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Dr. Marlene Siegel 813-973-2929 www.pascovet.com HOW PET FOOD GOT STARTED: 1860 e first commercially prepared pet food was a dog biscuit product introduced in England by James Spratt, an electrician from Ohio (note to self, he had NO nutritional education but he saw an opportunity to make a unique product). He saw dogs being fed leover ship's biscuits and decided he could do better with a compounded preparation of wheat meals (by products from food processing), vegetables, beetroot, and meat (note meat was the last ingredient). Early 1900's canned dog foods consisted of horse meat, manufactured by Ken-L-Ration. 1907 F.H. Bennett introduced Milk Bone dog biscuits. 1930s, canned cat food and dry "meat-meal" (meal refers to the dehydrated product used in pet foods. e quality may be high or low) dog foods were introduced. 1950s, equipment used in the production of breakfast cereals was adapted to make more types of pet foods. Mid-1950s, Purina Dog Chow 1950's Spratt (the original developer of the dog biscuit) was acquired by General Mills. 1960's General Mills sold to Spillers 1960's more varieties of canned products and so-moist products using byproducts of the meatpacking, poultry and other food industries (these were waste materials that could not be used in human food consumption). 1998 Nestle bought Spillers. 2001, Nestle merged with Ralston Purina, resulting in one of the biggest acquisitions in corporate history. e first attempt to feed a nutritionally balanced pet food came 100 years aer the first biscuit! As the pet food industry grew, regulations of the Food & Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state feed control officials coordinated through the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to provide additional assurance to pet owners that the processing methods and quality controls used by American pet food manufacturers meet the same safety standards expected for foods for human consumption. Based on the massive amounts of recalls and the rising numbers of cancer in pets, I have to wonder if these standards are helping the pets or helping the companies make money on the food and consequently the drugs to treat the pets when they become sick? ere seems to be a wolf in the hen house. e pet food manufacturers are the ones influencing AAFCO! 2007, China produced melamine-contaminated wheat gluten that caused illnesses and deaths in possibly thousands of pets. is began massive pet food recalls resulting in a owner driven movement for natural and holistic pet foods. e quest for more natural, less processed diets led to the understanding and movement towards biologically appropriate species diets. As people become more aware of the toxic nature of processed foods, sugars, high carbohydrates, unhealthy fats and toxins (GMO's, pesticides, hormone disrupters and chemicals) in their own diet, the importance of eliminating these dis-ease causing conditions in their fur kids diets is becoming the cutting edge change in pet food nutrition. A balanced species appropriate dog or cat diet should contain human grade ingredients (fit for human consumption), 95% meat (from a grass fed or free range animal NOT fed GMO products), 5% organic fruits/vegetables, essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. e diet must be balanced with organ meat and bone. I personally prefer diets that have undergone high-pressure pasteurization (HPP), a process whereby the ingredients undergo high pressure at 40 degrees (leaving the enzymes in tact but the food is still raw). HPP eliminates pathogens like E. Coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Cats are "obligate carnivores," strict meat eaters. ese feline hunters thrived on diets of freshly killed rodents, birds, and insects for thousands of years. Feeding high carbohydrate diets to cats has resulted in massive amounts of kidney disease, obesity, arthritis and cancer. Are we feeding our pets the "best" or are we being mislead by an industry that is motivated by profits? Nothing will get better until we the consumer become educated and take responsibility for our health and the health and wellbeing of our kids (skin and fur). When we take control of what we eat, breath, clean our environment with, what touches our skin and what thoughts we allow to occupy our attention, we will shi into a healthy, joyful and abundant world! Abby's Magazine -Volume 4 Issue 3 | Page 31