Every ingredient in a commercial pet food—including the high-end brands—is in pet food because it could not be sold for human consumption.
There are a variety of reasons why an ingredient can be rejected for human consumption, but it is usually a result of the product being spoiled or contaminated.
The Dangers Of Commercial Pet Food
Almost every dry dog food on the market contains an ingredient known as “meal.” Some common “meals” include chicken meal, salmon meal, rice meal, etc. Meal is made using the rendering process.
Rendering is taking an ingredient such as expired meats from the grocery store, dead farm animals, or household pets and boiling the ingredients until all the moisture has evaporated.
This process leaves behind a high-protein additive known in the industry as “meal.”
Since meal is cheap, it is a common way for manufactures to increase the protein content in their pet foods. Unfortunately, meal is not easily digested and the process concentrates toxins as well as proteins. Any pet food that contains “meal” should be avoided, even if it is a high-end brand.
On top of using inferior ingredients, pet food manufacturers use the extrusion process. Extrusion is a way of eliminating moisture in an ingredient.
During the process, the ingredient is heated to a very high temperature where many of the nutrients and enzymes are destroyed. This leaves the food in a dead state and manufacturers need to add the nutrients back into the feed to meet AFFCO nutrition standards. Unfortunately, these synthetic vitamins and non-chelated minerals are not easily absorbed into the body, rendering them useless.
Feeding a kibble to your dog can be extremely damaging to his health. Kibble is extremely hard to digest. Also, it contains very little moisture, which essentially dehydrates your dog.
Harmful Ingredients In Pet Foods
Here’s a short list of some of the unsavory materials already mentioned, plus a few others. And although each of the following ingredients are appalling, each can be lawfully used to make dog food:
- Slaughterhouse waste (organs, heads, hooves, beaks, feet)
- Bread and cereal rejects (cobs, stalks, mill sweepings)
- Dying, diseased, and disabled farm animals
- Road kill (deer, skunks, and raccoons)
- Contaminated grain middlings
- Distiller fermentation waste
- Spoiled supermarket food
- Euthanized cats and dogs
- Restaurant grease
- Dead zoo animals
The “Whole Food” Difference
Our recommendation is this: don’t feed your dogs commercial pet food. Any type of human-grade diet is going to be more beneficial for your pet than any commercial pet food on the market.
Consumers have been led to believe that human foods are not good for dogs and that is simply not the case. Almost all foods that humans eat can be consumed by dogs. The meals developed by Rick’s Dog Deli are all made with 100% all-natural, human-grade ingredients that are gently cooked and flash-frozen to lock in nutrients.
Feeding a whole food, species-appropriate diet is the best thing you can do to ensure your dog has a healthy and fulfilling life.