| They Are What They Eat |
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about pet food. These are
my ideas and thoughts; nothing that I say here is either approved or
disapproved by any veterinarians.
I have seen through the years an increase in cancer in companion
animals. I pondered why, where is this coming from, and what is
different now than 20 years ago. Yes, there is an increase in pollution,
but I live in a rural area where the air and water are relatively clean
compared to a city with heavy industry and traffic. The thing that
keeps popping up in my mind is the "food."
Most feed their companion animals food found in the local
supermarkets and I was one of those people. Why not? I bought my
own food from the local supermarket. I came upon a word that gave
me pause to think. That word is "Agribusiness." When I meditated on
this word, I was amazed at how myopic my ideas about food were.
When I went to the grocery store, I never consciously thought about
how many food products were produced and how there were
manufactured. Sure, I knew that there was more than one case of
Green Giant green been out there, more than were at my local store.
The sheer numbers blew me away when I really thought about it. Not
only was there Green Giant green beans on every supermarket shelf in
PA but also they were on every supermarket shelf in the entire US.
Let's see, there's 50 states, how many towns and cities in each state,
how many supermarkets in each city and in each town, not to mention
little markets and convenience stores? There must be billions of cans
of Green Giant green beans in this country alone.
How is this done? Surely not by a farmer loving had picking each bean
and checking for perfection. It's done with big machines and huge
manufacturing plants. I'm not sure if one human ever touches one of
those beans. How sad it that? (We won't even talk about the amount
of pesticides and chemicals used to keep the vast number of beans
unspoiled.)
OK, it's a green bean, maybe not so important in the grand scheme of
things. But wait, what about the meat used in "pet food." There are
probably as many bags of Purina, Iams, Pedigree etc. as cases of
green beans. How do they manufacture that? Do they get their
chicken from the local farmer who has a dozen or so chickens
pecking around his fields? No, that could not be possible in the
amounts needed for billions of bags and cans of pet food. They get
their meat from giant factory farms.
What are factory farms? To me they are the darkest side of
Agribusiness. They are places where animals are housed in huge
buildings, crammed together without room to turn around or move
about, debeaked, deprived of sunlight their whole short life, feed a diet
which includes antibiotics, pesticides, their own excrement and other
dead of their kind, (remember that little thing about mad cow disease?)
I could go on for pages about the horrors of factory farms but I
won't. Just go to a search engine on the Internet and type in factory
farms and see for yourself. These animals are treated worse than
green beans, all for the sake of profit. (At least green beans are grown
in sunlight.)
It is common knowledge that stress affects the body? What is the
stress of living like this doing to the flesh of these animals that are
consumed by us and our companion animals? Think about it. Oh, and
by the way, that package of pork chops you pick up at the local
Piggly Wiggly is the so-called good stuff. Generally, the meat used in
pet food is slaughterhouse waste.
I have a book called "Heal Your Body" written by Louise L. Hay. I
looked up what mental thought patterns produced cancer. I found,
"Deep hurt, Longstanding resentment. Deep secret or grief eating
away at self. Carrying hatreds." I believe an animal that lived in a
factory farm would have these emotions plus a big helping of fear and
anxiety. These emotions don't just float away when the animal is
slaughtered; they stay in the flesh along with the chemicals produced
by the emotions for example, adrenaline.
So what is in the mass-produced pet food so far. Animals so stressed
and miserable they are embodying cancer cells, with the building
blocks of their bodies ranging from antibiotics to excrement. Sounds
good so far doesn't it? What about the other stuff pet food is made of?
Did you ever hear of GMO's (genetically mutated organisms)? By law
they can't sell humans corn treated with it because the wildlife that ate
that corn died, but they can put it in pet food. Now we are on a roll.
Some pet foods are sprayed with fat to make them tastier. Oh Goody!
I can't forget the preservatives and the dyes sprayed on those "natural"
bits and pieces to make them look like peas and carrots. I love this
one… I was told by a Hills Science Diet representative that by law
they can change the ingredients in the pet food and take up to 6
months to print that change on the label on the bag. So why is Fluffy
turning up her nose at food she has been eating for years? Maybe it's
new and improved and they don't have to tell you for 6 months. By
the way, Science Diet's All Natural diet uses chicken from Tyson.
Smells like factory farm to me! I believe crude oil is "all natural" but I
would not feed it to my pets. So watch what is being advertised as
"All Natural." I am amazed old Fluffy did not keel over after the
second bowl of mass-produced dog food.
Ok, so where do we go from here? In a perfect world, we all would
be financially able and have more than enough time to purchase and
prepare fresh, organic free range meats, grains and vegetables for our
companion animals and our families. For me right now and I suppose
for many others, this ain't happening. (It may tomorrow, but not
today) What I do now is go to the pet stores and read labels. I ask for
organic pet food. I disregard advertising. I do some research, I read
and I think. Most of all, I listen to that small voice inside and it has
never steered me wrong. Organic pet food is out there and yes, it is a
little pricier. I just cut back on other things that are less important
than the care of my best friends. When I sit down at the table, I have
a choice. I can go for the Doritos with Cheese Whiz or I can go for
the Garden Burger. My companion animals have to eat what is
provided, they have no choice. I feel, now that I have the knowledge,
it is my responsibility to do the right thing. Please think before you
buy.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |