All too often pet owners get the blame for spreading false information about pet food. A recent article published on VeterinaryPracticeNews.com is another one of those instances where pet owners get the blame when in truth the veterinarian is the guilty party for spreading pet food misinformation.
Veterinarian Brennen McKenzie recently published “A closer look at popular pet food myths… and why they are just that.” He states “Clients readily pick up myths and misconceptions from breeders, other pet owners, the internet, and, sadly, even some veterinarians promoting unscientific ideas about animal health.”
His first so-called pet food myth is “Commercial pet foods are ‘processed’ or ‘junk food‘.” He tells readers that the term ‘processed’ is so broad it is “nearly meaningless“. And he states that pet foods are not ‘junk food’ because unlike human junk foods they are complete and balanced; “Just because food comes in a can or a bag doesn’t mean it is the same as a bag of potato chips or a can of Spam.”
Is processing “nearly meaningless” when meat on slaughtered poultry is so fully removed it leaves only skeletal frames destined for pet food. Then the frames are ground and cooked to become a fine powder (chicken meal), then added with other ingredients that are ground and cooked 3 more times to finally become small brown pieces of food?
Potato chips are not openly allowed by FDA to be made from condemned potatoes. SPAM is not openly allowed by FDA to be made from diseased animals or animals that have died other than by slaughter. But pet food is. Dr. Steven Solomon, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine Director, stated in April 2019 “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 exercise enforcement discretion.“
Does adding vitamins and minerals to processed diseased animals or non-slaughtered animals make the pet food any less junk?
Dr. McKenzie attempts to bust what he believes is myth “Conventional diets aren’t ‘natural’” with some far reaching arguments. “Critics of conventional canned and dry pet foods will sometimes claim they are nutritionally poor because they contain by-products or ‘filler.’ Most clients don’t know precisely what these terms mean, but they sound inherently second-rate. Animal by-products, however, are simply parts of food animals that humans don’t normally eat. These animal parts may be less aesthetically appealing to us than skeletal muscle, but they can be excellent nutrient sources if properly processed and used as part of a well formulated diet.”
He’s correct – many animal by-product ingredients are not consumed by humans, but he is not correct that all animal by-products are ‘excellent nutrient sources’. Federal law was written to protect us and our pets, but remember FDA doesn’t enforce those laws with pet food. Repeating FDA’s admission they allow pet food to violate federal law: “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 exercise enforcement discretion.”
Dr. McKenzie attempts to bust what he believes is myth grains and carbohydrates are unhealthy ignoring the risk of mycotoxins in grains and the health consequences science has proven they cause even at low levels.
Dr. McKenzie also addresses what he believes is myth regarding euthanized pets in pet food. His argument includes a misunderstanding of federal law: “The law doesn’t explicitly prohibit adding dead pets to pet food because there’s little evidence this is actually happening.” Actually, federal law absolutely prohibits any euthanized animal in any food including pet food. Section 342, Subchapter IV of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act states (in part): “A food shall be deemed to be adulterated- (5) if it is, in whole or in part, the product of a diseased animal or of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter.”
It has yet to be definitively proven euthanized cats and dogs have been processed into pet foods, but it HAS been more than proven that euthanized animals have been commonly processed into pet food. In 2017 and 2018 alone, more than 91 million pounds of pet food were recalled because they contained the euthanizing drug pentobarbital – because they contained some type of euthanized animal.
Next Dr. McKenzie attempts to bust what he believes is myth regarding veterinarians providing nutritional advice to pet owners; his myth: “Veterinarians aren’t reliable sources of information about nutrition“. “One of the most frustrating myths is veterinarians can’t be trusted to guide pet owners in making feeding choices. Proponents of alternative diets often claim we get little or no education on the subject or that all we know is pet food industry propaganda.”
There are only a small number of veterinarians that speak out against FDA’s allowance of illegal waste ingredients in pet food. The rest appear to choose to ignore FDA’s enforcement discretion with many vets selling in their clinics products that violate federal law. How can pet owners believe vets are educated about nutrition when they ignore facts straight from FDA regarding illegal waste ingredients in pet food?
Dr. McKenzie…pet owners aren’t as stupid as you believe we are. We’ve read FDA’s words, we’ve read the law. Why haven’t you?
We (pet owners) challenge every veterinarian to ask the FDA themselves. Ask the FDA if they allow condemned diseased animals and non-slaughtered animals to be processed into pet food with no warning or disclosure to pet owners (or veterinarians). And while you are gathering information, ask the USDA how many tons of non-slaughtered dead animal carcasses and diseased animal parts are disposed of in pet food through rendering each year. Once you’ve done your research as many of your clients have, then we can have an informed discussion on myths.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Amy
June 30, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Heck yeah! What Susan said – great post – call a spade a spade not a fluffy shovel.
Cannoliamo
June 30, 2020 at 12:45 pm
Wouldn’t it be nice if veterinary schools required all students to spend at least 1 week inside of commercial feed processing facilities so they could be accurately informed of the ingredients and processing steps that are used before the kibble or pate or “chunks and gravy” is put in to the bags / cans and an AAFCO label is slapped on? Maybe they would have a better idea of what is on the shelves being sold as “complete and balanced” food for pets.
Laurie Matson
June 30, 2020 at 1:46 pm
That will never happen because the big Pet food companies fund the Veterinary Schools!!!
Kaitlyn Hele
August 24, 2021 at 3:06 am
Do you have a credible source backing your claim? They do not.
Dianne & Pets
July 2, 2020 at 11:59 pm
After hearing gushing descriptions of pet food plants, I am convinced that the manufacturers maintain small showcase facilities to show vets. Next time I hear this from a vet, I will ask if they really believe that the plant they saw is really capable of
Toni
June 30, 2020 at 2:09 pm
I’m subscribed to that “magazine” and my blood boiled when I read that article. Every “food” article they write says the same thing. Crap in a bag is good. Anything else is bad, especially scraps off your table. And worse yet if you feed your pet human food.
Monti
July 1, 2020 at 9:23 am
I lost two 19 year old sibling dachshunds in January. I truly believe that the reason they had such long and healthy lives was because they never had commercial food from the time they were 6 months old. I cooked for them – every day of their lives. No one could convince me that human grade food made fresh every day wasn’t a better choice than a bag of chemical-snowstorm dry crap! I think I’m the long run it cost less and made my pets happier than any “high grade food” I could have bought. It required a bit more effort and prep but these two were never sick and were healthy until the day they died of age related issues!
Cannoliamo
July 1, 2020 at 9:51 am
[Personal Opinion]
The PFI (and their lobbyists) + AAFCO + FDA + AVMA + Poor Vet Education + Misleading Ads + Non-transparency are together responsible for the improper nutrition of our pets. All of the above have financial stakes in the manufacture and distribution of feed that contributes to poor nutrition and the resulting chronic health problems.
Just for analogy, the Sierra Club, and about 30 other environmental activist organizations have been spending billions of dollars and many, many hours (and lawsuits) in trying to make congress, EPA and American corporations responsive to the deterioration of our air, water, land and wildlife resources for over 50 years and look at what we have. American capitalism and private enterprise simply doesn’t have sufficient mechanisms to take the necessary science-based accountability and provide the necessary resources for either the waste we generate OR the damage caused, and there is comparatively little difference between our environmental health and our pets’ state of health.
T Allen
June 30, 2020 at 3:15 pm
Brennan McKenzie AKA SkepVet is the one of the most ignorant #$%$^% on the Internet. don’t bother challenging him on his “Beliefs”, (they absolutely are not based on science)
, because he will just block you. Why the veterinary medical profession tolerates him or worse promotes him is beyond me. It has to be the money because it sure isn’t the knowledge he brings to the table!
Ronald Krikorian
June 30, 2020 at 4:13 pm
U GO SUSAN!!!!
Teresa Johnson
June 30, 2020 at 6:05 pm
The good Dr McKenzie needs to invest time with a cheap dictionary. “Processed” most definitely has specific meaning. Unless you take down an animal and eat it raw right in the field, it’s processed. Unless you take up plants and consume them right from their raw wild grown state, it’s processed. The simple act of skinning, gutting and butchering is indeed processing. Just look around during hunting seasons for signs and ads for deer/elk/etc “processed”.
Shelling beans, peas, legumes is processing. Slicing, dicing, grinding is processing. The latter stages of cooking, canning or turning out a “pelleted” kibble are only final steps in a list of steps to “process” any food, human or pet.
How does one go through, dare I say, the “process” of being educated, earning degrees and positions of authority and not know the most simplistic definition of food preparation?
And we common simple minded pet caregivers are suppose to blindly trust Dr McKenzie and his ilk?! I think not.
Thanks once again for a great newsletter Susan. I and my humble hedgehogs deeply appreciate your hard work to give us all voice.
carole Henry
July 1, 2020 at 8:14 am
THANK YOU again for truth!
Lori Skillman
July 4, 2020 at 3:16 pm
Every time I read one of these articles from you I am just shaking my head.. shaking my head because it’s just not right that our commercial pet food is so horrible and it just not right that my friends won’t listen to me when i tell them about it.. it makes me so sad for their pets. Why do they continue to believe the Vet who is trying to sell them crap food? Just read the damn label! Its horrible! And the kibble… brown hard balls! I am just so sad. THANK YOU for spreading the TRUTH and for continuing the FIGHT! You are amazing!
T Z
August 13, 2020 at 10:43 pm
in the comments section of that website (https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/pet-food-myths-june-2020), I posted the link to this truthaboutpetfood article — unfortunately my comment has been waiting moderation for the past month
Cherry
January 31, 2021 at 8:52 am
One time I commented on the Article One more time dogs aren’t wolves. He told me raw has no benefits and has significant risk. I don’t know what his means by “risk” but it’s probably the usual sayings like ‘wash your hands after giving your dog raw food’ etc