CBC Documentary on Pet Food (and how bad it is for your pet)

[james t kirk]

Pet Food: A Dog's Breakfast
Thursday January 24, 2008 at 9pm on CBC-TV
repeating Saturday Janaury 26 at 10pm ET on CBC Newsworld

PET FOOD: A DOG'S BREAKFAST
Thursday January 24, 2008 at 9pm on CBC-TV
repeating Saturday Janaury 26 at 10pm ET on CBC Newsworld
Do we really know what we're feeding our pets? In the Spring of 2007, pet owners across North America were devastated when upwards of 50,000 of their beloved pet dogs and cats fell seriously ill after eating tainted pet food. Many of the animals died. Menu Foods of Toronto, the manufacturer, initiated the biggest recall of pet food in North American history.

In the wake of the scandal, the trust pet food makers so carefully nurtured with pet lovers has been severely shaken, and the $16 billion dollar pet food industry has come under public scrutiny as never before. Pet owners and governments are asking: Is pet food both nutritious, and safe? Does it live up to the claims of its makers? Is the industry adequately regulated?

Yap films' new documentary, PET FOOD: A DOG'S BREAKFAST, investigates, and discovers that a 'dog's breakfast' may be just that.

This exposé takes viewers inside the world of pet food manufacturing and is essential viewing for every pet owner.

PET FOOD: A DOG'S BREAKFAST features critics of the industry, foremost among them Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, a California vet, and insider who used to work in the pet food industry. She says the recall of food made by Menu Foods of Toronto is a sign of larger problems. "Unfortunately the pet food industry is cutting corners, is not doing the testing it says it's doing, is not using the quality of ingredients it wants pet owners to believe are in that bag and can, and is not forthcoming with pet owners about those facts. It is not a truthful industry."

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/dogsbreakfast.html

 

[james t kirk]

I watched this doc last night.

As some of you may know, I am 100% against processed pet food since I feel that it is basically crap that will ultimately kill your pet.

And now there is an interesting documentary out there that delves into the pet food industry and how they have been brainwashing north American society that if you feed your pet regular human food you are somehow going to harm your animal. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The pet food industry in north America is worth something like 16 billion a year and is the perfect way of disposing of crud that otherwise would go into the dump. Not only that, animals can't speak up for themselves.

I've been feeding my cat a home made diet of chicken and or fish plus some veggies for 3 years now after she was diagnosed with kidney problems. A visit to a vet in Guelph who is a big believer that the pet food industry is evil changed my way of thinking.

If you're an animal lover too, you need to see this documentary.

 

[a 1 player]

I have been feeding my dog(s) raw meat, fish, chicken, and veggies for years now. They have never been healthier. I think it is the way to go though it can be costly and a tad messy.

 

[S.C. Joe]

My doggie ( chow chow ) was feed chicken, rice, beef, lamb, pasta, potatoes. Ate just a little Imas dry dog food for breakfest. Lived for 14 years.

At times it was a pain cooking for him like he was a kid but he lived a long and happy life.

 

[james t kirk]

My cat was diagnosed with kidney problems 3 years ago by a local vet and given 1 year to live. Of course, that vet wanted me to feed her the special vet pet food for cats with Kidney disease and give her 2 kinds of meds.

I took her to see a vet in Guelph whom my friend recommended as the best vet out there for straight forward advice.

She gave me a simple recipe for cat food (basically mainly fresh meat and some veggies for minerals) and told me never to feed her kibble again - ever.

Well, 3 years later the cat is still alive, her kidney levels are holding (a bit up, a bit down) but all in all she's well and at a good weight.

I have no doubt that her kidneys were injured by her former owner (my ex) feeding her Eukanuba kibble.

 

[S.C. Joe]

But she meant well. I never hear that name brand pet food was bad till just a year ago. My doggie just was getting spoiled by us...look back now it was good we feed him like we did.

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

my poor kitty passed away this week. she would have been 21 yrs old in May
she went in her sleep of natural causes.
I only ever fed her whiskas and friskies (her choice)

 

[Keebler Elf]

Let's not overreact people. Just because your pet got sick doesn't mean it was caused by the pet food.

 

[Papi Chulo]

What is the big deal???.. pets are only animals.

So they die a year or two prematurely.... you get to buy a new one that much sooner.

 

[basketcase]

But we feed ouselves all sorts of processed foods; why shouldn't our pets get the same?

 

[herames]

Are we really reading the label for our foods as well?for our pets the question is if they will be forced by law to say where the food base products originate from. If you happen to see the origin of for human consumption frozen seafood such as shrimp,You'll see a list of 4 countrys, India ,china ,vietnam and thailand. i personally avoid eating foods from china and india.The pet food scandal didn't help, but to further my dislike for south Asia foods. fact of the matter :Chinese Restauranters where caught importing legal uncontrolled/checked chicken ,seafood and such via container into Italy back in autum of 2005 at the height of the Avian flu scare. Bad enough that "Highliner" foods have been lying about their foods are"product of Canada". but really from south asia and other low cost producers.

 

[Tangwhich]

It's not just highliner, all sorts of foods put Product of Canada when it's actually not from here. Perfectly legal (it shouldn't be) though..

 

[Moraff]

What is the big deal???.. pets are only animals.

So they die a year or two prematurely.... you get to buy a new one that much sooner.

Charming.

And your purpose in posting this would be?

 

[james t kirk]

But we feed ouselves all sorts of processed foods; why shouldn't our pets get the same?

Because cats for example can not digest carbs, yet kibble is basically grains (old shitty ones like from the brewery), but carbs none the less.

 

[big dogie]

I saw the show ....what a load of crap!!!!! I personally know 2 phd's of animal nutrition both feed kibble, why???? because these feed companies spend millions every year on research and testing, I personally want that for my animals. I do not believe that science is bad and peoples who write books will say anything to sell them like that woman on the show, she is looking to sell her book and get paid for personal appearances. BTW...JTK vets only have 4hrs of nutrition at OVC that does not make them experts.

b d

 

[The Cunning Linguist]

It's not a surprise to me (having grown up on a farm), that meat by-products are all the stuff left over after we take the best for human consumption. What I did learn is how manufacturers manipulate the ingredients on the label by using different variations of the same product (i.e corn), so that it actually outweighs the main ingredient(chicken, beef, etc).

Apparantly it's also a lie that feeding your dog or cat "human" food is bad for them (table scraps, potatoes, rice, chicken, beef). Just decrease the portion of kibble you feeding them to maintain a healthy weight. And speaking of weight, it's been proven that an overweight dog or cat has their life span shortened by 2 years

I'm sure the pet food industry is pretty pissed being put under a microscope after years of "self policing". Now there being held accountable.

I remember what my mother feed our farm dogs. She would make up a big pot of Quaker oatmeal and feed it cold, and add some cheap canned meat, and table scraps(meat scraps, corn, potatoes, pasta, etc). Along with the occasional groundhog, or rabbit, one of our dogs (black lab) lived to 22 years of age, with virtually no vet visits except for his shots. He never got sick, and died in his sleep.

 

[james t kirk]

I saw the show ....what a load of crap!!!!! I personally know 2 phd's of animal nutrition both feed kibble, why???? because these feed companies spend millions every year on research and testing, I personally want that for my animals. I do not believe that science is bad and peoples who write books will say anything to sell them like that woman on the show, she is looking to sell her book and get paid for personal appearances. BTW...JTK vets only have 4hrs of nutrition at OVC that does not make them experts.

b d

You must work in the pet food industry.

Millions on research is meaningless. All that could be is researching ways to make their product cheaper and tastier to dogs and cats. The animals would never eat the kibble, especially cats.

I wasn't aware that universities offered a program in animal nutrition (let alone a graduate degree). Maybe you could post a link to whatever university that is.

 

[LancsLad]

I wonder if the CBC interviewed ESCO!!!!!!!!!!!!


Basard probably bit the reporter, then humped her leg

 

[Corey]

I personally know 2 phd's of animal nutrition both feed kibble.

b d

With all due respect to you, those two Phds in animal nutrition probably know as much about animal nutrition as two Phds in business knowing about how to run a business.

Squat.

 

[big dogie]

You must work in the pet food industry.

Millions on research is meaningless. All that could be is researching ways to make their product cheaper and tastier to dogs and cats. The animals would never eat the kibble, especially cats.

I wasn't aware that universities offered a program in animal nutrition (let alone a graduate degree). Maybe you could post a link to whatever university that is.

I do not work in the pet food industry, but I own high performance field dogs. My dogs have been #1 in Canada 4 times in 2 different breeds and in the states my dogs have been in the top five more then 10 times. I buy high quality food, high end Purina products mostly, I have a huge advantage over novices who think they know better, and follow some fad diet for their dog.

Dogs and cats are very resilient and are scavengers the diet people choose to feed most will do fine with, but will never be as good as the ones that are scientifically proven. I have seen it year after year in the field in the welping box and all the old dogs I have had, I shit you not.

I do not have a link but I am sure you can Google U of Guelph (Ag) and I believe another in Canada is at Saskatoon and thinking about it they probably have one in Quebec in french.

b d