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Pet Food Ingredients

And the Latest (Worst) Animal Feed Ingredient Is…

Synthetic protein produced from industrial emissions.

Time magazine and Bloomberg news have reported on China’s new “technology to turn industrial emissions into animal feed at scale.”

“The technology involves synthesizing industrial exhaust containing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen into proteins using Clostridium autoethanogenum, a bacterium used to make ethanol.”

“China is the top importer of soybeans, which are crushed to produce meal, mainly to feed its pig herd that’s the largest globally. If China can produce 10 million tons of synthetic protein using the new technology, that would be equivalent to about 28 million tons of soybean imports, the researchers noted. Producing synthetic proteins for animal feed at a large scale would also help China in its decarbonization program, they added, a major policy goal for the Communist Party.”

It’s hard to imagine how anyone would believe that synthetic protein made from toxic industrial emissions would be suitable nutrition for an animal. And even though this is by far the WORST example of recycling waste into a feed, China is not the only country that disguises industrial waste as animal feed nutrition. The U.S. animal feed industry is just as guilty (and probably wishing they would have discovered the synthetic protein from emissions themselves).

At the 2015 AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) meeting, there was a discussion regarding a livestock ingredient made from expired grocery store foods. The example given was expired yogurt. These expired foods are recycled into animal feed ingredients – plastic containers included. After processing (grinding and rendering), the end feed ingredient analyzes as protein. It is industry belief this type of recycling is providing animals with required nutrition/protein, while at the same time saving the planet from overloading landfills with expired foods (and their plastic containers). When a veterinarian stood and disagreed with the ingredient, stating she did not want her child to be drinking milk with elements of plastic in it – the entire room of animal feed industry representatives boo-ed her, loudly.

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine itself allows illegal (per federal law) waste to be disposed of in animal feed and pet food with no warning or disclosure to consumers. Dr. Steven Solomon, director of FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, stated “we do not believe that the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter to make animal food poses a safety concern and
we intend to continue to exercise enforcement discretion
.”

Our tax dollar supported FDA believes this (Darling Ingredients, Denver, CO – picture taken by a pet owner):

and this (Darling Ingredients, California location, Google Earth images):

…is suitable animal food.

Adding insult to injury, FDA does NOT believe pet owners should be informed if their pet’s food contains the above illegal (per federal law) ingredients.

Whether it’s China or the US (or other countries all over the world), disposing of waste such as industrial emissions or decomposing animal carcasses into pet food or livestock feed is NOT the fix to climate change or sustainable agriculture. While those that manufacture these ingredients or use these ingredients in feed/pet food claim they are ‘saving the world through green technology’, in reality they are poisoning animals.

To avoid meats sourced from diseased animals or decomposing non-slaughtered animals in your pet’s food:

  • Purchase pet foods labeled as Human Grade (on the pet food label, ignore website claims)
  • Purchase pet foods made with human grade ingredients. Ask the manufacturer if all food ingredients are human edible.

To avoid meats sourced from animals fed diseased animals or decomposing non-slaughtered animal ingredients or soon synthetic protein sourced from industrial emissions in their feed:

  • Purchase pet foods that source meats from humanely raised, pasture raised livestock.

Yes, these types of pet foods and ingredients are more expensive than feed grade waste ingredient pet foods. If you cannot afford to provide your pet with all human grade, meat sourced from pasture raised animals pet food – give them some.


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


Become a member of our pet food consumer Association. Association for Truth in Pet Food is a stakeholder organization representing the voice of pet food consumers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives attend meetings and voice consumer concerns with regulatory authorities. Click Here to learn more.

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The 2021 List
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12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. JT

    November 10, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    Not surprising the FDA feels that way. The corruption is deep and wide. It’s tragic for pet owners. You’re doing what the FDA should be doing but have criminally neglected. God bless you for all your effort! It is so deeply appreciated.

  2. Bobbie Binns

    November 10, 2021 at 12:39 pm

    The latest outrageous ingredient I have found is in Hill’s RX Gastrointestinal Biome….Ground Pecan Shells!! Those pecan shells go along with the Powdered Cellulose! And the price for this garbage is unbelievable…..$73.99 for a 16 lb bag!

  3. Sally

    November 10, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    This is more disturbing news. As a nutritionally conscious person and someone who only adopts senior and geriatric cats, too often I have to give them what they will eat, and not what I want them to eat. I will spend any money on quality food; yet my current girl, a hospice cat, age 17 (adopted 10 months ago), has stage 3 kidney disease, and likely intestinal cancer, and now she will only eat a major manufacturer’s “treats”–I cringe every time I give them to her, and never thought I would stoop so low.

  4. Jane Eagle

    November 10, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    I’ve said it before, I’ll keep saying it: you can spend your money on safe, human grade food, or you can spend even more on vet bills. I prefer to spend it on food and have healthier pets.

    • Martha Befriends Squirrels

      November 11, 2021 at 9:12 am

      So true, with constant vet bills and shortened lives of our beloved pets.

    • Diana Brown

      December 2, 2021 at 8:29 pm

      Not everyone can afford 100 dollars a month on dog food. I love my dogs but I get 850 a month. Thats it, if it wasnt for Medicaid and food stamps I would die also. Its fine and dandy to sit back and judge people when you dont have to worry about costs. There are many like me, we do care we dont want our babies to suffer! We dont want to poison them or make them unhealthy! I do what I can to try and offset a crappy kibble diet, I add in sardines for omega 3 when I can, I bake chicken and give canned vegetables in their food, thats all I eat too. I give them ground chuck when I can, but lets face it pet food industry is corrupt and greedy just the same as our politicians, AFFCO and the FDA are just looking at the bottom line and in bed with the pet food industry. Nothing will change till everyone dumps pet feed. And that just wont realistically happen in the real world and they know it.

      Until we get the congress and senate on our side nothing will change, they are as corrupt and greedy at the industry. They allow the industry to poison our babies! But us poor that try to do what we can to do right by them dont blame us. Blame the people like skeptical vet, blame the veterinary researchers like Tufts and all the other vets that join in and say these foods are fine! Point fingers at our leaders, and our legislature. Just like every child deserves to have a healthy diet, they should also ensure our pets have one too.

  5. Lynda

    November 10, 2021 at 4:43 pm

    I have no words, it just gets worse and worse. What if we ask the companies if the food contains it, wonder if they have to say yes or not.

    • Bunny

      November 11, 2021 at 11:39 am

      By law the companies do not have to answer at all or if they do, truthfully. The only way to protect yourself, and protect your four-legged family members, is to buy farm-direct organic meats, vegetables and fruits wherever possible and home prepare your pet’s food. If not possible to buy farm-direct then buy certified organic meats, vegetables and fruits from a grocer. There are holistic veterinarians out there who are able to help with the information needed to prepare healthy meals for your critters. I’ve been doing this since 2007 when CHINA of course who else caused thousands of deaths of our beloved pets from contaminated ingredients. Do I think that poisoning was deliberate? Rhetorical question!!

  6. Sherri

    November 10, 2021 at 6:18 pm

    I don’t believe there is any hope at all for the pet food industry. It’s shocking to see what is being thought up these days to add to their food and more shocking that the people who come up with these ideas as well as governing bodies like FDA, think it’s ok! It’s like watching a sick, twisted horror movie.

    • Diana Brown

      December 5, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      It truly is horrifying! Where are the protests in the streets? Where is the civil unrest over our corrupt FDA? I hope Americans understand that these are the same people responsible for ensuring our safety with foods and drugs, what a joke. Unless we rise up nothing will change, its been decades since this issue was first brought up, and its getting worse. They are using our pets as waste disposals!! And prob using us too.

  7. T Allen

    November 10, 2021 at 7:41 pm

    Depending what is in the exhaust it is likely safer to eat than what the FDA allows in the US. Here is the makeup of diesel exhaust. www dot ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/diesel_exhaust.html Even though you wouldn’t want to breath it, if microbes can convert it to proteins it “might” be a useful protein supplement. If it doesn’t contain high levels of heavy metals (like rice), toxic molds (corn), rancid fats, diseased meat, etc. it might be a useful feed supplement like the algaes that are being grown for oils.

  8. Cynthia

    November 12, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    The AAFCO & FDA need to be held to higher & more accountable standards. Will this ever happen? No.
    Trashy vet foods like Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin, Waltham, etc. are a joke as vets are taught NOTHING about NUTRITION in vet school. MONEY runs this country – not integrity.

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