Pet Food Nation

by Weiskopf, Joan

• ISBN13: 9780061455001
• ISBN10: 0061455008
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-07-03
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

A Must-Read for all Pet Lovers For decades, dog and cat owners have depended on popular commercial foods to keep their beloved animals well-fed. Until 2007, when the national pet food catastrophe left pet owners scrambling for an alternative to mass-quantity, factory-produced food. How can you break away from your reliance on the commercial pet food industry? Pet Food Nation offers the solution: Stop feeding your pet from a bag or a can-gradually, and then permanently. Instead, let's return to the way our ancestors fed their cherished pets since the dawn of time, with a variety of fresh and cooked foods from our own homes, the smart, simple, and healthy way. Pet Food Nation features : How to transition your pet from commercial food to a healthier diet Six signs of dietary problems with your pet Why homemade food is better for your pet The best diet for an older pet What to feed your breed Basic easy recipes for dogs and cats Buy this book and learn how to feed your pets properly and safely now!

Excerpts

Pet Food Nation
The Smart, Easy, and Healthy Way to Feed Your Pet Now

Chapter One

The Pet Food Scandal

Although it is true that the spring 2007 recall was the largest in the history of the pet food industry, it is by no means the first time tainted pet food has caused a problem.

In late 2005, the presence of aflatoxin forced a manufacturer to recall its product; in the past year, traces of aminopterin, used in rat poison, were found in dog food that turned deadly. Back in 1995, Nature's Recipe pulled $20 million worth of its product due to the presence of vomitoxin; the source of that recall has not been conclusively identified. Melamine, although not meant to be in food, is not known to be toxic. Some suspect that melamine found in the 2007 products is a “marker” for something else that is proving deadly, as yet unidentified. If that is the case, perhaps the melamine is not even necessary to the fatal tainting of pet food. No wonder pet owners are nervous; no wonder the pet food industry is nervous, too.

I hope to be able to give some relief by explaining what's at stake and what the issues are.

There are an estimated 144 million pet cats and dogs in the United States; their owners bought more than $15 billion worth of pet food last year. That's a lot of kibble. But with the threat of deadly illness hanging in the air, pet owners cannot wait for the industry or its regulators at the FDA to step in and tell them what's wrong and how it is to be fixed. There's no time, and there's too much at stake.

There is one thing, however, that pet owners can do that will not only ensure the nutritional health of their companion animals right now, but in all likelihood will radically transform (and reform) the pet food industry itself: make their own pet food. For those of you who want to try, read on. For those of you who fear that it might be impractical to make your own pet food, also please read on: you will learn how to read a commercial pet food label and know just what you are giving your pet.

Pet Food Nation
The Smart, Easy, and Healthy Way to Feed Your Pet Now. Copyright © by Joan Weiskopf. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Pet Food Nation: The Smart, Easy, and Healthy Way to Feed Your Pet Now by Joan Weiskopf
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.