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Disappointing Trend In Rising Pet Food Market

Grain free pet food has grown significantly in popularity in the past several years. While some manufacturers, commonly privately owned companies hold impeccable standards, other pet food makers are now jumping into this arena in an attempt to market their less expensive knock offs in order to grasp their piece of this multibillion dollar industry.

Grain free pet food has grown significantly in popularity in the past several years.  While some manufacturers, commonly privately owned companies hold impeccable standards, other pet food makers are now jumping into this arena in an attempt to market their less expensive knock offs in order to grasp their piece of this multibillion dollar industry.  At Murphy’s Premium Pet Food Market, their are several factors we consider when choosing grain free recipes.  Raw, is of course the first choice in a carnivores diet.  However, we have to consider there is a vast percentage of consumers  requiring a more convenient and or affordable alternative.

First, we only consider pet food manufacturers that refuse to source ingredients from China.  Unfortunately, this eliminates the majority of brands in today’s market.

Second, we evaluate their protein sources.  There is a lot of controversy regarding high protein and kidney function.  Healthy kidneys can handle high protein.  The problem arises when manufacturers use meals including high levels of bone meal.  The phosphorus levels are very hard on the kidneys.  We don’t care for the use of calcium carbonate for the same reason.

Third, we consider protein to carbohydrate margins.  As less expensive recipes enter the market, they tend to reduce meat meals.  In most cases, this increases the carbohydrate load.  If these ingredients are replaced with high fiber complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, squash, or pumpkin, we see less issues than when white potatoes replace protein.  Potatoes convert to glucose rapidly.  High blood sugar levels result in the opposite effect one is trying to achieve with a no grain diet.  The diet is designed to balance blood sugar as well as reduce inflammation. Researchers now believe imbalanced blood sugar is the root of inflammation, resulting in the manifestation of most disease.  We receive calls from veterinarians specializing in cancer treatment. They request diets with high protein and fat and little to no ingredients that convert to sugar quickly.  High sugar levels provide an environment cancer can thrive in.  That says a lot!

While the elimination of grain has ended suffering for uncountable pets as well as saved their owners countless vet bills, we now see a trend that so far our manufacturers refuse to address. Our concern is that now that the market has been established and consumers are willing to pay for quality, pet food makers are finding less expensive protein sources to reduce meat meal in their formulas.  Peas and pea protein have become a concern. When questioned about the changes, we are deluged with scientific research provided by highly ranked universities stating the nutritional contents in peas and pea protein.  My question is, has there been any research to prove whether or not these nutrients are bio-available in a carnivores digestive tract.  Peas belong to the legume family.  Legumes are high in phytic acid.  Phytates have a tendency to bind calcium, magnesium, and iron in animals and humans.

I am even more concerned with the lectin proteins contained in these ingredients.  We have never seen head lines reporting wolf packs or wild cats descending on wheat, corn, or pea fields.  There is a good reason for this.  Lectin proteins are a plants natural defense.  While birds can digest these proteins, humans and carnivores cannot.  Lectins are designed by nature to work through the digestive lining in order to break down it’s predators system and disrupt digestion. When undigested protein enters the blood stream, the immune system sets up an auto immune response resulting in allergies. Lectins are sticky, binding proteins. They attach to leptin receptors which regulate carbohydrates into glucose.  In time, they can disrupt these receptors and lead to diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease; conditions very prevalent in humans and pets today.   Lectins also attach to villi in the digestive tract.  They block absorption of nutrients.  In time the damage becomes permanent.  We see a lot of this in American German Shepherds.  When was the last time you saw an Irish Setter?  Some breeds have been more susceptible to this damage.  Their reputation smeared by reports of stupidity, or aggressiveness.  The truth may be that their digestion,  including pancreatic function is so disrupted that their brains and nervous systems were severely affected. Consider that when the body is under stress, cortisol levels rise and stop producing the natural protective mucus coating needed in the digestive tract, leading to a never ending cycle affecting the nervous system.

Further research reveals that due to their binding ability, lectin proteins are used to splice genes together in genetically modified food. The original wheat contained six chromosomes. The wheat we consume today has as many as forty two chromosomes, each containing proteins not originally coded in the plant.  The next pledge we may need Susan Thixton to ask manufacturers for is non genetically modified ingredients.  With further genetically modification entering our food supply, we are likely to see acceleration in disease.  This may answer the question of why celiac disease and multiple sclerosis are rising at alarming rates around the world.

A carnivores diet is simple.  Unfortunately, pet food manufacturers and suppliers are in a continuous search for less expensive alternatives to feeding animals than way nature designed them.  Symptoms may present themselves quickly for some animals, while others endure damage silently until a sever condition is diagnosed.

Ingredient of caution – pea protein.  High placement of this ingredients on the ingredient list could indicate concentrated levels.  I prefer not to see pea protein or peas in the ingredient list at all, however you’ll be hard pressed finding that in today’s market.  In any given pet food, a few peas is not a huge concern.  My concern lies when manufacturers are replacing meat protein with concentrated high levels of peas or pea protein.

Kimberly Kalander

The  greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way in which it’s animals are treated.  I hold the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.    ]Gandhi

Resources for article:
Lund University, Sweden
Tommy Jonsson, Stefan Olsson, Thornkild  C. Bog Hanson

The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University
Copenhagen, Denmark

The Lectin Report
Krispin Sullivan

 

About Kim Kalander:  Kimberly Kalander founded Murphy’s Premium Pet Food Market in October 2007. Motivated by the senseless loss of the 2007 pet food recalls.  She has applied her thirty years experience in alternative healing studies to animals and has been met with great success. Her small store carries what she believes to be the best pet foods the industry has to offer. She scrutinizes country of origin concerning ingredients. She has held firm on a no Chinese sourced ingredient policy.   She believes the body in general has a great regenerative ability, and when properly supported can regain balance and vitality, as well as put an and end to needless suffering. Her mission is to empower consumers through education in the hope of creating a safer industry that considers nutritional quality over mass profit for investors.

 

31 Comments

31 Comments

  1. Peter

    December 27, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    Some of the so-called or regarded “top brands” market the pea proteins proudly on the labels, as though they were a good thing, and the ordinary consumer would interpret these premium brands with “pea” in the name of the food as evidence of such, when in truth, the opposite may be true.

    Many of these premium brands are also confronting rising costs of raw materials and are changing their formulations to maintain profit metrics. The customer, however, is not aware of these changes.

  2. Heidi

    December 31, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    I chose a grain free food, thinking it was better than chicken and rice full of arsenic. That grain free food had at least 3 pea products in it, (never encountered peas before so it didn’t even register) and resulted in extremely increased defecation, both in frequency and volume -at least three times the amount going in was coming out. It’s the peas, not nice green peas but field peas, and they’re going to be a problem in the future.

  3. Isabella B

    January 7, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    Hi,
    I’ve been feeding my kittens Wysong Epigen and they love it. I researched products and this one was not only grain free but starch free as well. I primarily feed my kittens only high quality wet foods like weruva, BFF, wellness, avoderm and tiki cat. I only sprinkle the Wysong on top of foods they aren’t crazy about so they get very little dry food as it is.
    Good luck all

    • Rajeanne

      February 8, 2013 at 5:54 pm

      I just got a 2-yr old cat at PetSmart, and I’ve always had dogs…so I’m feeding my “Precious K-C”
      Purina Complete cat food. But I’d like to feed her some high-quality food…which you’re feeding your
      kittens.
      Where do you purchase Wysong Epigen & other high quality wet foods from?
      Thanks,
      Rajeanne

      • Isabella8271

        February 8, 2013 at 10:06 pm

        Hi,
        I buy Wysong from their website or from amazon. Thankfully my local NJ pet stores carry them also.

        Congrats on your kitty and thank you for supplying a good, healthy home for them.

        I also highly recommend: http://www.magic-zymes.com for an all natural air freshener. I use Worlds Best Cat Litter and Dr. Elsie’s scoop-able litter. I’ve found if I wash their litter box out weekly with magic zymes and dish washing liquid it keeps everything smelling really clean and my kittens appreciate it as cats are very particular about cleanliness.

        I brush their teeth every night, for now just with a tooth brush that goes on my finger that I dip in water. Their teeth are so clean. Eventually I will buy Oxyfresh pet gel and liquid dental cleaner.

        Yes, I’ve done some research as my boys are worth it.

        I also highly recommend The Cat Bible by Tracie Hochner

        Enjoy,
        Isabella

        • Rajeanne

          February 9, 2013 at 4:42 pm

          Thanks for your great response!
          I’ll check on the Wysong website, & buy The Cat Bible too.
          Sincerely,
          Rajeanne

      • jennifer hahn

        May 28, 2018 at 11:18 am

        Purina is the anti Christ
        for gods sake , use a human grade food with raw,

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  5. Mike L

    June 1, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    Wow, well done Ms. Kalander,

    I read articles, you know? Just like most everyone arriving at this site and others, I read. What I too rarely see (and find very frustrating) are actual references. Something that the reader can investigate/research on her/his own after reading a statement that includes “research shows” and the like.

    So, thank you for including references,
    Mike L

  6. Erin

    March 8, 2015 at 6:28 am

    Great article! I’m so thankful that Kim helped us figure out this very issue in our own pup.

  7. PattyW

    August 15, 2015 at 8:17 am

    Great article about peas. I just found out that both of my dogs have an allergy to green peas. All along we thought it was the protein causing their rashes and breakouts. The common denominator was green peas. Green peas are in a lot of good quality dog foods too.

  8. Tracy

    August 15, 2015 at 3:00 pm

    My dog was having severe allergies, breakouts, and bloody diarrhea. I created and excel chart of his food I was feeding and ingredients and vet visits and found the common problem to be peas as well. I have him on track on. Peas are also a natural laxative, thus probably the reason for all the extra poop people are seeing.

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  10. Erin

    January 6, 2016 at 12:58 am

    Hi. You had stated, “The original wheat contained six chromosomes. The wheat we consume today has as many as forty two chromosomes, each containing proteins not originally coded in the plant.” This got my curiosity up, so I researched it, and found that there is zero GMO wheat available, and it’s only legal to sell or grow regular wheat, even though Monsanto did experiment with inserting the RoundUp gene (it’s not approved though).

    According to http://coloradowheat.org/2013/11/why-is-the-wheat-genome-so-complicated/, wheat has only 7 chromosomes, with six copies each, and this has been the case for hundreds of thousands of years.

    I was hoping you could cite your source or correct the article.

    P.S. This post is meant to be a, “I read something on a good website I believe to be incorrect, and if not I want more info” and is not meant to be a “blah, you’re wrong” post. Just got me curious!

    Thanks in advance. Also, thank you so much for the info on peas, this is exactly what I was looking for. Now I’m off to research if they remove the lectin from peas prior to cat food production, as that one got me curious, too.

    Thanks again!

    • Melanie Howell

      August 28, 2017 at 3:58 pm

      Erin, wheat is not GMO, but much of it is hybridized (long ago) so that insects would ravage crops less, so the wheat would stand up better in rain and wind, and so that the chaff was easier to get out. Common wheat and Durham wheat are the main culprits concerning types that have higher gluten content (which many of us are rejecting, while a little should be easy to tolerate) The gluten content is higher and the wheat itself, called “naked, is more firm, less palatable to insects… and can be completely ground, so no removal of the chaff is necessary because the chaff is negligible. This type of wheat does not need its chaff as much for protection as other types, more natural types. These wheats are a combination of different type of grain, not just wheat… rye is even in there. Go look at a common or durham wheat crop, it doesn’t even look like wheat that you would normally think of. It was not done with gene splicing, but with less modern techniques, like grafting. I wouldn’t call it “toxic” but there is a reason that colon cancer is one of the highest cancers. Not everyone has a “gluten allergy” but if you consider all the different types of intestinal and digestive issues (IBD, Chron’s, Ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis) they are so common it isn’t even funny. People are bound to suffer from some intestinal issue as they age, requiring laxatives or some such. It isn’t normal. Wheat with higher gluten can do various things (the binding is ridiculous) but if it is possible to use more natural grains, i think it’s a very good idea. Go watch comparisons when people extract the gluten from different types of wheat… it’s crazy. Water can dissolve flour, but it never completely dissolves gluten… and you really need to see it in action. Even if you don’t wind up with all sorts of little pockets in your gut, it causes nutrients to absorb less and sticks around in your gut a while, possibly slowing down motility, aggravating your flora and possibly causing more weight gain in some people.

      • jennifer hahn

        June 3, 2018 at 3:43 am

        just stick with red rice organic-stop breads, all bread is bad

  11. Carole

    February 24, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    This is a very interesting and informative article. Science Diet has attempted to slip pea protein into its Adult light dog food, claiming that the labeling is different. Perhaps it has always been in there. I cannot get a straight answer. For a company that is supposed to be dedicated to animal health, not to mention how expensive, it is ——– this is a disgrace. I am very upset with Hill’s Science Diet about this.

  12. Marilyn Stephens

    November 6, 2016 at 11:44 am

    My 16 year old cat recently diagnosed with kidney function concerns and placed on Rx diet. I noticed ingredients not good. Can you suggest a high quality NF or KD canned and dry product?

  13. Barbara

    February 24, 2017 at 8:41 am

    What cat food Do You Recommend? Our vet thinks our 1 yr.old Persian is allergic to chicken and grains (corn)
    We have been feeding her Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Venison & Green Pea Formula Canned Cat Food. As well as Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck Formula Limited Ingredients Cat Food. She’s a good eater. And seems to like this brand; but honestly she’s not a fussy eater. My concern now is that she still has “Hot Spots”…Itching and we see clumps of hair from her scratching. What do you recommend?
    Thank you

    • jennifer hahn

      May 28, 2018 at 11:20 am

      xanthium gums are horrible-check the label-use Paul Newmans own grain free -no gums

      • Anonymous

        June 4, 2018 at 2:45 pm

        Check again, PN has gum in organic canned food, and worse it has carregenan.

        • jennifer hahn

          June 4, 2018 at 8:18 pm

          NATURES LOGIC CANNED CAT FOOD AND DOG FOOD IS GREAT STUFF….. logic-they use porcine plasma(blood) instead as a binder. and has zero caragenan and gums…..natures logic is very good -see the ingredients….on amazon.com

        • Jenn Frix

          June 8, 2018 at 2:55 pm

          If you insist on using canned foods then by nature’s logic brand they do not use any carrageenan or gum or Xanthium gum they use for scene plasma pigs blood so you have to stomach that but it’s actually perfectly fine I checked it out on Dr. Karen Becker’s website it’s not a big deal and they use no synthetics at all

    • jennifer hahn

      June 3, 2018 at 3:31 am

      EAT RAW FOODS-NO KIBBLE FOR CATS EVER

  14. karinamara2015

    January 8, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    Thank you for this article – I’ve been stuggling to find out what my 3 year old Oriental is allergic to. Her symptoms have been escalating as I tried eliminating various more common proteins like chicken, turkey and fish. I had an epiphany the other night after studying all of the labels. I think she’s allergic to pea protein. It’s in everything! And more prevalent in grain free limited ingredient foods I’ve been buying. I’m on day one of a pea free diet and fingers crossed that I’ve figured it out. Your post made so much sense to me! Thank you

    • jennifer hahn

      June 3, 2018 at 3:29 am

      Go to amazon.com and order Stella and chewy raw foods, frozen and freeze dried-cats should never eat dry food-ever. She needs real meats -all of the commercial dry foods are bad all cats,
      go to catcentric.com and poisonpets.com and then to the petfooled movie about foods on amazon.com

  15. R

    January 1, 2021 at 10:58 pm

    I found Exclusive Signature Premium Cat Food does not currently have any peas. This company posts store locations where you can buy their products.

    I was buying Nutro brand & they recently changed the formula of their pet food. I knowingly tried feeding the new Nutro to my cats and my cats started fighting. On Nutro, one of my two cats would get mad about 10 minutes after I fed him. I could tell, because his blue eyes would change to solid black; and the chasing & fighting would begin.

    So I started trying different food, just to see if it would make any difference. Wow, it’s like night & day. Now that I have gotten rid of the peas, my cats get along great.
    Also, I want to mention; a lot of cat treats are now being changed to include peas. So, read those labels!!

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