Breaking News: The NY Times Reports China’s Shocking Secret

A good friend of mine just sent me this article, Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China, from the New York Times this morning and I was shocked to say the least. The state of the commercial pet food industry just keeps on getting scarier.

“China’s food safety scandals have involved everything from fake baby milk formulas and soy sauce made from human hair to instances where cuttlefish were soaked in calligraphy ink to improve their color and eels were fed contraceptive pills to make them grow long and slim. “

This serves as evidence that we need to be even more aware of the source and ingredients of our pet foods. Most reputable pet food manufacturers are sharing this information on their web sites now.  My friend is currently feeding her dogs Wellness (human grade meat), which shares all the details of their sourcing here. Many people are joining the local food movement and rediscovering the benefits of buying locally produced food. Should we follow the same rule when it comes to the diet of our pets? I really recommend reading the article from the New York Times. You can do so here.

“He said that melamine used in pet food would probably not be harmful. ‘Pets are not like pigs or chickens,’ he said casually, explaining that they can afford to eat less protein. ’They don’t need to grow fast.’

The resulting melamine-tainted feed would be weak in protein, he acknowledged, which means the feed is less nutritious.

But, by using the melamine additive, the feed seller makes a heftier profit because melamine scrap is much cheaper than soy, wheat or corn protein.”