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Table Food

It seems the brainwashing that table food – people food – is bad for pets will never end. Another U.S. vet publically tells pet owners table food is bad, and a new campaign launched by the Pet Food Institute to unknowing pet owners in the Philippines tells the same old incorrect story.

It seems the brainwashing that table food – people food – is bad for pets will never end.  Another U.S. vet publically tells pet owners table food is bad, and a new campaign launched by the Pet Food Institute to unknowing pet owners in the Philippines tells the same old incorrect story.

Back in the 1970’s, the lobby organization for Big Pet Food – The Pet Food Institute (PFI) – initiated a pet food educational campaign across the U.S.  Their goal was to ‘educate’ pet owners to the misgivings of feeding table food to pets.  Veterinarian spokespersons were hired to warn petsumers of harm they could be causing their pet by giving them food from the human table.  Ads were purchased in leading newspapers, magazines and radio stations.  No human food leftovers was their message; only ‘balanced and complete’ food made specifically for cats and dogs.

It seems forty years later, the PFI message continues.  Not only with veterinarians in the U.S., but in countries all over the world (where Big Pet Food is beginning to take over the minds of innocent pet owners).

It is pet food brain washing at its finest.  ‘No’ to table food is not based on science; it is pet food marketing.

In a recent New Jersey Herald post by Dr. Don Costlow, the veterinarian was asked “Is table food really bad for my pet?”  Dr. Costlow responded…
“In a word, yes.  The average caloric content of table food is twice that of dog/cat food.  In addition, our pets weigh substantially less than we do, yet we tend to give them human portions.  For example, a 50 pound dog eating a half of a cheeseburger is like me eating 2 cheeseburgers. For either of us, this would lead to weight gain.  The calories of table food ingested will also replace the calories ingested by their well balanced dog/cat food, similar to a child eating candy before dinner.

Finally, we see many cases of pancreatitis a week. This disease is often triggered by the pet eating table food which is higher in fat than their normal meal and causes severe vomiting.  The patient often needs to stay in the hospital on intravenous fluids for several days.  So please, only feed a well balanced diet made for pets.”

This is just simply not true.  According to National Research Council (NRC) guidelines (accepted by AAFCO and FDA), a 50 pound (inactive) dog caloric intake per day is close to 1000 calories.  A cheeseburger – though this can vary – is roughly 360 calories.  A fifty pound dog would need to eat three cheeseburgers to come close to the needed 1000 calories per day; not even close to the 1/2 cheeseburger Dr. Costlow misinformed readers of.  He put the fear of disease into readers minds of feeding any real food (table food) to pets based on incorrect calorie and fat content.

What Dr. Costlow didn’t tell readers was that commercial pet food can contain ANY amount of fat – any.  There are no maximum calorie or fat (or protein) restrictions established for dog and cat foods.  Pet foods are only required to tell the consumer the minimum amount of fat included in the food.  Makes one wonder if those cases of pancreatitis Dr. Costlow talked about were actually caused by commercial pet food with extraordinary high levels of fat the pet owner was never told about.

My guess would be, that Dr. Costlow didn’t intentionally mislead pet owners.  My guess would be he has been brainwashed by Big Pet Food and doesn’t even realize it.

And now Big Pet Food takes their message into a new country – the Phillippines.  From a Inquirer.net story…
“MANILA, Philippines – Man’s “best friend” should not be eating man’s leftover food.
This was the primary goal of the “Well-Fed, Well-Nurtured” campaign launched Friday by the Pet Food Institute (PFI), a trade association based in the United States, and the Veterinary Practitioners Association of the Philippines (VPAP), to make Filipinos aware that pets deserve more than table scraps.”

This is exactly what was done in the U.S. in the 1970’s.  Brainwashing.

Why are they pushing their decades old sales pitch to Filipinos?  “99 percent of pet owners still feed leftovers and table scraps to their pets” in the Philippines.  They aren’t selling enough pet food there…yet.

We all understand that a balanced diet is significant to humans and to our pets.  No argument there.  But to tell us real food – table food – can harm our pets…is ridiculous.  To cause pet owners to believe that each meal a dog or cat eats must contain exact nutrition or the pet will become ill is ridiculous (and by the way, most commercial pet foods aren’t exact either!).  It is Big Pet Food marketing plain and simple.

Do not feed your pet Chocolate, Coffee, Avocado, Macadamia Nuts, Grapes, Raisins, Yeast Dough, Onions, Garlic, Chives, Milk, Salt.  Go very minimal on the spices.

But do give them table food!  Remember, we have been brainwashed.

Compensate for the table food by simply lessening the amount of commercial food given.  Start slow (small amounts of table food) and avoid the risk foods above.  Don’t feed more than 1/3 of their diet as table food without making efforts to balance the nutrition (proper amount of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals in the table food).  Vary the people food given; meat, fish, vegetables and fruit.

As for my pets, they have eaten table food everyday for the last three years.  No pancreatitis, no health consequences what so ever…only happy, extremely healthy pets.  We’re both happy.

 

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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3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Lisa M

    January 9, 2013 at 9:23 pm

    I feed my two dogs table food as well and find they have more energy and seem much more content. It is not their main source of food, though, but after reading some of the articles on the site, maybe it should be. They love fruits and vegetables so it helps. I do have to ask about garlic and avocado. I know the pit of an avocado (the inside) is toxic, but my vet actually told me it isn’t really bad for them, is just higher in fat. I have seen other sites say the same thing. Also, I can’t seem to get a clear answer on garlic. Some says its ok, and some says its not. I have asked two different vets about this, and they aren’t quite sure either. Just wondering if you had more insite. Thanks!

    • Susan Thixton

      January 9, 2013 at 9:42 pm

      I’m not certain about avocado – most say that it is toxic. With garlic, there is mixed science on it. Some say it is toxic (cousin of the onion which is toxic), others say it is not in smaller doses. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I play on the side of caution – avoid them both.

      • Lisa M

        January 9, 2013 at 11:33 pm

        Thank you for the reply. I do tend avoid them just to make sure. There are a lot of other good foods to feed them. 🙂

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