2012 Stupidest Act in Pet Food Award

It is that time of year again, time for you to vote on the Stupidest Act in Pet Food from the past year.

Since it’s beginning in 2009, this award has been consistently won by the FDA.  Each year major acts of stupidity occur in pet food, however when the votes were tallied, the FDA has always managed to acquire more of your votes.  Will the FDA continue to win our award?  Or will someone take the prize (the failure) away from them?  It’s up to you.

In alphabetical order, the 2012 Stupidest Act in Pet Food nominees are…

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials)
AAFCO is the organization that is responsible for developing all the rules that are accepted into law for pet foods and all animal foods.  In January 2012, AAFCO welcomed this consumer representative (me) to participate on two pet food committees.  In August, they not so politely removed me from committees.

This is the organization that developed a calorie counting system completely different than that of human foods (showing significantly less calories consumed by the pet).  This is the organization that determined protein and fat shouldn’t be stated as actual content in the Guaranteed Analysis statement (it is stated as minimum, and by the way – there is no maximum level established for protein or fat in pet foods).  Remember, there is a pet obesity epidemic.

And this is the organization that developed the ingredient definition for ‘chicken’ – which doesn’t tell a petsumer if the pet food actually contains any chicken meat (the definition states ‘chicken’ can be chicken skin and bones, no chicken meat).  Is it vote worthy to develop ingredient definitions that hide the truth from the petsumer?

Not all of this happened in 2012, but do you feel AAFCO deserves your vote for Stupidest Act in Pet Food this year?

To learn more:
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/who-really-controls-aafco.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/guaranteed-analysis.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/pet-food-calorie-mis-information.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/is-there-chicken-in-chicken-pet-foods.html

AVMA, AAHA (American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association)
This year, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association added policies that clearly recommended against the feeding of raw pet foods.  Thousands upon thousands of educated pet food consumers signed petitions, hundreds offered real life testimonials, and further scientific data was provided to these organizations to no avail.  It was further discovered both organizations are highly supported by Big Pet Food (who do not manufacture any raw pet foods).

Is it vote worthy for these organizations to ignore thousands of pet food consumers providing real life data to the benefits of raw pet food?  Is it vote worthy for a national veterinary organization to accept huge donations from Big Pet Food (a clear competitor to raw pet foods) which appears to have purchased this policy?

Do you feel the AVMA, AAHA deserves your vote for Stupidest Act in Pet Food this year?

Learn more:
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/the-domino-effect.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/avma-says-comments-have-been-vicious-and-insulting.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/the-avma-plot-thickens.html

Chicken Jerky Treat Importers
Despite five years of reports of sick and dying pets to FDA, despite numerous petitions totaling hundreds of thousands of signatures, and despite on-going real life stories of pet deaths in the media, the stupidity continues.  Jerky treats continue to be imported from China and sold under various names.  Should your votes decide the Importers of risky jerky treats from China is the Stupidest Act in Pet Food this year, this award would go to each of the jerky treat importers that continue to ignore the truth, refusing to act out of precaution and pull the jerky treats from store shelves until they are proven safe.

Learn more:
From 2008 https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/fda-reports-sick-dogs-in-us-from-chicken-jerky-treats.html
From 2009 https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/fda-continues-to-caution-pet-owners-about-chicken-jerky-treats.html
From 2011 https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/even-more-fda-reports-of-illness-due-to-chicken-jerky-treats.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/us-senator-calls-fda-on-the-carpet-with-chinese-jerky-treats.html
From 2012 http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/their-facts-versus-our-facts
http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/can-you-hear-me-screaming

Chicken Jerky Treat Retailers
Ok, the list is too long of retailers to officially make a 2012 Stupidest Act in Pet Food award, however they remain vote worthy.  Are retailers who continue to sell jerky treats imported from China, continue to ignore the truth that pets continue to get sick and die related to these jerky treats the award winners?

Diamond Pet Food
In April 2012, petsumers began to learn of recall after recall of pet foods manufactured by Diamond Pet Food.  Was it award winning for this pet food manufacturer that the FDA inspection reports found “firm utilizes cardboard, duct tape, and other non cleanable surfaces on equipment.”  Was it award winning stupidity that throughout numerous recalls of food manufactured at the Gaston, SC Diamond Pet Food plant, the company remained steadfast that they had received no reports of sick pets?

Learn more:
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/the-plot-thickens-clues-to-big-issues.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/diamond-youve-got-some-explaining-to-do.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/sloppy-sloppy-sloppy.html

FDA
For your voting consideration…
The FDA this year gave their official approval of aflatoxin contaminated grains to be processed into animal feeds.  Is it over the top award winning for the FDA to allow a deadly mold – that even in small doses science has linked to serious health risks – into pet food/animal food?
To learn more…
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/aflatoxin-corn-given-the-ok-by-fda-and-usda.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-mycotoxins.html

This year the FDA determined that pet food can be labeled to ‘cure or treat a disease’.  For your voting consideration, human foods are not allowed to make the ‘cure or treat a disease’ statement, only drugs.  And those drugs must go through years of evaluation (and high fees) to make the ‘cure’ claim.  But what the heck…it’s pet food, right?
To learn more…
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/another-exception-because-it-is-pet-food.html

Five years into an investigation of jerky treats imported from China, the FDA hires a private lab this year (tax payer expense) to test for basic analysis of the jerky treats (protein, fat and moisture content).
To learn more…
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/impotent-fda.html
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/unbelievable-fda.html

The FDA told concerned pet owners in September 2012 the total number of complaints the FDA has received for five years is around 2,200.  Yet one month later, Dr. Dan McChesney of FDA told industry the agency is receiving more than 2,000 per year – (not five years total).
To learn more…
http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/can-you-hear-me-screaming

And last but not lease, this year the FDA released a pet food safety video that was full of misleading information (your tax dollars paid for this).
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/response-to-fda-pet-food-video.html

Does the FDA deserve your vote for Stupidest Act(s) in Pet Food this year?

Pet Food Institute
The Pet Food Institute repeatedly this year released information that was inappropriate or incorrect.  The worst/most inappropriate was the statement from Nancy Cook (of PFI) regarding jerky treats imported from China.  From the trade publication Food Chemical News, Nancy Cook of the Pet Food Institute thinks “the 2,200 complaints of pet illnesses has to be viewed in context of the 79 million dogs in the United States that are fed two meals a day.”  In other words, Ms. Cook of PFI thinks we need to focus on the numbers; not the dead pets.

Learn more…
https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/heres-what-pfi-thinks-about-jerky-treats.html

Do you feel the PFI deserves your vote for Stupidest Act in Pet Food this year?

Ok, the voting is in your hands.  Vote once only please –

[yop_poll id=”2″]

The winner (biggest loser in pet food) will be announced in the January 2013 Newsletter.

Note:  We all lose when pet food stupidity continues.  The intention of this ‘award’ is not to bring attention to any particular company or organization.  This ‘award’ is an attempt to bring awareness to the absurdities that occur way too frequently in the pet food/pet treat industry.  And of course with that consumer awareness, to bring needed change in the hope to save lives.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
PetsumerReport.com

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