"Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food"

This is the title of a book by Ann N. Martin that exposes the fact that euthanized dogs and cats have traditionally been appallingly common ingredients in many commercial pet foods. In addition to this practice, Ann also contends that pet food companies have been known to include other less than wholesome ingredients to fulfill minimum nutrient requirements, such as: diseased cattle, contaminated meat, moldy grain, roadkill, and rancid fats from restaurants to name a few. At first glance, these charges may seem outrageous, but upon reading the book, the sources of information are quite credible. There is also the reality that if one really looked into what went into the creation of a hot dog prepared for human consumption, these claims would not seem so over the top for pet food.

Further evidence of abysmal ingredients being included in the production of commercial pet food was detailed in the reputable news show 20/20 on an episode aired last year that confirmed allot of what Ann Martin's book claims. From personal experience, I recall after performing necropsy (post mortem examination for the determination of cause of death) in pathology lab during my senior year of veterinary school, unless owners were interested in arranging burial or private cremation, the carcasses and body parts were stored in barrels that were periodically picked up and transferred to rendering plants. Rendering is the process by which animal tissue waste is converted into valued, stable materials that are utilized in the production of many items ranging from glue to soaps and moisturizing creams. In her book, Ann Martin contends that in addition to these items, nutrients derived from rendered animal tissue waste end up in many commercial pet foods.

Whether or not one chooses to believe Ann N Martin and/or the 20/20 pet food expose piece, one cannot deny that there is enough credible evidence to at least consider the possibility that many pet foods are derived from what most pet owners would consider dreadful ingredients. What's more, in an industry that is still grossly unregulated, pet food labels are allowed to be deceiving, gaining pet owning consumers' trust with less than forthright presentations of pet food ingredients. In her book, Ann N Martin presents the limited information offered in this blog post in much greater detail, as well as delves into a great many other unspeakable ingredients that end up in pet food. She also explains the deceptiveness of the pet food labels, and the reasons they are so misleading.