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The Mentality of Feed

A new recycled waste feed (livestock) ingredient: palm fronds. And government is helping recycle the waste.

A new recycled waste feed (livestock) ingredient: palm fronds. And government is helping recycle the waste.

The Phoenix, Arizona April 2018 city newspaper included the following notice to residents (highlighting added):

The mentality of feed is to divert as much waste as possible from landfills into the mouths of animals. Even the unimaginable becomes ‘feed’.

The follow are just a few animal feed ingredients officially defined by AAFCO and allowed into livestock feed:

Hydrolyzed Hair (ground animal hair)

Hydrolyzed Leather Meal (ground leather scraps)

Unborn Calf Carcasses (unborn calf taken from slaughtered cattle)

Dried Poultry Waste (chicken poop)

Dried Poultry Litter (chicken poop and bedding)

Dried Ruminant Waste (cow poop)

Dried Swine Waste (pig poop)

Someone – who was clearly not in their ‘right mind’ – approved all of the above (and more) as feed ingredients for livestock.

Animals are NOT living, breathing recycle bins (but they certainly are treated as such).

Back to palm fronds…

The livestock feed (horse, cow, goat, hog, sheep) produced by Palm Silage – with the assistance of the city of Phoenix, AZ – contains the ingredient “ground palm” (listed as the first ingredient, the majority of the feed). Every pet food or animal feed ingredient is required to be defined by AAFCO or approved as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by FDA. To my knowledge, “ground palm” is not an AAFCO defined ingredient (is not listed in the 2018 Association of Feed Control Officials Official Publication). To my knowledge, “ground palm” is not a GRAS ingredient approved to be fed to horses, cattle, goats, hogs, and sheep (GRAS approval would be species specific).

It could be that palm fronds are the next super food for livestock (though highly doubtful). But super food or not, palm fronds are required to be a defined ingredient of animal feed – just like every other feed ingredient. The safety of the ingredient has to be proven for all species consuming the ingredient.

So IF my investigation for a legal definition of “ground palm” is correct – there is no legal definition of the ingredient – why is the city of Phoenix, AZ helping to supply palm fronds to the animal feed industry? Why is government assisting a feed manufacturer to divert waste from a landfill when the ingredient has not been proven safe?

Recycling is a great thing (my recycle bin is a full size garbage can that is full each week). BUT – animals should not be treated as living, breathing recycling bins – especially with the assistance of government.

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food


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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Michelle

    July 24, 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Always thought palm frondswere toxic to dogs? https://homeguides.sfgate.com/toxicity-palm-tree-leaves-pets-81424.html

    • Susan Thixton

      July 24, 2018 at 12:50 pm

      Sago palms are toxic to all species (I believe). Which emphasizes why a legal definition of ‘ground palm’ is needed.

  2. Pingback: The Mentality of Feed - Pet News Hound

  3. Janice

    July 24, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    It saddens me every day to read of what the government is currently doing to animals in okaying something disgusting to be fed to them. It is especially disgusting to feed this type of stuff to captive animals who have no other way of getting food. I hope all the USDA regulators and anyone who has any part this rots in hell. Which would include all the farmers who raise the cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, etc. and engage in this practice.

  4. Dianne & Pets

    July 24, 2018 at 12:49 pm

    I know you are not supposed to feed cow to cow because of the risk of mad cow disease, does the same not apply to poop and unborn calves?

    • Susan Thixton

      July 24, 2018 at 12:53 pm

      Unborn calf would be a BSE (mad cow disease) prohibited ingredient to cattle and any ruminant. I’m not certain about poop. Typically chicken poop is fed to cattle, and cow poop is fed to chickens.

  5. Cecilia Barnett

    July 24, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    From the website: http://www.vetstreet.com:
    “Sago Palms
    Sago palms (Cycas and Macrozamia spp.) can be found as outdoor ornamental plants in warm climates or as houseplants in cooler climes. Ingestion of sago palm plants can cause liver failure and death in dogs and cats. All parts of the plant are toxic, with the seeds having the highest concentration of toxin. One seed can kill a dog. within 24 hours, and animals become depressed and may start to seizure. This plant is one of the most toxic, with a mortality rate of around 30 percent.”

    When I asked google “Are palm fronds edible?” The reply was:

    “A number of palms have fruits, such as the Coconut Palm, which yield edible fruits or oils that are used in cooking, but we found no mention that any of the leaves of palms were edible. In fact, the fronds of Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island Date Palm) are known to be poisonous.

    I think that a lawsuit is in order here but I really don’t know how to start one.
    Cecilia

  6. Dr Chavez

    July 24, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    Totally agree. The sad truth is that if you feed Kibble or canned (any Kibble – even the “good” stuff) you already are using your pet as a recycling machine. 🙁

    • Debbie

      October 3, 2018 at 4:23 am

      Agree 100% and trying to get this across to people feeding commercial pet foods. I think all people should stop feeding pet foods and get back to basics of what they REALLY should be eating. Convincing them is another story.

  7. landsharkinnc

    July 24, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    What is your thinking about fetal calf ? If the cow was slaughtered ( and approved for human consumption ) why would the calf not be approved as a feed additive? Don’t want to start a bruhaha here… just curious

    • Debbie

      October 3, 2018 at 4:24 am

      I am gonna go out on a limb here and say..it probably isn’t the quality parts being fed. In other words, non-nutritional.

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