Food Wars
The Truth behind raw, kibble and canned foods
Benefits and Negatives
Many consumers are confused by the magnitude of pet foods available.
The pet food product assortment is mind-boggling. Pretty labels, fancy packaging, discount prices and confusing information on the web.
What is a buyer to do? Trust your local supermarket products (no), trust your big box store (no), trust your pet retailer (maybe), trust the pet boutique store carrying only quality products, (better). An educated buyer is what you need to be.
Your pet food dollar stops at the stores cash register- your pet’s health starts at the cash register. There are so many ingredients available in pet foods with a wide array of nutritional positives and negatives the consumer can become overwhelmed and buy a well-positioned national brand that is a veterinarian’s best friend. Your pet will enjoy the comforts of a veterinarian’s office; your hard earned dollar will disappear very fast. Wouldn’t you rather have those extra dollars for you to enjoy?
Many foods available pay special attention to quality nutrients and incorporate high-grade ingredients. These quality foods are appearing in greater numbers, in quality pet stores- whether it is raw food diet, freeze dried diets or kibble.
Lets proceed to evaluate these various foods.
Kibble- these tasty morsels are the most common way of feeding your pet.
The Positives:
a- Easy to serve
b- Convenient
c- Wide array of flavors
d- Cost
e- Comes in different nutritional requirements for various ages and health conditions
f- Wide array of fruits, berries and vegetables incorporated
g- Beautiful packaging and marketing materials
h- Shelf stability
The Negatives
a- Synthetic vitamins (may not absorb properly)
b- May have by-products and by-product meals, corn or wheat gluten meal, potatoes, ocean fish meal which can cause health issues
c- May have soy, peanut shells, mill run, colorings, flavorings- can cause health issues
d- Preservatives that have been linked to cancer
e- Retail cost factor with inferior ingredients- are they really inexpensive.
f- Can have allergens
g- Misleading information
h- Cooked out nutrition
Kibble has matured. Many quality kibbles are now available. Knowledge is the key.
A very good kibble on the market utilizes an organic based pre-mix called Nutrition Plus coating. The coating envelopes the entire kibble making the nutrients bioactive and alive.
Raw Food Diets
Raw foods became the forefront of nutritional excellence in pet foods. Raw Food was stated to be the closest to a natural diet a dog or cat could obtain in food. Many veterinarians proclaimed a raw food diet would cause bacterial problems, inaccurate. The animals digestive system is extremely short making a bacteria sticking to the lining walls very unlikely. Dogs and cats are in the contact with various forms of bacteria just by walking on grass. This is a blown out of proportion myth.
The Positives:
a- Highly nutritious
b- Very active nutrients
c- Close to natural “in the wild feeding”
d- Many flavors hypoallergenic
e- Some companies using Organic ingredients
The Negatives:
a- Many companies with inferior raw ingredients
b- Many companies without a balanced diet
c- Very expensive
d- Large amount of freezer space required
e- Short storage life after thawed
Raw food feeding is exceptionally beneficial for pets. The better products are manufactured in USDA human plants or Organic facilities and are nutritionally balanced without the use of synthetics.
Canned Foods
The Positives:
a- Inexpensive
b- Flavorful
The Negatives:
a- Cooked out nutrition
b- Synthetic nutrients
c- Flavored mush
d- Many are lacking sufficient water after processing
e- Can have harmful ingredients
Canned foods should not be used as the premium food for your pet.
Freeze Dried Foods
This is the most underused area in pet food. Extracting the water content allows product to be lightweight, easy to store and easy to use. All nutrients are bioactive and alive- adding water to product allows re-hydration of ingredients. Fruits and Vegetables equate to 1 lb de-hydrated equals 10lbs of regular produce. A new freeze-dried product with complete nutrition will be coming to the market shortly incorporating free-range protein sources and a good variety of organics. This product will incorporate the ease of use of kibble, nutrition similar to a raw food diet and the savory taste of canned-product is called KrunCheros.
The Positives:
a- Easy to store
b- Very nutritious
c- Active and alive nutrients
d- Beneficial for animals
e- No preservatives needed
f- Easy to digest
The Negatives:
a- Limited products available
b- Cost factor
c- Has not been aggressively marketed
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