Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food [Paperback]

 

 

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I found the author's information on commercial pet foods very interesting; she seems to have done her homework. However, she's very one-sided in supporting her homemade diet and contradicts herself in doing so. For instance, she spends some time in the book describing how ignorant of animal nutrition most vets are, and how sponsorship by pet food manufacturers guides their recommendations. Then when she is describing why raw diets are bad, she states that (these same) vets agree with her. hrm..

Good read, but I wouldn't read it again.

Ann Martin's investigation into the commercial pet food industry has become a classic. This is the book I often recommend when people ask me what's wrong with (most) commercial dog and cat foods. However, I can't recommend this book without pointing out some of the errors in the second part of the book, the part that focuses on feeding a homemade diet.
First of all, it needs to be said that while cooking the meat can indeed destroy bacteria and parasites (as well as destroying valuable enzymes and changing the meat's molecular structure), cooking does *not* destroy the antibiotics, pesticides, artificial growth hormones, etc., as Martin claims. The only way to avoid these harmful substances is to stop supporting factory farming and buy ethically raised, organic meats. Yes, such meat is more expensive, but personally I'd rather pay more and know that I'm not supporting the needless torture of animals and the destruction of the environment. At this point you may wonder why we feed our dogs meat at all. Well, the humans in our house are indeed longtime vegetarians, but dogs are carnivores and while they can survive on a properly supplemented vegetarian diet, such a species inappropriate diet is far from ideal. Our family's GWPs have been thriving on a diet based on raw meats and bones for thirty years now. While it's been my experience that raw diets are indeed preferable for most dogs, there are certainly cases where cooked diets are more appropriate. Some dogs -- usually due to certain medical conditions -- simply do not do well on a raw diet, and in such cases a homecooked diet is the best option.
Unfortunately the recipes offered by Ms. Martin are not properly balanced. For instance, while she is clearly aware of the correct calcium to phosphorous ratio (as well as of the damage caused by calcium deficiencies), her recipes do not contain nearly enough calcium to balance out the high phosphorous levels of the meat and, to a lesser extent, the grains. She seems to be under the impression that one can use yogurt or cottage cheese as a calcium supplement; however, while dairy products are good sources of calcium, they also happen to contain plenty of phosphorous (some types of cottage cheese actually contain more phosphorous than calcium), so obviously dairy products cannot be used to balance the meat's high phosphorous levels. The best way to supplement calcium is to feed the meat with plenty of raw bone (nature's way of balancing calcium and phosphorous) or by adding ground eggshell powder to boneless meats. Feeding a properly balanced homeprepared diet really isn't as difficult as the pet food industry and their supporters would have us believe, but getting the Ca:P ratio right is important.
My suggestion: Read Ms. Martin's book to find out why it's not a good idea to feed processed pet foods (if you don't already know), but then get yourself another book to learn how to prepare a balanced homemade diet for your animals.

I love my dog, he's my buddy and I love him dearly. As a loving dog owner I want my buddy to eat good food, like I do. I would love to give him the food I eat, but I've always heard that it can be bad for them so I always purchase the "Premium" dog food for him because the bag says it's healthier for him than the cheaper brands. Like I said, I want my buddy to eat good food.

I AM SO GLAD I SAW THIS BOOK.

It said, "Shocking facts about pet food" Why would there be a book about that? I now know why, and thank you Ann Martin.

All the B.S. on the "big brand" bags of pet "food" can mean pretty much anything at all.

"Yeah right! How can they put something on the bag that's not true? That's false advertising!"

Yep, that's what I thought too, and that is true for human food. If there is any indication that human food has been contaminated or poisoned somehow, there is an immediate recall for safety purposes. BUT, the pet "food" industry is pretty much UNregulated by the government. Basically, the pet "food" industry is in charge of itself! That's as bad as how the government representatives are in charge of whether or not they get a raise for the next year (HELLO! What would you vote?!). The pet "food" industry has such a high profit margin because the "food" they use to make they're products are the leftovers from the human food industry, and animals that weren't fit to be processed for human food which are called 4-D. Dead, Dying, Disabled, Diseased. The most horrendous thing that was discovered is how euthanized animals from kill shelters are disposed of to the rendering plants where they make pet "food", and do so without even removing collars, flea collars, tags, or even the plastic bag they are in before they are thrown in the grinder.

That is just the sickest thing I have ever heard, and the worse part of that, the drug that is used as poison to KILL animals is recycled back into the pet "food". I WILL NOT FEED MY DOG POISON. Also, in the book it shows the requirements for the different nutritional values for protein, fat & fiber are so UNregulated that they could be qualified as "leather, crandshaft oil & sawdust". This goes for both dry and canned "food". Ann also says that alot of the "fiber" in the "food" isn't only from sawdust, but ground peanut shells too. This is completely unacceptable.

I'm not going to feed my buddy what I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't even feed him chicken nuggets from fast food places after what I found out about how they are made, I won't touch one again. Not the ones that you can actually see the meat fibers, but the ones that are just a pressed meat product.
Ann also lists a few different companies that actually make pet FOOD starting with human grade materials, or food that is regulated and healthy for US to eat. The day after I finished the book, I went out and got some of this good FOOD and threw out the "food" I was giving my buddy for years. I'm so glad I saw this book.

So actually, I could have been feeding my buddy my food, and it would have been a whole lot better for him that that "waste" I was feeding him before. She also has many recipes for homecooking for your animals, which is good, but my wife says that some of these recipes can cause weight gain, and I agree because there are too many "bad carbs" included in them. We know this info from Dr. Atkins! I would say just stay away from giving them all that rice and pasta and stuff, and they should be fine.

Ann also brings up how pet "food" companies are owned by the most unlikely corporations. A well known candy bar maker owns 4 of them, a well known chocolate company owns at least 3, and a well known kechup company owns at least 5 others.

If you love your animals like they were your kids, then I don't know how you could feed them waste. PLEASE read this book, you will not be sorry you did. Besides, I would rather support a small operation pet food company that makes quality food, than some big corporation that's just out for your $$.

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5.0 out of 5 stars If you love your pet -- read this book!
Extremely informative and shocking look into the pet food industry. You should know what your pet eats and that there is no guidelines on the quality and what goes into the food... Read more

Published on April 21 2004 by Dorina Van Guilder

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this BEFORE you feed your pets!
I was honored to be asked to write the forward to this wonderful book. While many lay writers really don't have the complete picture about medical topics, Ann has done her... Read more

Published on Dec 21 2003 by Shawn Messonnier, DVM

1.0 out of 5 stars The book is mostly conjecture, speculation and innuendo
The information is mostly conjecture, speculation, innuendo, sensationalism and histrionics. Statements have been taken out of context and some portions have been omitted to lead... Read more

Published on Sep 5 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Please READ this book if you love your companion animals!
This book is both amazing, and scary. Amazing in it's depth of valid information, and scary that all of this has basically been kept secret from the average consumer. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening!
Very revealing, inciteful book. Makes me wonder whether my dog could have lived longer if I had started feeding him differently earlier in his life. Read more

Published on Aug 2 2002 by K. A. Mayer

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll Never Feed Your Pets Pet food Again After This...
After her dogs kept getting sick from the pet food she was feeding Ann Martin, an average pet owner like myself and others went about finding out what was in the food itself to... Read more

Published on July 9 2002 by Tracy Talley

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read for all dog owners ...
Did Ms. Martin discover the truth about the pet food industry? ... Is she telling the truth? In many ways, this book reads like a fiction who-done-it mystery novel ... Read more

Published on Aug 25 2001 by Yeoh Siok Kee

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love your pets you will want to read this book.
This book was a real eye opener. If you care what is in your dogs food, this book will cut through the misleading labeling for you. Be prepared, it is not a pretty picture. Read more

Published on July 11 2001 by Lu Crow

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT - HIGHLY SUGGESTED READ
Excellent is an understatement. The author Ann Martin has spent a considerable amount of time researching what is in most commercial pet food (well known commercial food... Read more

Published on Jun 25 2001 by Sarah Delaporte

5.0 out of 5 stars Food Pets Die for
Ann Martin has really uncovered the truth about what's happening in the pet food industry. She is just an average pet owner that became frustrated by the industry when her dogs... Read more

Published on April 27 2001 by Laura Witts

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