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Super Bowl Commercial Causes Veterinarian Rant

An unusual reaction to a human grade pet food television commercial.

For those that might not know, a human grade pet food (Farmer’s Dog) had a television commercial during the Super Bowl. The commercial has caused quite a stir.

Opinion: the commercial was good, nothing exceptional to me except perhaps that this was the first time a human grade pet food had a Super Bowl commercial. For me personally, I’d always prefer seeing a human grade pet food commercial that promotes actual food than a feed grade pet food commercial pretending to use food ingredients. But, I did think the commercial crossed a line a bit with the “forever” tag line – it felt to me they were trying to attach the brand to Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib’s world-wide best selling book The Forever Dog (of which the brand has no affiliation).

The commercial caused competitor human grade pet food JustFoodforDogs to issue a press release announcing they spend their money on research instead of advertising. “They bring the marketing, we bring the science,” said President Carey Tischler of his competitors ad spend for the Big Game, approximated to cost upward of $5.5M. “By spreading the word that feed-grade, mass-produced kibble is bad for our pets, and that a diet of fresh food can be transformative in their lives, we are all collectively arriving at our goal of giving a better life to our pets.”

And the pet food commercial caused a veterinarian to go off on a rant on Facebook (so crazy we initially thought it was a joke).

Veterinarian Dr. Andrea Weinrick stated in a Facebook post she yelled at her TV because the “commercial was advertising non-kibble (raw/fresh cooked) dog food.” After telling readers about her veterinarian degree, she states “Non-kibble food can be dangerous.” Her concern is foodborne illness (pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella). She was angry that the Farmer’s Dog television commercial did not warn viewers to “the potential dangers of non-kibble food consumption nor do they address the potential health risks for the humans preparing this food.” “…this commercial was advertising non-kibble (raw/fresh cooked) dog food. And I hate these types of dog food.

Wow.

Who would have thought a television commercial would cause an educated person to write such uneducated things.

The facts are:

From FDA Enforcement Reports database, since 2012:

  • 158,476 pounds of cooked pet foods (non-kibble) have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria
  • 1,979,678 pounds of raw pet foods (non-kibble) have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria
  • 177,598,883 pounds of kibble pet foods have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria.

And by the way Dr. Weinrick, even though 8000% more kibble pet foods (pounds) have been recalled for “potential health risks” than raw and cooked pet foods combined – we have never seen a kibble television commercial warn pet owners about the dangers of pathogenic bacteria.

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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35 Comments

35 Comments

  1. Cheryl

    February 16, 2023 at 3:26 pm

    Wow. So sad to see a response like this. As a healthcare professional I know I have to continue to grow and learn. It includes changing long held beliefs as science and technology advance. It is frustrating to hear vets insist that pets can’t have “people food” and we are too stupid to manage to do that safely. How did dogs survive before commercial pet feed? A lot of people do know the importance of washing their hands, and are able to rationalize that raw food needs to be handled correctly.

  2. E

    February 16, 2023 at 3:35 pm

    I hope the truth about the benefits of human-grade food and the dangers in 4-D extruded feed-grade will continue to spread. For credibility’s sake though for anyone who might use this against the truth, is your percentage for pet food recalls in proportion to the amount sold, since naturally kibble is the majority of pet food sold there will definitely be more total pounds worth in recalls since there’s more of it. Of course I’m not saying it’s a low, reasonable, or acceptable amount of recalls in the kibble industry by any means!! I’m just saying so that it doesn’t seem to them as if we’re trying to play dirty or something and not playing fair. I hope this makes sense. All love thank you so much for all your hard work, articles, and helping me learn and decide what to feed my pets 💕

  3. T Allen

    February 16, 2023 at 3:40 pm

    And she does have enough diversified experience to have taught her to be careful of what she think she knows because saying things online. Just goes to show how vet schools are producing “know it all” vets (who don’t know as much as they think they do) and how people who go through our educational system who really are intelligent can be blinded by their “book learning”. Her FB page is down but you can google her other posts and mentions. I hope this experience helps further her “education”. Her basic premise “could be” correct but it doesn’t have to be and her presentation shows a lack of knowledge of the intricacies of food safety and the meat/PFI.

  4. Catherine Rodgers

    February 16, 2023 at 3:46 pm

    This may have been done by an Astro-Turf group. A group that just poses as concerned citizens but it really a front group for industry.

  5. Antoinette de Janasz

    February 16, 2023 at 3:59 pm

    Thank God for Susan Thixton and others like her who are educating pet owners about nutrition! Hopefully we can reverse the trend of pets dying way too soon.

  6. Dawn

    February 16, 2023 at 4:05 pm

    My Frenchies “Hate” Farmer’s Dog food. They would not even taste it. Turned away except Peony she tried to bury it.
    My neighbors German short hair got it. Obviously her tastebuds didn’t mind anything other then old roys kibble as she enjoyed it. At least it wasn’t a total waste. 🙁

  7. Pauline Fraedrich

    February 16, 2023 at 5:03 pm

    We love you Susan! This was so funny to see that vets post. Hey any publicity is still publicity though! 😄

  8. Kimberly W Duran

    February 16, 2023 at 5:11 pm

    Great Article! Thanks for calling out the absurdity of Dr. Weinrick’s comments. Too bad there are still so many uneducated doctors for animals and humans!

    • Kathryn

      February 17, 2023 at 6:34 am

      I’m a bit of a Foodie…and the various cooking shows have me more paranoid about raw chicken (and the USDA statement that ALL chicken is contaminated) than I am about ANY dog food…USDA APPROVED for human consumption or not!

  9. Deb

    February 16, 2023 at 5:41 pm

    Thanks for all you do!!! All we can do is keep informing people so they can see the light and make the best decisions they can afford to do for their pets. Same goes for us as humans as well. Stay informed people and this is an excellent site to do just that!! Again, thanks for all you do. I’m one of the unfortunate ones that needed waking up after I lost my pet in 2007 from the contaminated food that killed thousands of pets that year.

  10. Jyoti gupta

    February 16, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    Oh man…that vet is truly uneducated. Humans are always told to eat whole fresh foods to be healthy and to stay away from processed food. Logically, why would this kot be true for other living creatures? Can this vet please do a post where she reads the ingredients of the kibble she promotes and explain them all? Just look at zoos and animal sanctuaries …why don’t they feed a form of kibble to those animals? Thank you to Susan for being such an advocate for the lives of our pets!

    • K

      February 18, 2023 at 1:27 pm

      Actually, they do. When I worked at a very prestigious and well known zoo, we fed our wolves purina pro plan. So…

      • Lisa Swanson

        March 1, 2023 at 11:22 pm

        That makes me very sad that we’ve taken their freedom and aren’t even caring for them as they would in their natural habitat.

  11. DoodleMama

    February 16, 2023 at 6:01 pm

    8000% more kibble has been recalled than raw food (in pounds), but how much more kibble has been made/sold than raw food since 2012?

    • Susan Thixton

      February 16, 2023 at 6:10 pm

      The data for styles of pet food sold per year is not easily obtained. But I did find the information for 2021. You can see that in my comment above.

      • DoodleMama

        February 16, 2023 at 7:44 pm

        I appreciate the diligence, but passing this data off as a fair comparison is misleading. There are too many variables in the data to be an accurate representation of information.

      • DoodleMama

        February 16, 2023 at 7:51 pm

        Fair enough, but the comparison above isn’t an accurate representation. I appreciate the diligence, but presenting unfair comparisons weakens your argument.

        • Susan Thixton

          February 16, 2023 at 7:57 pm

          It is an accurate representation. It is factual data directly from FDA database.

          • DoodleMama

            February 16, 2023 at 8:05 pm

            I’m not disputing the data, I’m just saying you’re comparing apples to oranges. Of course, you’re limited by the data you can access.

          • Cedric j Wilson

            February 17, 2023 at 11:45 am

            Tried the farmers dog food, my neighbor gave it to me because his dog wouldn’t eat it. I have 3 dogs my oldest (16) years old would not eat it. My 2 pit mixed will eat it if it was there. I normally feed them “pet fresh” the farmers dog food is a little messy in the packages, but I like the pet fresh better, it’s less hassle, and my dogs love it.

  12. Lorraine

    February 16, 2023 at 6:33 pm

    Sorry but that Vet isn’t too smart if she does not know that fruits and veggies are often recalled for bacteria like salmonella, Listeria or E-coli. Does she go on a rant whenever she sees lettuce advertised after the almost year of recalls on Romain lettuce? Does she tell people not to ever handle or eat cantaloupe after the largest recall was for Listeria found in cantaloupes and there were deaths involved? She pushes kibble but does she have any numbers of how many dogs have died from kibble recalls? 2007 recall of something like 50 commercial dog food brands due to poison in the wheat glutton or the more recent commercial dog food recalls for excess vitamin D. Thousands of dogs & cats died from kibble..how many known deaths from raw feeding???

    • Carol Sacher

      February 17, 2023 at 8:03 am

      Thanks for the links. As another comment said, and I paraphrase, Vet schools (universities) are churning out some less then bright graduates. Well, look where the money is coming from!! They are all ‘selling out’ to the highest donors.

  13. Eve

    February 16, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    Hi Dr Andrea Weinrick,
    Unless Veterinarians have been educated through thorough holistic animal nutrition modalities NOT JUST ORTHODOX biased invested interests of so called animal nutrition; then you really have NO clause for your opinion. Brilliant veterinarians truly understand the critical importance of biological species appropriate nutrition and how it preserves, protects, rebuilds, strengthens, supports and increases longevity LONGER than the average lifespan of today pets being forced to endure commercial processed pet feed translates to GARBAGE BY PRODUCT INDUSTRY FILTH. Brilliance in all careers or jobs is understanding HONEST SCIENCE and COMMON SENSE —- there is NOTHING DANGEROUS ABOUT FEEDING OUR CATS AND DOGS (and ferrets) A BIOLOGICAL SPECIES APPROPRIATE DIET that synchronicities in every aspect from a cellular level including mind, body and spirit. As a veterinarian ONLY better to stick with what you are good at YOU ARE NOT AN ANIMAL NUTRITIONIST unlike myself so I do know the incredible longevity with feeding a raw (and some cooked) human grade quality foods to our beloved extended family members.

  14. Terry Durbin

    February 16, 2023 at 8:58 pm

    Just unbelievable. Thank you for your persistent hard work, Susan.

  15. Mary

    February 17, 2023 at 9:30 am

    I am surprised that you are drawing conclusions using pounds of food recalled rather than as a % of each type of the food produced that has been recalled, which would be a much better indicator of the safety of each type of food. It would also be good to know type of pathogen since some are only relevant to at risk groups vs total population risk. I don’t know if one type of food is safer than another, but the way you are representing it is misleading.

    • Susan Thixton

      February 17, 2023 at 9:33 am

      There is nothing misleading in how I presented the information. It is factual information taken from the FDA website. The data is not available for percent of food sold (styles of pet food). And as well, the FDA rarely releases the type of pathogen information. We present the information we have available.

  16. Rox

    February 17, 2023 at 10:24 am

    That (fatally for dogs) MISGUIDED veterinarian is (a) a PRODUCT of veterinary schools in the US which are slaves to corporate ideology – profit above pets. AND (b) a SHILL for her corporation-owned veterinary chain which advocates AGAINST healthy human-grade pet foods – why7? BECAUSE THE UNHEALTHY “FEED” GRADE PET FOODS EVENTUALLY CREATE MORE BUSINESS FOR VETERINARIANS BECAUSE PETS ARE SICKENING AND DYING FROM THOSE DISGUSTING FOODS. FOODS MADE FROM LONG-DEAD AND DOWNER COWS AND IMPORTED HORSEMEAT FROM COUNTRIES ALSO FEEDING TOXICS AND FROM TOXIC CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS INCLUDING PRESERVATIVES. Unfortunately the main so-called “professional organizations” for veterinarians which SHOULD BE ADVOCATING FOR HEALTH are instead spending all their time and membership money to teach veterinarians HOW TO GET MORE MONEY FROM THEIR CLIENTS. People – if you don’t already have a HOLISTIC veterinarian make time, spend energy, to seek one out. Don’t be sucked into the corporatized veterinarian industrial complex it is all about monetizing sickness and death for pets.

  17. Jeff McFarlane

    February 17, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    Until 75 years ago, fresh raw/cooked food was the norm for dogs, and they lived longer, healthier lives.

    FDA has warnings about handling/feeding raw foods, sure, but they also have some very interesting recommendations for handling dry (kibble) foods. Vets tend to warn people about the dangers raw foods present (and yes, they do, but people would never touch raw meat and not wash their hands, even a 6 year old knows this), but on one thinks twice about scooping kibble out of a bin (that’s rarely washed) with a scoop(that is rarely washed) into a bowl (again, rarely washed) and then eating their breakfast without washing their hands. This is how in 2007 and 2012 the CDC tracked multistate outbreaks of Salmonella IN PEOPLE directly linked to dry dog food. Google it.

    Here’s the FDA kibble handling recommendations:

    https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/tips-safe-handling-pet-food-and-treats

    Pretty scary, and I have never heard of a Veterinarian warning clients about the proper handling of dry foods, as per FDA recommendations. Ever. But they seem to need to weigh in on raw food handling. I’m more confident in a properly prepared and handled frozen raw food being safe than a feed grade ingredient kibble that has a 18 month shelf life, unrefrigerated. Heck, I don’t trust a cooked roast of beef after a week in the fridge, how is there “meat” in a kibble that’s safe after 18 months at room temp?

  18. Molly

    February 17, 2023 at 9:18 pm

    Not surprised. Every time I mention my dogs raw diet to a vet I get a super judgmental response. I get snarky right back when I say, well her IBD was supposed to kill her 8 years ago. And ever since I switched her diet she is the healthiest 10-year-old dog that I have ever met. So take your judgments and shove them

  19. Nikki

    February 18, 2023 at 2:38 am

    I would like to know because I am truly curious. When vets are students in veterinary school, how many hours are spent learning about nutrition & who is it taught by? I was told years ago that vet students received less than an hour per semester dedicated to learning about nutrition & that it was basically a lecture by a rep from Purina. I’m very curious if this is infact the case.

  20. Missy

    February 18, 2023 at 7:39 am

    I’m A numbers person so I would like you to clarify your data that you posted please. To compare that type of data, you would need a denominator. Are those numbers over the same time frame or total reports overall? Or are number of reports over number of pet food items sold? Because processed kibble has been around a lot longer and sells a lot more than fresh or frozen food, so of course there would be more reports. I actually know several veterinarians who recommend just food for dogs because there is a veterinary nutritionist on staff. But I had tried it for one of my picky dogs and she would not eat it. I guess I was uncomfortable at the end of the Farmer’s add because they were saying that food helped that he dog live an absurdly long life and I didn’t even know it was around for twenty years? If someone can show me research that is done over 3-4 years comparing Farmers to Just Food to kibble, then I might believe it’s really better. Otherwise it’s just hype to me.

  21. Barbara Fellnermayr

    February 18, 2023 at 3:17 pm

    Wonder what’s in her dog’s SUPPER BOWL? She pushes kibble because that’s what makes her money. She profits off the foods when she sells it, then again when the dog gets sick. She’s creating a perpetual income stream. I’ve been making/selling raw for 17 years and have never had to recall products, for two reasons. We only buy human-grade ingredients & we handle it properly. Our customers are smart enough to wash their hands & dog bowls, just like they do with their own food! The big pet food manufacturers use their companies as dumping sites for their human food companies. I understand that Hill’s is the provider of the two weeks nutritional training that is provided in vet school! The vets and pet food manufacturers should be forced to eat what they sell. I know I do!

  22. Cheyanne

    February 20, 2024 at 5:20 am

    I’m going to be switching my pitbull to The Farmers Dog here when I get the package! I was doing research all week long on dog food and The Farmers Dog. I’m surprised that a veterinarian of all people would suggest to even give kibble over a natural died! Aging backwards is real and it starts with a good diet! My dog has skin allergies and has a sensitive stomach and bowels, I have been desperately trying to lean away from buying kibble. My last draw with the kibble was a few days ago when my dog for the 40th time now has had (tmi) diarrhea from the kibble. Anytime I cook him some actual meat and eggs and some rice and veggies he loves it and has normal movement. I’ve noticed within my dog aging he can be almost lethargic. If you’re dog has similar problems I’d look into a healthier diet potentially!

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