Many of us are convinced that healthy, natural, premium and label-recommended dog and cat food must mean that the food inside the bag is good for our pets. Along with these words, it is claimed to be 100% complete and balanced, which makes us assume that we are providing the best we can for our pets, feeding them the same dry grain-based diets day in and day out. However, most people don’t fully appreciate what’s in these pet foods. Pet food companies put pictures of fresh-cut chicken breast, fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthy grains on packages, yet that’s rarely what’s actually inside the bag.
Chances are you are feeding your pet a food that contains more than one of the ingredients described below. The pet food industry has a wide range of unsavory choices when it comes to substances that can be used in pet food and the freedom to print attractive, yet misleading, images on its packaging. It’s only when our pet’s health begins to degrade and ultimately fail that most people begin to wonder why. After all, a healthy body can only be as good as what you put into it.
To promote the best health you can in your companion, please read and understand the uses of the common ingredients below and be sure to always read labels.
Top 12 Pet Food Ingredients to Avoid
Corn, cornmeal, or corn gluten meal
Years ago, pet food manufacturers discovered that pets love the sweet taste of corn. Corn is one of the most highly subsidized crops in agriculture, making its market price lower than the cost of corn production.
Corn gluten is used as an inferior protein source in pet foods. Corn protein itself is not a complete protein source and must be balanced with animal proteins to create a useful amino acid profile for pets.
Unfortunately, corn is often abused as the most abundant ingredient in many pet foods, contributing to the many diseases associated with high-carbohydrate diets, including obesity, chronic inflammation, diabetes, and cancer. Corn on the cob becomes stuffing with very little nutritional value. Corn quality is also an issue, as many feeds use low-quality corn that contains toxins, such as mycotoxins and mold, that damage pets’ livers and kidneys.
Carnivores were never designed to obtain the majority of their energy requirements from carbohydrates. In fact, they have zero nutritional requirements for carbohydrates or grains. However, most products on the market typically contain up to 50% carbohydrates, and some even more.
Eons of evolution have designed carnivores to obtain energy from amino acids (proteins) and fatty acids, fat from prey animals through the process of gluconeogenesis. Aside from simple economics, there’s no reason to defy the eons of evolution that nature has set in motion when it comes to feeding carnivores like dogs, cats, and ferrets. When we force such a dramatic change in metabolism and use lower cost ingredients, long-term adverse effects become much more likely. The same effects of junk food on humans can be seen in companion animals today.
Wheat
Wheat is another ingredient found in abundance in many foods. Repeated and persistent exposure to wheat in companion animals has led to allergies and intolerances to wheat and wheat gluten. This is another starchy crop that should be avoided.
Wheat gluten is also used as an inexpensive source of protein. Wheat gluten contamination was the cause of Menu Foods’ massive pet food recall in 2007, leading to untold numbers of pets suffering from kidney failure, debilitation and death. Menu Foods manufactured foods for hundreds of common brands. This ordeal would have been avoided if the pet food companies involved had used quality ingredients, such as human-grade meat, instead of lower-cost grain alternatives.
Soy
Along with corn and wheat, soy is one of the most common allergies in pets. Carnivores were never meant to eat soy, it’s commonly used in pet foods as an inexpensive substitute for meat protein. As an additional problem, it is estimated that around 89% of soybean crops and 61% of corn crops are genetically modified. Genetically modified foods have been shown to negatively affect our pet’s health, just as it does us.
Cellulose
Cellulose is essentially nothing more than 100% filler. It can be purified and obtained from any material, from plant material to sawdust.
byproducts
Cat and dog food commonly contains by-products. By-products are waste left over from the production of human food. Byproducts come in two forms: named and unnamed. Examples of by-products mentioned include chicken by-products and pork by-products. By-products can include undeveloped necks, legs, intestines, and eggs.
Unnamed by-products include meat by-products. Meat byproducts can include brain, blood, kidneys, lungs, and stomachs.
Byproducts, in many cases, are derived from 4D meat sources: animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meatpacking plant as dead, dying, diseased, or disabled.
fat animal
Unlike chicken fat (a named animal source), unnamed animal fat is a recycled product from animals of unspecified origin.
Again, in many cases, animal fat includes meat sources from class 4D.
meat food
Meat meal consists of unspecified processed sources of animal tissues.
What this definition does not mention is that the 4D class of meat sources can still be legally used in meat.
Meat and Bone Meal
Meat and bone meal is a product extracted from mammalian tissues, including bones.
Recently, many cat and dog food companies and processing plants have come under scrutiny over the inclusion of euthanized pets in meat and bone meal. Ann Martin, in her book, “Food Pets Die For,” exposed this disgusting practice and the detection of sodium pentobarbital in pet food, a veterinary drug used in the euthanasia of companion animals.
Chemical preservatives: BHA, BHT, propyl gallate, ethoxyquin, or sodium nitrite/nitrate
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are petroleum-derived preservatives used in food and hygiene products. TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone) is another petroleum-derived preservative.
Ethoxyquin is used as a food preservative and pesticide. In pet foods it is typically found in meat and fish based ingredients. Ethoxyquin is prohibited for use in human products because it is believed to cause cancer. It is important to note that when a manufacturer sources a preserved ethoxyquin ingredient from a supplier, the manufacturer is not required to list the ethoxyquin on the pet food ingredient panel.
Propyl gallate is another preservative used in foods, cosmetics, hair products, adhesives, and lubricants.
These harsh chemicals are known to cause cancer and are not considered inert or safe to use, but are widely used in pet foods.
Strong condoms provide an inexpensive means of extending the life of the product. Naturally preserved products may use tocopherols (vitamin E), citric acid, and rosemary extract to prevent rancidity.
These natural preservatives are common in truly healthy pet foods as manufacturers realize that the little extra expense is worth it when it comes to the safety of our pets.
Sugar
Table sugar is often used to spark interest in the nasty concoctions that pet food manufacturers make. There is no reason to put added sugar in pet food, other than the reason mentioned.
Propylene glycol
Like sugar, propylene glycol is used as a flavor enhancer due to its sweet taste. It is another questionable ingredient in pet food. In human uses, it is a common ingredient in stick deodorant and makeup as a moisturizer. It is interesting to note that propylene glycol is the less toxic chemical sister of ethylene glycol, “antifreeze”.
artificial colors
Colored kibble isn’t for the benefit of the dog or cat, in fact it’s to make them more attractive to you! Our pets don’t care what color their food is, this is just another marketing gimmick to get their attention in the multitude of pet food labels. Artificial colors are synthetic chemical dyes that have no place in pet food. There have been cases linking FD&C colors to cancer and other ill effects.
conclusion
We can see that any pet food can claim to be healthy and natural when this is not the case. The recommended claims also have little impact on the quality of these pet foods.
Simply put, quality pet foods do not use these ingredients. Clearly, pet foods found in supermarkets and even chain pet stores do not have your pets’ best interests in mind.
So what are the alternatives?
Fortunately there are many! Whether you’re looking for alternative canned or dry foods, or want to switch to a natural raw food diet, there are plenty of healthy options available to you.
