Because You Care.
Raw Dog
Chapter 4: The By Products
An incidental or secondary product made in the manufacture or synthesis of something else
EXAMPLES OF BY-PRODUCTS
Feet, Backs, Livers, Lungs, Heads, Brains,, Spleen, Frames, Kidneys, Stomachs, Intestines, Undeveloped Eggs, And many more!
ARE BY-PRODUCTS DANGEROUS?
The ingredients aren't dangerous. While other cultures consider these parts as "icky". "dirty" or "gross", it's actually a great source of nutritional value.
WHY ARE BY-PRODUCTS IN COMMERCIAL DOG FOOD?
In most places, by-products are thrown away. Since it has little value, it's a cheap way to add meat and nutrients in dog food.
WHEN SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?
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When you don't know where the by-products are coming from.
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When you don't know the what happens during the manufacturing process of the by-products.
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When you don't know if the by-products were clean, fresh, rotting, or dirty during the manufacturing process.
BE CAREFUL WITH GENERIC BY-PRODUCTS
The difference between a "Named By-Product" vs. a "Generic By-Product".
The Reason Why We Should Be Careful: It's Hard To Know Where It's Been.
Animal Rendering: Economics and Policy
(2004 Report to Congress)
Ingredients to make the by-product in pet fod:
1. Dead animals from farms ranches, feedlots, marketing barns, animal shelters, and other facilities
2. Fats, grease and other food waste from restaurant and stores.
Animal Sources:
1. Collect and process about half of all livestock and poultry that die form diseases or accidents before they reach slaughter plants
2. These can also include floor waste.
3. Almost all ingredients that are dismissed as "unfit for human consumption" are present in rendering plants. While FDA regulates such ingredients, IT IS NOT A LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO DO SO.
Click HERE for Mercola's detailed analysis of by-products in dog food.
SUMMARY OF ANIMAL MEAT IN DOG FOOD
1. Road Kill
Example: In some countries, cattle / cows are made to walk long distances to the slaughterhouse. Any animal that dies from exhaustion or sickness are sold to rendering plants.
2. Dead Zoo Animals
Ever wonder where all the dead animals in zoos go? Some zoos incenerate the animals. Some stuff them as decorations. But what is the easiest and cost-effective method? Selling it to rendering plants. They earn from the dead.
3. Dead on Arrival Poultry
Have you ever seen animals being delivered from the "farm" to the slaughterhouses? They are CRAMPED in a truck. The stress and exhaustion is enough to kill some of them. Some companies sell these dead animals to rendering plants.
4. Diseased or Dying Livestock
Watch documentaries like Food Inc or Earthlings. It will show you the horrible things animals go through before being eaten by humans. When they die from disease, accidents, etc., some companies sell it to rendering plants.
5. Euthanized Pets from Animal Shelters
Read this article to find out more. Personal experience: My beagle ate his very first cheap dog food. He would NOT eat it, at all. I thought he was a picky eater. Months later, I read up on by-products. I looked at the back of the dog food package and saw "meat by-products" beside "corn" and a bunch of other cheap ingredients. It was scary because there is a pound and veterinary clinic near the mall i bought it from.
METAL IN DOG FOOD
Based on this article: Part 2 and Part 1.
According to this article, a significant amount of harmful metals were detected in dog food. When they tried contacting pet food companies, AAFCO and a bunch of other government agencies, she was merely ignored.
WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?
The quality of preparing dog food has declined. The fact that certain companies are able to get away with feeding dead and diseased animals or metal contaminated food shows how horrible the system is.
Not all pet food companies do this (but a lot of major dog food comapnies do). You can complain and inquire, but they will not give you a direct answer. Why? It's because they don't want you to know.
