As our lives become more urban based, noisy, surrounded by cement, and more polluted, we are beginning to understand the importance of the natural world to our own and our pets’ health and well-being.  While many aspects of our evolving environment are beyond our direct control, we can make efforts to mitigate macro-damages by making well-informed choices for our own welfare and also our pets’ lives. Specifically, dietary decisions will be one of the most profound choices, making a huge impact on overall quality of life and longevity.

In the first two segments on pet food ingredients, we delved into the importance of individual ingredients and the correct component structure of a carnivore diet for our cats and dogs. That was fairly straightforward, but complications abound as we consider ingredients to avoid. The pet food industry is a multibillion-dollar business, and with that much money in play, self-interest often trumps honesty.  For every ingredient listed below there are apologists who support the ingredient and use it in their products. I am not an expert, but I am a researcher.  My bias toward feeding our pets a species appropriate raw food diet is based on the principle that a natural diet, proven through ancestral time, produces great health advantages for our dogs and cats. And since most pets these days are living in a tightly structured unnatural environment, a diet as close to what nature intends for them is always a superior, life-affirming choice.

If you are reading this article on the Northwest Naturals website, I am assuming you have a rudimentary to highly informed knowledge of pet food nutrition, i.e., you are not purchasing 50 pound bags of kibble dog food or ten cent cans of cat food at your local grocery store that contain health nemesis such as coloring agents (Blue 2, Yellow 5 & 6 or Red 40), synthetic preservatives such as BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) and BHT ( Butylated Hydroxytoluene), Ethoxyquin a chemical antioxidant  banned in Europe or the infamous synthetic moisture retaining agent PG (Propylene Glycol which is often found in treats). If your pet’s food or treats contain any of the above listed ingredients, you are seriously harming their health, and I strongly urge you to switch to more natural foods and treats for the life of your pet.

Therefore, I am only reporting on questionable ingredients found in what are considered the higher quality kibble and canned foods. If you are feeding a commercial brand complete and balanced raw food diet, you should never see the ingredients below in those foods.

Here are some common ingredients to avoid in your pet’s diet:

1. All grains, legumes and high carbohydrate vegetables. Most of these are high on the glycemic index, contain lectins, are GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), are contaminated with storage mites and their waste, often have pesticide residue, offer inferior nutrition and are inappropriate for a cat’s or dog’s digestion. They are used to bind ingredients together and are cheaper than feeding our pet carnivores the meat that is their natural diet.
2. By-Products/By-Products meal. The FDA allows animals that are deemed 4-D meats to be used in dog and cat foods. These 4-D animals are dead, diseased, dying or disabled when they enter the slaughterhouse. They can be in horrendous condition (open wounds, hanging with tumors, etc.) and still their diseased flesh can be used in pet foods. *
3. Canola oil/Canola meal. Another GMO product that is used mainly as a cheap protein booster in pet foods instead of providing meat. Plant proteins are not a natural food for our pets, stressing their digestive systems.
4. All plant oils including, but not limited to Canola oil, Coconut oil, Soy oil, Sunflower oil, Corn oil. Again, plant products are hard on our pets’ digestive systems. Oils are fragile and become rancid quite easily and quickly. Considering that most cans and kibble foods have a shelf life of two years, do you think those oils are fresh or have they long become rancid? Rancid oils cause inflammation and contribute to degenerative diseases.
5. This is a sugar alcohol that is hydrolyzed from vegetable oils or animal fats. It may also be fermented from glucose or fructose or synthetically produced from petrochemical products. While it is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by the FDA, does this sound like something you want to regularly feed your pet?
6. Natural Flavorings. There are over 2000 GRAS substances that can be hidden under the phrase “natural flavorings.” Do not compromise your pet’s health by feeding them mystery ingredients. You might try questioning your brand’s company to see if they can tell you exactly what that term means in your pet’s food. The substance may be innocuous (captured steam from the cooking process) or dangerous (MSG for added flavor).

This is a very short list of suspect ingredients.  A longer list would be overwhelming and discouraging. Please study the list of ingredients on your pet’s food and treats and make sure you understand them. The best basic rule is to find foods that have limited, easily understood whole (not fractionated) ingredients, and then rotate proteins often and brands occasionally. Do not be fooled into feeding your pets unhealthy dog and cat foods disguised as quality food. You are responsible for your pets and their lives depend on YOU.

*Many super premium pet foods do not use 4D animals in their recipes. If you are curious, contact the brand you feed and try to find out the answer. Best of luck with that because many pet food companies are very secretive about their ingredients, their sourcing and their sustainability, and most employees are simply not privy to that information.  Northwest Naturals is one of the few pet food companies that is under the jurisdiction of both the FDA and the USDA.  We manufacture human edible foods in our plants as well as our pet foods and have extremely strict 24/7 USDA oversight. You can be confident that 4D meats will never be found in any of our products.