The legal complaint, filed in Kansas on February 6, 2024, is 124 pages of scathing evidence against Hill’s Pet Food, the Morris Animal Foundation, the Mark Morris Institute, Dr. Lisa Freeman, Dr. Joshua Stern, Dr. Darcy Adin and others claiming all were involved in “an egregious, wide-ranging, and damaging campaign of coordinated, for-profit, faux-scientific misinformation by a large corporation” to make veterinarians and pet owners (falsely – per the lawsuit) believe grain-free pet foods were dangerous, linked to canine heart disease.
“Using the tools of professional science and Hill’s vast veterinary influence network, the goal of the scheme was to persuade American pet-owners that grain-free diets weren’t just “fad diets” but actually dangerous for dogs—an argument that, if successful, had the potential to eradicate the entire grain-free sector of the pet food market. They have been carrying out this wide ranging scheme ever since and it has been, by any measure, a breathtaking (if unlawful) success.”
The lawsuit complaint introduces the case with this information:
“Hill’s is unique among these three so-called “traditional” pet food companies for three different reasons. First, it is the smallest of the three—its annual revenues dwarf those of most other pet food brands, but they are only about 20% of Purina’s revenues. Second, as by far the largest maker of “prescription-only” diets in the country and as the self-proclaimed “#1 Vet Recommended Brand,” Hill’s is tied much more closely to the veterinary community than either Mars or Purina. For Mars and Purina, marketing to vets and distributing through vet clinics are both relatively inconsequential parts of their sprawling companies; for Hill’s, they are a major component of the business.“
“The third thing that makes Hill’s unique among the three “traditional” pet food companies is its uniquely poor financial performance in the years leading up to 2018, when the misconduct at the heart of this suit began. During this period, the market for pet foods made by “non-traditional,” often independent, brands was growing explosively. For example, from 2011 to 2017, sales of “grain-free” dog foods, a leading category among independent makers, rose from 15% to 44% of all dog food sales in American pet specialty stores. Purina was so large and diversified that it weathered this storm successfully, growing steadily and preserving its market share from 2014 to 2017. But Hill’s did not. Over the same four-year period, Hill’s annual revenues were pancake-flat and its market share plunged by more than 20%. Long the third-largest seller of complete-diet dog food in the country, Hill’s fell to fourth in 2018, after being overtaken by Blue Buffalo, the largest of the new wave of “non-traditional” pet food brands.”
“Thus, beginning no later than 2018, Hill’s and a cluster of associated entities and individuals (collectively with Hill’s, the “Defendants”) embarked on a drastic and unlawful course to reverse this slide. They carried out a scheme to falsely convince American dog owners that a massive, unrelated, and hugely diverse group of dog food products—essentially any product made by any of the hundreds of independent firms that were collectively eroding Hill’s market share—all increase the risk and severity of a deadly canine heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy (“DCM”).”
“To carry out the scheme, Hill’s, along with a group of closely-bound academic veterinarians (the “Veterinarian Defendants”) and front organizations operating on Hill’s behalf, acted in a coordinated conspiracy.”
“First and most explosively, the Veterinarian Defendants fraudulently induced the United States Food and Drug Administration to launch a high-profile investigation into DCM.”
“The second strand of Defendants’ scheme: Hill’s co-conspirators, the Veterinarian Defendants authored study after study about DCM and then mischaracterized the findings.”
“The Defendants also created and fostered social media environments including at least one Facebook group that was an echo chamber, suppressing any contradiction of the propaganda campaign.”
And then this lawsuit proceeds to provide detail after detail to how the Defendants allegedly fabricated the entire grain-free pet food link to canine heart disease scheme.
Such as “Part One: The Cherry-Picking Scheme
(Defendants Fraudulently Induced the FDA to Launch a High-Profile Investigation into Grain-Free Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy)“
Quoting: “Significantly, 23 of the 28 canine cases in this report, or more than 80%, came from either Dr. Freeman or Dr. Adin. Just five came from sources other than these Defendants, in a nation with 70 million dog owners.”
“Dr. Freeman and Dr. Adin deliberately and intentionally chose an unrepresentative group of cases to show the FDA. They did this by “cherry-picking” DCM cases involving grainfree diets and submitting those to the FDA while simultaneously withholding cases involving grain-containing diets.”
The lawsuit included this image of an email from Dr. Freeman to FDA regarding her “protocol” to submit DCM cases to FDA (note the second bullet point under item 2):
Lawsuit continues (bold added): “In other words, under the protocol that Dr. Freeman established, an FDA report should only be submitted if a DCM-positive dog was not eating one of the core products made by either Hill’s or one of the other two largest and best-established manufacturers in the country. Freeman’s own protocol establishes that she cherry-picked her sample in a way that would create the impression of a connection between smaller brands’ products and DCM, whether grain-free or not.”
The above is only a small part of a very detailed lawsuit. It includes a wealth of information evidencing the many involved – and why they are involved – in the claimed scheme. It includes damning information about the influence of Hill’s with veterinary schools, information on Dr. Freeman’s similar attack on raw pet food, and so much more.
To read the full complaint, Click Here.
The lawsuit is a class action, but the only Plaintiff mentioned is Ketonatural Pet Foods, Inc. The suit is seeking “lost profits, reputational damages, and other economic injuries in an amount exceeding $2 billion (precise amount to be proven at trial).”
Personal opinion: This lawsuit took courage to file; filing any lawsuit against Big Pet Feed giants is not a simple matter. This lawsuit gives us hope that manufacturers and veterinary scientists will – in the future – ‘think twice’ before participating in potential schemes to defraud the public. Hidden secrets CAN become public knowledge when determined individuals have the courage and endurance to keep digging for the evidence. Kudos to Ketonatural Pet Foods for their determination. We will continue to watch this lawsuit closely.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Rich Gromlich
February 9, 2024 at 12:48 pm
Thank you for this info. Maybe now the truth will come out. This dosen’t suprise me at all. filling a law suit of this type against Hills is a very big deal so there must be something to it.
It’s a travisty that the whole issue of DCM has been clouded by fraud. Maybe now they will find the real cause.
Mary
February 19, 2024 at 9:51 am
Vets probably get a kick back. Are there any other brands that help prevent crystals? What brand of food should I give my cat that develops crystals other than Hills urinary diet? I just received a notice that Hills is changing their ingredients.
Barbara Fellnermayr
February 9, 2024 at 1:18 pm
My first question, when I see “reports” like this, is WHO PAID FOR IT??? Who ever paid for it, will get the outcome they want. The authors of these papers are motivated by money. The money they make from writing these reports and the money they make from keeping dogs and cats sick! A self-perpetuating source of revenue.
I find these companies and vets so sickening. They should be forced to eat the food they make! I’d eat what I make!
Rob Catania dog dad
February 9, 2024 at 2:08 pm
…Yes Susan, as I said before, veterinarians are responsible for most of the animal suffering, that is “veterinarians” have become the worst enemies of our pets and all animals, next to pet food corporations, and the animal research industry that torments animals.
…Bribe taking, nefarious,uncaring veterinarians, especially American veterinarians that basically cover-up for the wealthy pet food corporations,pharma-industries,cancer-industries, animal research,etc.
Lawrence Rush
February 9, 2024 at 6:15 pm
Rob Catania dog dad – Your view is unfairly extreme. Are you implying that every single veterinarian is in on some big conspiracy? I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some liars out there, but EVERY vet? What happens if your dog needs a vaccine, gets an injury requiring surgery, etc? You plan to administer treatment yourself? It’s wrong to condemn a whole group of people like this; it’s a form of prejudice truly.
Kristen
February 10, 2024 at 9:16 pm
Agree! You can’t lump ALL veterinarians into this group of bad apples. There are A LOT of good ones still out there 🙂
Kristin
February 14, 2024 at 1:53 pm
And there are A LOT of bad ones!
Perhaps one shouldn’t lump ALL veterinarians into this group, but we can certainly lump MANY of them into it.
Far too many “veterinarians” have failed those whom they are supposed to be advocates for because they are too busy shilling for Big Pharma and Big Pet Food.
Barbara Fellnermayr
February 15, 2024 at 12:07 pm
Hi Kristin,
I agree with you about vets shilling for Big Pharma and Big Pet food.
My honest feeling is that they start with good intentions, then realize what it takes to stay afloat. When they start in business they are full of great intentions, then the reality of what it costs to run a business sets in. Big Pharma and Big Food offer them a lifeline and their desperate enough to accept it. Once they’ve drunk the koolaid, they can’t get out!
I have seen this happen with rescue groups as well. Start out with good intentions then find out the reality of what it costs.
Unfortunately, it comes down to the almighty buck.
Lorraine
February 9, 2024 at 2:56 pm
I was always very suspicious of that Grain-Free fiasco. Too many things did not fall into place right from the beginning. I read the articles by Dr. Lisa Freeman and again, things did not click. At the bottom of one of her articles she actually states that the only dog food that should be fed was Hills, Purina, Iams & Royal Canin. There was a foot note at the end of the article stating that Dr.Freeman has received funding from pet food companies including Nestlé Purina Petcare, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and Mars Petcare. I also joined that Facebook group that was supposed to be made up of Veterinarians who could answer all your questions about how dangerous grain-free dog food was. I was booted out of the group when I mentioned that Hills was one of the foods mentioned in a consumer reported case of DCM and that Dr. Freeman received funding by the major dog food companies. I congratulate the person (or persons) who initiated this lawsuit. I hope the full truth about the grain-free food scare is revealed, it did a lot of damage to many of the dog food companies and people still believe that grain-free dog food is the cause for heart issues in dogs.
Debra Ulrich
February 9, 2024 at 3:27 pm
I am grateful that a company involved in pet care (food etc) has decided to take Hill’s on and I hope they have deep enough pockets to see this fight thru to the end!
Barbara Fellnermayr
February 9, 2024 at 4:21 pm
Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll have enough money to fight all the big pet food companies.
Unfortunately, the big companies are only in it for the money. That is also true of much of the veterinary community.
Mary
February 9, 2024 at 8:10 pm
The owner of KetoNatural is a lawyer. Good for him! I’m going to purchase a bag of his food right now!
T Allen
February 10, 2024 at 4:47 pm
I hope he starts a crowd funding page because I will definitely donate, as I’m sure would a whole lot of other dog owners!
Sandy M
February 10, 2024 at 1:04 am
This whole grain-free scare is an ironic conspiracy to me. The fact of the matter is that grain based kibble is often rife with mycotoxins that are the true cause of pet health issues. Kibble manufacturers like Hills use the improperly stored grains as a cheap source for ingredients so they can rake in profits at the expense of pet families. I hope that this lawsuit is the catalyst that gets your corner veterinarian to stop pushing Hills Science diet products. Every vet office I’ve ever gone into seems to have these bags prominently displayed. Time to stop!
NewWayfarer
February 13, 2024 at 1:25 pm
Just because because some grain-based food companies have been irresponsible, doesn’t mean we should turn away from the fact that ever sense grain-free came out, it’s been associated with consistent reports of heart issues with pets. Companies that fail to provide time and resources to making sure their grain-based product suppliers aren’t contaminated isn’t the same as grain itself being toxic. If that were the case, there would be countless examples of that from wild animals in nature.
Susan Thixton
February 14, 2024 at 9:16 am
Please read the evidence in the lawsuit, grain free pet foods have not been linked to heart disease in pets.
Barbara Fellnermayr
February 14, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Hi NewWayfarer,
To which wild animals in nature are you referring, that eat grain?
Grain is a cheap source of filler. Wild animals have much better tasting and nutritious foods to eat. They don’t waste their efforts on grain, they leave that to people!
Rox
February 10, 2024 at 9:30 am
Thank you, as always, wonderful reporting. Two comments though from this recently retired litigation paralegal with four decades of all levels of trial court work. First, it’s not always a great idea to try your case in the initial complaint (yes, I read it). Makes really good public information and publicity but delivers too much to the deep pocket conspirators who I have no doubt whatsoever are guilty (and don’t get me started on the vet/research/marketing thing going on in the equine world!). The second is they should have added antitrust claims because if they prevail on antitrust there’s HUGE potential for punitive damage awards. Just saying.
Ferret and Cat Owner
February 11, 2024 at 5:34 pm
However, we also need to take a good look at how many cats and ferrets have developed bladder stones from pea protein or other legumes (and sweet potatoes, high in phytic acid, which binds minerals) from grain-free diets. This is only one piece of a very convoluted puzzle.
My cat’s vet said he felt extorted by Hill’s to push their products, delivering cases of the food even after he repeatedly canceled orders.
Shannon Latzke
February 12, 2024 at 1:30 pm
There are six types of crystals/stones found in cats, with struvite and calcium oxalate being the most common. For struvites, the overall magnesium and phosphorus content, as well as low moisture content (of dry foods), is to blame. High moisture keeps the bladder flushed, and lower amounts of these minerals obviously means less material to clump together. I have over 20 years experience with cats prone to struvite crystals. I put them on low mag/phos diets (that happen to be grain free) and they are fine.