If you have heard Katryns Pet Food lecture, you already know this....through television, magazines and strolls through the pet aisle at the grocery store, you see plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the wholesome nutrition your dog or cat will ever need. This is what the $16.1 billion per year U.S. pet food industry wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products. What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves. The pet food market has been dominated in the last few years by the acquisition of big companies by even bigger companies. With $15 billion a year at stake in the U.S. and rapidly expanding foreign markets, it’s no wonder that some are greedy for a larger piece of the pie. • Nestlé’s bought Purina to form Nestlé Purina Petcare Company (Fancy Feast, Alpo, Friskies, Mighty Dog, Dog Chow, Cat Chow, Puppy Chow, Kitten Chow, Beneful, One, ProPlan, DeliCat, HiPro, Kit’n’Kaboodle, Tender Vittles, Purina Veterinary Diets). • Del Monte gobbled up Heinz (MeowMix, Gravy Train, Kibbles ’n Bits, Wagwells, 9Lives, Cycle, Skippy, Nature’s Recipe, and pet treats Milk Bone, Pup-Peroni, Snausages, Pounce). • MasterFoods owns Mars, Inc., which consumed Royal Canin (Pedigree, Waltham’s, Cesar, Sheba, Temptations, Goodlife Recipe, Sensible Choice, Excel). Other major pet food makers are not best known for pet care, although many of their household and personal care products do use ingredients derived from animal by-products: • Procter and Gamble (P&G) purchased The Iams Company (Iams, Eukanuba) in 1999. P&G shortly thereafter introduced Iams into grocery stores, where it did very well. Now, they sold to Mars, Inc. • Colgate-Palmolive bought Hill’s Science Diet (founded in 1939) in 1976 (Hill’s Science Diet, Prescription Diets, Nature’s Best). The safeguard is to READ LABELS, EDUCATE YOURSELF and purchase PREMIUM FOOD through a LOCAL, INDEPENDENT RETAILER that is willing to take the time to talk with you about what is in your pets food. Dont fall into the Big Company Trap.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:41:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015