In the shadow of the dazzling advertising slogans and assurances of complete nutrition for our four-legged companions within the dog food industry, lies a concealed and disconcerting reality. Just as crucial as understanding what we should feed our dogs is the need for insightful scrutiny of what we absolutely should not provide them, and, even more importantly, why not.
Behind the scenes of this industry, discarded byproducts from other sectors, such as the food industry, are employed to create what is marketed as dog food. Concurrently, a propaganda machine, orchestrated by the industry itself, asserts that their researchers have crafted well-balanced meals perfect for humanity's best friend. They claim that slaughterhouse waste and surplus products from the grain industry, unsuitable for human consumption, constitute an excellent diet for our dogs. When they began adding synthetic vitamins and minerals to dry kibble, this further fortified their arguments, presenting dry food as the superior choice. Dog owners became frightened and were convinced that composing their own dog food was a complex task, impossible to balance with all the necessary nutrients and that those who ventured to prepare their own meals risked their pets' health.
However, what is often overlooked is that the extrusion process used to manufacture dry dog food sterilizes and depletes the food. It strips away all vitality, leaving a product far from the living and diverse diet that dogs have adapted to through evolution.
Recently, fresh and canned wet food has gained popularity, with many erroneously believing that these options compare to homemade meals. Regardless of how they are packaged, they should never be equated with "real" food. The contents of a can are sterile, entirely lacking the essential beneficial bacteria and enzymes present in raw or frozen meat, and the content can be just as inadequate as in dry kibble.
Since the mid-1990s, research has been largely funded and conducted by the companies that manufacture dog food themselves. It is nearly inevitable that when the industry takes over research, it becomes biased and extremely difficult to trust.
Many dog owners want to rely on the convenient concept of "complete" dog food. It provides a sense of security, knowing that their pets receive everything they need in a single product. But can a diet that has undergone a rigorous and sterilizing process truly provide dogs with the nutritious diversity that nature has honed over millions of years? The pet food industry has skillfully confused dog owners by employing terms like "complete," "balanced," and "complete nutrition." They have also introduced synthetic additives into their nutrient-deficient blends of animal and vegetable byproducts to create an illusion of completeness and persuade dog owners that they jeopardize their beloved animals' well-being if they do not follow the pet food industry's path. It is high time that we examine this with a critical eye and prioritize our pets' health over the industry's profit interests.
Despite having provided our dogs with this supposed complete food that is touted to be so beneficial, veterinarians' waiting rooms fill with sick dogs.
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Read more about the drawbacks of industrial feed here
