[nagdu] The Shocking Truth About Commercial Dog Food

[Brenda]

So what are varieties of dog and cat food that do not have this 
disgusting stuff in them??

Is there a website to get specifics?  I have 2 cats and one dog.  One 
day i will have a guide.  I feed moist food to my cats (Purina AD for my 
older cat and Friskies liver & poultry to both) along with Purina One 
dry cat and dog food.  I need to learn this stuff, but saying "research" 
doesn't give me enough to go on.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Brenda

On 5/9/2012 5:53 PM, Lea williams wrote:
> The Shocking Truth About Commercial Dog Food
> by Mike Sagman
> http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/shocking-truth-about-dog-food/
> Warning!  The following story is shocking… but true.  It’s taken with
> permission from an article which appeared in the Earth Island Journal:
>
> “The rendering plant floor is piled high with “raw product”… Thousands
> of dead dogs and cats; heads and hooves from cattle, sheep, pigs and
> horses; whole skunks; rats and raccoons… all waiting to be processed.
> In the ninety degree heat, the piles of dead animals seem to have a
> life of their own as millions of maggots swarm over the carcasses.
>
> “Two bandanna-masked men begin operating Bobcat mini-dozers, loading
> the “raw” into a ten-foot deep stainless steel pit. They are
> undocumented workers from Mexico doing a dirty job. A giant auger at
> the bottom of the pit begins to turn. Popping bones and squeezing
> flesh are sounds from a nightmare you will never forget.
>
> “Rendering is the process of cooking raw animal material to remove the
> moisture and fat. The rendering plant works like a giant kitchen. The
> cooker, or “chef”, blends the raw product in order to maintain a
> certain ratio between the carcasses of pets, livestock, poultry waste
> and supermarket rejects.
>
> “Once the mass is cut into small pieces, it is transported to another
> auger for fine shredding. It is then cooked at 280 degrees for one
> hour. The continuous batch cooking process goes on non-stop, 24 hours
> a day, seven days a week as meat is melted away from bones in the hot
> “soup”. During this cooking process, the “soup” produces a fat of
> yellow grease or tallow that rises to the top and is skimmed off. The
> cooked meat and bone are sent to a hammer-mill press, which squeezes
> out the remaining moisture and pulverizes the product into a gritty
> powder. Shaker screens sift out excess hair and large bone chips. Once
> the batch is finished, all that is left is yellow grease, meat and
> bone meal.”
>
> Welcome to the Dark Side of Recycling
>
> So, what on earth could this unsavory concoction be legitimately used for?
>
> Certainly not to make anything edible… right?
>
> Unfortunately… as hard as it is to believe… the final “product” of
> this grisly process is sold as a source of protein and fat for making
> animal feeds.
>
> That’s right… food ingredients to be fed to chickens, pigs, cattle…
> and you guessed it… dogs!
>
> These revolting products are actually used to make dog food.
>
> Every day, hundreds of rendering plants across America ship thousands
> of pounds of this recycled garbage to ranches, farms, feed lots… and
> pet food manufacturers.
>
> Each batch of rendered product is labeled… according to its dominant
> animal source.  That’s why on a dog food label you’ll see so many
> ingredients that look like these…
>
> ■Poultry by-product meal
> ■Meat by-product meal
> ■Fish meal
> ■Animal fat
> All are products of the rendering process.
>
> Toxic Waste and Euthanized Pets
>
> But this same complex system which converts waste into animal feed has
> also evolved into a recycling nightmare.  That’s because rendering
> plants are unavoidably processing toxic waste, too.
>
> Here’s how…
>
> The dead animals are frequently accompanied by a host of unwanted
> ingredients.  Pesticides enter the rendering process via tainted
> livestock.
>
> Fish oil is commonly contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals.
>
> Dead pets are frequently thrown into the grinder with their flea
> collars still attached.  Insecticide-laced patches found on the skin
> of slaughtered cattle are also carelessly added to the mix.
>
> Antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals follow livestock directly into
> the soup.  And drugs given to euthanize pets have been regularly found
> in the rendered product.
>
> Unwanted metal contaminants can be traced to a variety of sources
> including pet collars, ID tags, surgical pins, and needles.
>
> Even plastics end up getting into the process.
>
> Finding a Use for Spoiled Grocery Meats
>
> Every day, out-of-date supermarket meats as well as spoiled fish and
> poultry arrive by the truckload… right in their original Styrofoam
> trays and shrink wrap.  There’s simply no time for the tedious task of
> unwrapping each individual package of the many thousands of rejected
> products.
>
> Plastic cattle ID lags, pesticide patches and even the green waste
> disposal bags containing pets from veterinarians are tossed directly
> into the pit.
>
> As you can see, literally all of it (plastic, paper, cardboard, and
> whatever) goes right into the rendering machine.
>
> By now, you must be starting to figure it all out.  Much of what goes
> into dog food is simply what’s left over after the processing of human
> food.  It’s what’s commonly classified as “unfit for human
> consumption”.
>
> Unfit for Humans… Legal for Dog Food
>
> Here’s a short list of some of the unsavory raw materials I’ve already
> mentioned… plus a few others.  All of the following ingredients are
> appalling… yet each can be lawfully used to make dog food:
>
> ■Slaughterhouse waste (organs, heads, hooves, beaks, feet)
> ■Bread and cereal rejects (cobs, stalks, mill sweepings)
> ■Contaminated grain middlings
> ■Dying, diseased and disabled farm animals
> ■Road kill (deer, skunks, and raccoons)
> ■Distiller fermentation waste
> ■Spoiled supermarket food
> ■Dead zoo animals
> ■Restaurant grease
> ■Euthanized cats and dogs
> The pet food industry can be… at least in part… a sinister waste
> disposal vehicle for the human food manufacturers… and a way to profit
> from its own garbage.  Many companies practice legal witchcraft by
> magically turning their trash… into cash.
>
> My Strongest Recommendation
>
> Learn to readily spot these “profit-first” dog food companies… and
> avoid buying their second-rate products.
>
> Look for brands made by conscientious manufacturers who take great
> pride in producing top-tier products… products designed to
> significantly enhance… and extend your dog’s life.
>
> Learn why you should be skeptical of dog food products that claim to
> be “premium”, “natural” or “gourmet”.
>
> The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners
> make better choices when shopping for dog food.
>
>
>
>