or around Our Pets” is at the basis of every decision we make on products to sell our customers and to feed to our dogs.
This website tells it like it is. Be informed! TruthaboutPetFood.com; PetsumerReport.com
www.TheDogMaOnline.com/thedogmaonline@gmail.com/678.460.6DOG(6364)
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