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4 episodes with aafco
3 episodes with aafco
4 episodes with aafco
4 episodes with aafco
3 episodes with aafco
2 episodes with aafco
4 episodes with aafco
2 episodes with aafco
3 episodes with aafco
Send us a textWelcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott hosts the Believe in Dog podcast.CHAPTERS:Dr. Recker's veterinary origin story (0:54)What does Dr. Recker feed her dogs? (10:10)Dr. Recker's approach to balance over time vs balance every meal - and why (10:56)How the fat content of meat affects nutrients (16:53)How many calories a day does your dog need? (21:03)Nutrient deficiencies in dogs being fed less than the recommended amount of food for their size (25:33)FEDIAF vs AAFCO vs NRC and how Animal Diet Formulator works with each of these (27:54)Is your dog's food nutritionally complete for their needs? How to use those complete nutritional analyses from pet food companies (30:48)Are there signs or tests to determine if your dog has a nutrient deficiency? (38:26)Can we nutrition our way out of health issues? (45:30)Common nutrient deficiencies (48:50)Vegetables for dogs? (50:17)LINKS DISCUSSED:Animal Diet Formulator (https://animaldietformulator.com/)ADF Webinars (https://www.youtube.com/@animaldietformulator)SOCIAL MEDIA...Facebook.com/RawFeederLifeFacebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastInstagram.com/RawFeederLifeInstagram.com/Erin_the_Dog_MomThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
The Pet Shop Girls from Pet Product News with Sherry (Odyssey Pets) and Carly (House of Paws)
We had such an insightful discussion with Billy Hoekman from Green Juju in this episode. He provided so much valuable information about the pet food industry, AAFCO regulations, and how Green Juju is innovating with their whole food approach. Billy also gave great advice for retailers to educate staff and customers. It was fascinating to learn about his passion for pet nutrition and hear his visions for the future of the industry. We really enjoyed chatting with Billy and getting to pick his brain on various topics through our rapid-fire questions. Connect with Billy and Green Juju: https://greenjuju.com/ https://retail.pet/ https://www.instagram.com/billy_hoekman/ Connect with the Pet Shop Girls! Find us everywhere: https://linktr.ee/petshopgirls Connect with Carly (House of Paws): https://www.instagram.com/houseofpawsboutique https://www.tiktok.com/@houseofpawsboutique https://www.facebook.com/houseofpawsboutique Connect with Sherry (Odyssey Pets): https://www.facebook.com/odysseypets https://www.instagram.com/odysseypets https://linktr.ee/odysseypetsdallas Connect with Pet Product News: https://www.petproductnews.com/ https://www.facebook.com/PetProductNews
Send us a textWelcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott hosts the Believe in Dog podcast.Celebrating 3 years of The Alternative Dog Moms and 4 years of Maple (0:54)Green Juju has been busy (2:21)Vitality and freeze-dried blends are already on store shelves - but not for Kimberly or Erin (4:48)State, federal, and AAFCO regulations of pet food (9:02)Transparency regarding availability of complete nutritional analysis info of Green Juju's raw food (10:35)How much trust should pet parents have in their dog food brands? (20:25)Green Juju's new whole food-based probiotics (25:58)Probiotics and other approaches to help a yeasty dog (34:12)Green Juju's process for their AAFCO feeding trial (37:17)Billy's approach to supporting fresh feeding newbies (41:48)LINKS DISCUSSED:Billy's video re: Green Juju's newest products (https://www.instagram.com/p/DGvoJM1Ptvm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)Green JuJu Kitchen (https://greenjuju.com)SOCIAL MEDIA...Facebook.com/RawFeederLifeFacebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastInstagram.com/RawFeederLifeInstagram.com/Erin_the_Dog_MomThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
Brittany the Pet Girl is back with Johnny Manning, and they discuss the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards and how they were originally developed for use with highly processed commercial foods (like kibble) to make up for the loss of nutrients due to extensive processing? While raw foods don't suffer the same detrimental processing, we know that the Complete and Balanced statement on pet food is important to many pet parents. At Big Dog Pet Foods, our diets are formulated to meet AAFCO requirements, or formulated with supporting feeding trials to meet AAFCO requirements naturally, which means we only use natural ingredients and never supplement with synthetic vitamins and minerals. If you're looking for more information on this, we encourage you to check out Narelle Cooke's article: 'Complete and Balanced' and Raw Food Feeding - a Square Peg in a Round Hole? Or our own article: Complete and Balanced by Nature. Produced and edited by Camilla Falkowski
In this episode of The Pet Food Science Podcast Show, Louise Calderwood, Director of Regulatory Affairs at the American Feed Industry Association, takes a closer look at the modernization of pet food labels. She shares key updates, important timelines, and what these changes mean for consumers, veterinarians, and manufacturers. Learn how the new regulations are designed to boost transparency, support pet health, and tackle industry challenges. Tune in to this engaging and informative episode, available now on all major platforms!"Regulatory updates in pet food labeling aim to ensure consistency nationwide, reducing consumer confusion and improving product transparency across state lines."Meet the guest: Louise Calderwood earned her M.S. in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech and her B.S. in Dairy Science from the University of Vermont. With over 30 years of expertise in animal health, regulatory affairs, and agricultural policy, she now serves as Director of Regulatory Affairs at the American Feed Industry Association. What will you learn:(00:00) Highlight(01:07) Introduction(03:12) AAFCO & regulatory updates(05:35) Pet food label(07:48) Label modernization(12:57) Dietary vs. crude fiber(20:44) Labeling challenges & solutions(21:27) Final QuestionsThe Pet Food Science Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:* Kemin* Trouw Nutrition- Biorigin- Corbion- ICC- Scoular- ProAmpac- EW Nutrition- Alura- Symrise
Anxious Behaviors Linked to Gut Dysfunction in Dogs Dr. Jason Gagne, board certified veterinary nutritionist, joins host Laura Reeves for a deep dive into dog food feeding trials, anxious behaviors linked to gut dysfunction and more. “It's one thing to open up the AAFCO book,” Gagne said. “The Association of American Feed Control Officials who set this model bill, as it's termed and says you need this much zinc, you need this much selenium and so forth. Then pet food company XYZ, whoever that may be, goes ahead and puts that much in or hopefully a little bit more to meet those requirements. “It's another thing to actually be the company (Purina) that does these feeding trials. Again, as I mentioned before, we're obtaining these ingredients, we're formulating our diets. We have very tight control over our ingredients specifications and have very high standards for who our suppliers are. But it's another thing to then take that diet that you make and feed it out to a colony of dogs and we do do that and we're proud of that. “The purpose of doing that and having that colony is to feed these diets. Because when we do that, we can measure the digestibility of our diets. We can assess the fecal quality and the fecal score, which I think is important to a lot of breeders and sporting enthusiasts. And we can even assess the performance on the diet. “It's not just important to meet the AAFCO requirements, but it's more important really to optimize those recommendations for the betterment of the dog, right? We put those diets out there on the market after we've assessed, hey, we put this in the diet, we want to make sure it's actually in the diet. We can analyze the diet itself, but then again, we're analyzing what's going in and coming out of the dog as well. “This microbiome, what else is it doing? It's actually been linked to behavioral issues as well when it goes out of whack, that dysbiosis as you mentioned earlier. “We actually did do a study with dogs displaying anxious behaviors, and paired it with physiologic as well, so salivary, cortisol and we also had Holter monitors on them for heart rate. We were able to show that when the dogs were being supplemented with the bl999, they (had) a decrease in barking, jumping, spinning and pacing, which was anxious behaviors that they were displaying, versus when they were on the placebo.”
Welcome to the Intertek Assuris Podcast series! In this episode, join scientific consultants Brandon Walters and Ryan Parente from Intertek's Safety & Regulatory team as they explore how AAFCO plans to adapt, maintain regulatory consistency, and uphold safety and innovation in the animal feed industry amid these evolving animal feed ingredient regulatory dynamics. Speakers:Brandon Walters, Scientific Consultant 2, Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek AssurisRyan Parente, Scientific Consultant 2 – Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris Follow us on- Intertek's Assurance In Action || Twitter || LinkedIn.
When I find people who are so multifaceted that they literally blow my mind, I know that I have to bring them on the podcast to talk to YOU!I've had Chelsea Kent on my radar for quite a while. She's incredible! She owns an indie pet store, she attends AAFCO meetings, she owns Parsley Pet and she owns Solutions Pet Products. I finally got to meet her in person in 2024 and had to ask her on the podcast for you. This episode is an overview of lots of different things that she is involved in so that we can lay the ground work to have her come back and talk a bit more in detail on some of the things that interests us all the most as pet parents who want better for our pets. Some things we cover: - her indie pet store and apothecary - HPP in pet foods (y'all know this is a big topic!) - HTMA testing - Solutions Pet ProductsSend us a text
In this episode of the Ducks Unlimited podcast, host Matt Harrison welcomes Dr. RuthAnn Lobos, a senior veterinarian from Purina and an expert in canine care, to discuss dogs' vital role in waterfowl hunting. Dr. Lobos shares her extensive knowledge, offering valuable insights into the dos and don'ts of hunting with your dog. Listeners will gain practical tips to ensure their canine companions are healthy, safe, and effective while out in the field. With a background rooted in veterinary medicine and a passion for outdoor adventures, Dr. Lobos is well-equipped to help hunters make the most of their experience with their four-legged friends. Tune in for an informative and engaging conversation that promises to enhance your hunting outings with your dog!@petvetruthannListen now: www.ducks.org/DUPodcastSend feedback: DUPodcast@ducks.org
Dr. George Burdock, president, and Dr. Erik Hedrick, director of toxicology, from Burdock Group answer the question, "What does the end of the Memorandum of Understanding between AAFCO and the FDA mean for the pet food industry?"
Send us a textWelcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott hosts the Believe in Dog podcast.CHAPTERS:Kimberly's experience with Feed Real's Real Dog Food Nutrition Course for Pet Parents (1:22)Kay's professional background and how she came to work with Ruby (5:10)How the Feed Real course evolved and why there's a Pet Parent course and a Veterinary Professional course (7:21)What do vet students learn in vet school about nutrition? (12:50)How Feed Real was received at a conference of conventional veterinarians last week (16:05)Kimberly felt depressed after talking to other Pet Parents in the vet office waiting room about raw feeding and their dog's health issues (18:00)Feed Real's goal to facilitate the Raw Feeding Conversation between vets and Pet Parents (22:17)Variety, balance and testing because each dog absorbs nutrients differently (23:16)Letting dogs choose and self-select (27:40)What's the deal with synthetic vitamins? (30:57)The most surprising things Kay has learned about feeding and caring for dogs (37:25)Navigating the divide between conventional vets and alternative pet parents (43:57)All about the Feed Real research database that Members get access to (47:08)NRC versus AAFCO guidelines (49:35)Is it true that dogs don't live as long now as they did in the past? (52:04)Feed Real's course is for all Pet Parents who want to improve their dog's diet (no kibble shaming) (58:08)Future updates and courses that Feed Real will be incorporating to support Pet Parents (1:02:25)SHOUTOUTS: Sign up for the Dog Food Nutrition Course by The Feed Real Movement (https://tinyurl.com/5f9b3h44)What is SIBO in dogs? (https://tinyurl.com/5n6jmket)PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)Maggie, the oldest dog in the world (https://tinyurl.com/2sxbccvr)OUR BLOG/PODCASTS...Kimberly: Keep the Tail Wagging, KeepTheTailWagging.comErin Scott: Believe in Dog podcast, BelieveInDogPodcast.comFACEBOOK...Keep the Tail Wagging, Facebook.com/KeepTheTailWaggingBelieve in Dog Podcast, Facebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastINSTAGRAM...Keep the Tail Wagging, Instagram.com/RawFeederLifeBelieve in Dog Podcast, Instagram.com/Erin_The_Dog_MomThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
Last week, I attended the annual AAFCO meeting. In this week's episode, I am going to clarify what AAFCO is, what it isn't, and discuss some of the more interesting things that I learned while attending.Send us a Text Message.
Our guest this week is Danny Desjarlais, head builder for the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton Minnesota, where the tribe is undertaking what appears to be one of the most ambitious hempcrete building projects in the country. Desjarlais said his community is has been experiencing a housing crisis. No so much homelessness, he said, but overcrowding—extended families all living together in small, poorly constructed houses on the reservation. But with hempcrete, he sees a path forward to provide respectable, comfortable, dignified housing for the people of the Lower Sioux in an efficient yet timely manner. In the past two years, Desjarlais and his crew have completed four hempcrete houses and a retro fit of an existing house. More hempcrete houses than most communities in the world, but still it's not enough. “Our main need here in the community is housing. And so we really need to make a difference,” he said. “And even four houses, five houses a year isn't going to make a big enough impact for what we need.” A recent census of the community determined the need was closer to 200 houses, which would more than double the number of houses on the reservation. One of the issues with building in Minnesota is the weather. Desjarlais said winter starts late and ends early, so there is a limited window for on-site construction, which is why the tribe is planning to make prefab houses from hempcrete panels—4' by 8' sections of walls that can be built in a facility and then assembled on site. This is the plan the tribe is working towards. To that end, they have developed a processing facility that will be opening soon, so they can be self-sufficient. They'll grow the hemp, process the hemp, and build houses for their people. The hemp houses and processing facility will be on display to the public on September 5, 2024, when the tribe is hosting their inaugural field day. Also, on this episode, we hear from Morgan Tweet and Andrew Bish from the Hemp Feed Coalition moments after AAFCO voted to approve hemp as a livestock feed for laying hens. Learn More: Lower Sioux Indian Community Thanks to our sponsors: IND HEMP Forever Green Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
In this episode of The BK Petcast, we're joined by Nutrition Education Director of Solutions Pet Products, Roxanne Stone, to talk about the pros and cons of feeding your pets raw food, why raw milk became so demonized in western culture and what kibble is actually doing to our pets. Roxanne earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in nutrition and food science from Utah State University. Disillusioned by conventional corporate food practices, she founded Cascadia Food Consulting in 2004 to support organic and regenerative family farms. She transitioned to the pet food industry, excelling in various roles and advocating for raw pet foods at AAFCO meetings. In October 2022, Roxanne became the Director of Nutrition Education at Solutions Pet Products. She resides in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband and their two Alaskan Malamutes, enjoying outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and skiing. https://solutionspetproducts.com/ OUR GUIDES:Homemade Dog Food: https://thebkpets.teachable.com/courses/Homemade Cat Food: https://thebkpets.teachable.com/courses/Improve Your Dog's Kibble: https://thebkpets.teachable.com/courses/ LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST:YouTube: https://rb.gy/ku65fiSpotify: https://rb.gy/lf9uh0Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/xrvpcb JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebkpets/Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebkpetsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebkpetsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebkpetsPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/bkpetsTwitter: https://www.x.com/thebkpets RESOURCESOur Website: https://www.thebkpets.comOur Dog Faves: https://www.thebkpets.com/our-dog-faves1-on-1 Consultations: https://www.thebkpets.com/pet-support
Members of the American Association of Feed Control Officials are scheduled to vote early next month on hemp seed meal as an ingredient for laying hens. Pretty standard stuff, according to the group's executive director, Austin Therrell. “It's one of the big things that our association does to promote harmonization and uniformity when it comes to defining ingredients and ingredient standards that all the state regulators across the U.S. recognize,” he said. Therrell is one of the guests on this week's hemp podcast who weighs in on the planned vote, which has the potential to crack open the market for hemp seed meal, albeit a very small crack. Oilseed crops in general need a secondary market for the byproduct — the cake or meal — of crushing seeds for oil. Hemp seed has been used as an animal feed for thousands of years, but because it was prohibited in the U.S. when the feed control systems were put in place, it has remained illegal to feed to commercial livestock. The association's vote in August has the potential to change all that by allowing commercial flocks of laying hens to be fed hemp seed meal. For Nebraska farmer and equipment manufacturer Andrew Bish, laying hens are a good start, but just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to opportunity. One of the reasons Bish got involved in hemp was to help create a new rotational crop opportunity for farmers. “Egg-laying chickens is 670,000 needed acres of hemp just to satisfy 5% of the egg laying chicken population,” he said. But that's not enough to be a rotational crop. “Start to add in beef cattle and broiler chickens,” he said, “and now we're talking about needing over 7 million acres.” “That is a true rotational crop opportunity. That's a big deal. That's a big deal for corn farmers. That's a big deal for soybean farmers. That's a big deal for wheat farmers.” Bish is the president of the Hemp Feed Coalition, the group that is spearheading the initiative to get hemp meal approved for layers. But not everyone is happy with the proposed ingredient definition. What's the issue? You guessed it: Cannabinoids. The proposed ingredient definition caps allowable THC at 2 parts per million and 20 parts per million for CBD. The feed control association received letters from hemp advocacy groups around the world to express their concerns, including groups from Canada, Australia, Europe and the United States. Lancaster Farming requested to see the letters and AAFCO obliged. Some letters were in support of the new definition, but others telegraphed fear that these cannabinoid limits will set a worldwide precedent and disrupt current and future markets because producers will have trouble consistently meeting the new definition. Those against the new definition would like to see the THC limit raised to 10 parts per million and the CBD limit removed altogether. Those in favor of the definition recognize the years of work it took to get hemp seed meal this close to any kind of approval, which will pave the way for approval for other livestock categories. They also say that there is a standard amendment procedure to change an ingredient definition after it's been approved. Those against are asking AAFCO to change the definition before the vote, but that's not how the process works. If the association votes no on hemp seed meal next month, there is no way to appeal the decision. The expensive and extensive process would have to start all over again, Therrell said. “So if (AAFCO) membership completely voted it down,” he said, “a submitter would need to start back from the beginning to hopefully resolve any issues or concerns that our membership had,” he said. “I don't know if it gives you any kind of level of confidence, but in my time with AAFCO, I haven't seen that happen completely. Not to say that it can't, but I think it's got a pretty good shot at moving forward,” Therrell said. Kentucky hemp pioneer Joe Hickey, one of the signers of the letter from a group in opposition to the new definition, is also a guest on this week's show. Hickey said the infighting among the factions of the hemp industry is beside the point. For Hickey, the real problem is the Food and Drug Administration. “You got the FDA that allows cigarettes to be put out and you get a half a million people who're dying from it,” he said. “And they allow that to happen, but something that doesn't hurt anybody, that actually helps people, they're trying to stop.” Learn more: American Association of Feed Control Officials AAFCO's Online Ingredient Courses Hemp Feed Coalition Read the letter sent to AAFCO from hemp industry groups: FIHO Letter to AAFCO NHA Letter to AAFCO Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance Letter U.S. Hemp Grain Operators Letter to AAFCO Association of Western Hemp Professionals Letter National Hemp Growers Association Letter Canadian Hemp Food Producers (once you click the link, download the full PDF) Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP FOREVER GREEN Music courtesy of TIN BIRD SHADOW.
In this episode of Petworking, host Peter Kenseth interviews Greg Kean, Global VP of Innovation & Nutrition at Wellness Pet Company. They discuss Wellness's extensive testing protocols for its pet food products, which go above and beyond the industry standard. Key points from the discussion: Wellness is investing 3-4 million dollars to put their entire product portfolio through AAFCO feeding trials, even though this is not required if diets meet AAFCO nutrient profiles. This testing helps build confidence with veterinarians recommending Wellness products, as vets don't always receive extensive nutrition training. Before even doing AAFCO trials, Wellness conducts digestibility, stool quality, and palatability testing, as well as urine pH for cat diets. Any novel diets or ingredients also undergo feeding trials. Greg discusses the need for more companion animal nutrition research overall, and how the industry is funding much of this itself in the absence of government funding. They discuss trends around unprocessed/raw diets vs kibble, noting that more research is needed on health impacts. Kibble remains important for accessibility of pet ownership. With a shrinking pet food market post-pandemic, innovation will focus on addressing consumer needs in affordable ways and educating on new food formats. The future may bring more functional diets for health and longevity, but Greg emphasizes the importance of having sound research before making claims, while maintaining healthy body weight remains key. Overall, the discussion highlights Wellness's commitment to extensively testing its products to ensure optimal nutrition, as well as broader issues around advancing pet food science and innovation.
Cathy Alinovi relinquished her veterinary license when she realized that the standards of care were doing more harm than good for her patients. She is now a pet health coach and she leads fresh pet food manufacturers through Next Generation Pet Food manufacturers Association, the only AAFCO seat for fresh foods. Her career and her passion are unrivaled and this conversation is one you don't want to miss!Send us a Text Message.
The feed industry and regulatory officials are challenging media reports alleging the HPAI virus has spread to dairy cattle as a result of the consumption of chicken litter on farms. Neither the U.S. Department of Agriculture nor the Food & Drug Administration have found a link to HPAI virus transmission in dairy cattle through chicken litter. Wild migratory birds are widely thought to be the likely cause of the transmission.FDA also has stated that chicken litter does not pose an animal or public health threat warranting usage restrictions.To find out more about what's going on with dried poultry litter and HPAI, we catch up with Austin Therrell, executive director of the Association of American Feed Control Officials, to talk about why the link between the feed ingredient and HPAI in dairy cattle is unlikely. This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at UnitedANH.com
On this bonus episode we talk to Andrew Bish and Morgan Tweet from the Hemp Feed Coalition, the advocacy group that has been working for four years to get hemp grain approved as a livestock feed. Opening up the feed markets is the one of the most important issues in the hemp industry today. Hemp grain was given tentative approval by AAFCO in January, with a final vote in August. On this episode the HFC folks respond to a recent blog post published by Agriculture Policy Solutions, another advocacy group with deep ties to the hemp industry, a blog post which at best confuses the issue and at worst jeopardizes the likelihood of hemp's approval in August. Then we hear from Hunter Buffington from Agriculture Policy Solutions and author of the blog post in question. She defends her position and lays out why she wrote and why she chose to publish it now. She raised a few questions that needed answered so we talked to Morgan Tweet from HFC again. Hopefully this episode sheds some light on the messy process of getting ingredients approved for livestock. Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/ Agriculture Policy Solutions http://www.agpolicysolutions.com/ as TENTATIVE DEFINITION FOR HEMPSEED MEAL Moves forward, APS Constituents have concerns http://www.agpolicysolutions.com/news/tentative-definition-for-hempseed-meal-has-been-described-as-a-poison-pill-for-the-hemp-industry Response to Industry Questions Around Tentative Definition and Potential Concerns on Cannabinoid Thresholds https://hempfeedcoalition.org/2024/03/29/response-to-industry-questions-around-tentative-definition-and-potential-concerns-on-cannabinoid-thresholds/
There's a class action lawsuit against Hill's Pet Food.Thousands of pet parents are reporting illness and worse associated with Purina and other kibble brands. No recall (yet).Meanwhile, a single complaint (albeit valid) stokes a recall from a small raw food company.What the &*!k is going on with pet food?!B.C. Henschen joins me to talk about the behind the scenes of things we haven't yet thought of in these cases. And more comments on the insidious nature of AAFCO and regulation.
You are what you eat, and the same is true of your dog. I'm really looking forward to sharing today's episode with you because I just know you're going to get so much out of it. Whether you're brand new to the idea of fresh feeding, or you're a seasoned pro, this conversation with Kay Stewart, a registered Veterinary Technician who is a researcher, writer, and lead educator of the Feed Real Institute, is packed full of goodies on how to best feed your dog. The Feed Real Institute is such a valuable resource for fresh food feeding, with tons of articles, a feeding calculator, courses, workshops, and even the Feed Real Summit, which are all designed to make feeding your dog real food a breeze. I know how utterly confusing it is when you're just trying to do the best for your dog, and you don't know where to start. Or even if you've been fresh feeding your dog for a while. there are so many different philosophies on how to feed your dog, that you sometimes wonder if you're doing the right thing. I am hoping that this episode will help bring you some clarity. Kay and I cover a lot of ground, including why fresh food is a better choice for your dog, the importance of using species-appropriate bioavailable ingredients, and even some useful tips for transitioning your dog from kibble to fresh food. Kay shares her incredible expertise to help you take the fear and complication out of fresh food feeding as we demystify and debunk the AAFCO, NRC, and FEDIAF guidelines to make it easier for you to embark on, or deepen, your fresh feeding journey. You'll come away with some helpful tips and resources, whether you just want to start by adding fresh food toppers to your dog's kibble, or you want to up your DIY raw game. There's something for everyone! Are you ready? Ok, let's go! TIME STAMPS 00:21 INTRO 05:39 Introducing Kay Stewart, veterinary technician and lead educator of Feed Real Institute, from animal research to getting back into alignment as a fresh food advocate 10:15. Kay's paradigm shift from kibble to fresh 13:11 Where to start your fresh food journey 14:40 The science behind the benefits of fresh feeding 16:22 What are the problems with kibble and why is fresh food a better option? 20:53 What are AAFCO, NRC, FEDIAF, and what do their guidelines mean about what is in my dog's food? 28:28 What does species-appropriate mean and why is it important? 32:55 The longevity of dogs has decreased since the 1970s when kibble became the mainstay 35:00 Putting the pieces together - what you need to feed your dog fresh food 43:10 Feeding the dog in front of you and why spreadsheet models might not be providing you with the certainty you think they are 48:00 Taking a holistic approach - looking beyond food 51:00 Start topping your dog's kibble with fresh food today with these easy tips 57:20 The benefits of allowing your dog to pick and choose their food items, and what this is telling you 59:00 The fun and joy YOU will experience when feeding your dog fresh food 1:00:00 The Feed Real Summit in San Diego, CA October 5-6, 2024 1:04:20 What dogs have taught Kay about what it means to be human 1:06:00 OUTRO and Takeaways If you want to learn more about Feed Real, their courses, food calculator, and upcoming summit October 5-6, 2024, check out their website: https://feedreal.com And you can check out the episode where I spoke with Dr Tom Lonsdale about raw meaty bones as the key to the carnivore code here. DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.
The Pet Shop Girls from Pet Product News with Sherry (Odyssey Pets) and Carly (House of Paws)
We had such an insightful discussion with Billy Hoekman from Green Juju in this episode. He provided so much valuable information about the pet food industry, AAFCO regulations, and how Green Juju is innovating with their whole food approach. Billy also gave great advice for retailers to educate staff and customers. It was fascinating to learn about his passion for pet nutrition and hear his visions for the future of the industry. We really enjoyed chatting with Billy and getting to pick his brain on various topics through our rapid-fire questions. Connect with Billy and Green Juju: https://greenjuju.com/ https://retail.pet/ https://www.instagram.com/billy_hoekman/ Connect with the Pet Shop Girls! Find us everywhere: https://linktr.ee/petshopgirls Connect with Carly (House of Paws): https://www.instagram.com/houseofpawsboutique https://www.tiktok.com/@houseofpawsboutique https://www.facebook.com/houseofpawsboutique Connect with Sherry (Odyssey Pets): https://www.facebook.com/odysseypets https://www.instagram.com/odysseypets https://linktr.ee/odysseypetsdallas Connect with Pet Product News: https://www.petproductnews.com/ https://www.facebook.com/PetProductNews
Understanding animal feeding studies and AAFCO guidelines is crucial in the pet food industry for developing nutritionally balanced and scientifically validated products. These elements play a essential role in enhancing pet health and well-being through diet innovation. In this episode, Dr. Kathy Gross from Kansas State University explores the significance of animal feeding studies and AAFCO guidelines, essential for developing balanced pet diets. Dr. Gross shares insights into ingredient evaluation and long-term health impacts in pet nutrition. Tune in for an enlightening journey into the heart of pet food innovation. Subscribe now for more expert knowledge in the pet food industry."Animal feeding studies are vital for ensuring marketed pet foods meet nutritional and palatability standards."What you'll learn:(00:00) Highlight(02:18) Introduction(05:03) Importance of Animal Feeding Studies(07:05) Understanding AAFCO and Nutritional Guidelines(12:23) Differences in Laboratory vs. In-Home Animal Feeding(19:42) Evaluating New Ingredients in Pet Food(34:23) Challenges in Long-term Animal Health Studies(40:53) The final questionsMeet the guest: Dr. Kathy Gross, is a distinguished adjunct faculty member in Animal Sciences & Industry at Kansas State University. With over 30 years of experience in the pet nutrition sector, including a significant tenure at Hill's Pet Nutrition, Dr. Gross brings a wealth of knowledge spanning multiple species. Her expertise in translating complex nutritional concepts into accessible information, combined with a strong background in nutrition research, product development, and innovation, makes her an invaluable voice in the field of animal and companion animal health.Connect with the guest!The Pet Food Science Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:* Trouw Nutrition* Kemin- ADM- Innovafeed- ProAmpac- Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition- ICCAre you ready to unleash the podcasting potential of your company? wisenetix.co/custom-podcast
Hey Bakers! Are your dog treat labels up to paw-fection? Discover the common pitfalls and elevate your packaging game with our exclusive new podcast guide in Episode 05, The Top Dog Treat Labeling Mistakes
Have you ever thought about what ingredients are in your dog food? The reality might SHOCK you. We talk about the truth behind dog food and what your dogs should actually be eating.30% Off Seed's DS-01 Daily Symbiotic (Code: CLEANKITCHENPOD)seed.com/ckpBest Raw and Gently Cooked Food Brands- All Provide- Viva Raw- Maev- OC Raw- Raw Bistro- We Feed Raw- Raised Right (cooked)- EverMore (cooked)- Ollie (cooked)- Farmer's Dog (cooked)Best Freeze Dried/Air Dried- Simple Food Project- Front of the Pack- K9 Natural- Open Farm- Sundays- Ziwi Peak**Giveaway Winners**@jesslynnh@brittfultz22@bethany_joy97@camryn_schneberger@Kyle.gering@brookelynnbar@Jenny.Echavarria0@savoryproteinbardude@catherine_jc_chang@oscarr.lopezz(0:00:00) - Intro(0:01:24) - The History of Dog Food(0:08:31) - What is AAFCO?(0:10:14) - Current Dog Food Guidelines(0:11:28) - Animal By-Product Found in Dog Food(0:13:33) - Ingredients Found in Dog Food(0:15:08) - What are PFAs?(0:15:59) - Dog Food Recalls Over The Years(0:17:25) - The Role Vets Play in the Proliferation of Dog Food(0:22:15) - What Your Dog Should be Eating(0:24:48) - Bad Dog Foods(0:26:59) - Better Dog Foods(0:28:05) - Best Dog Foods(0:29:12) - Concern About Bacteria in Raw Dog Food(0:30:23) - Table Scraps for Dogs to AVOID(0:31:33) - Supplementing Kibble with Real Dog FoodDisclaimer: The Clean Kitchen Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
Billy Hoekman is Vice President of Nutrition and Communication for Green Juju. He is involved in formulation, product development, working with farmers, science education, and sales and marketing. He participates frequently in expert panels and speaks nationally and internationally in venues ranging from universities and conferences to public libraries. He has served on the board of directors for multiple organizations, attends AAFCO meetings, and has numerous published articles. He is a trusted pet health advocate that specializes in turning hard to understand nutrition concepts into plain English. He lives in Lancaster Pennsylvania with his wife Emily, their daughter Maple, and their dog Huckleberry. Enjoy the episode! Want to learn how to feed your dog a homemade diet? Sign up for our Homemade Diet Guide below!
Billy Hoekman is Vice President of Nutrition and Communication for Green Juju. He is involved in formulation, product development, working with farmers, science education, and sales and marketing. He participates frequently in expert panels and speaks nationally and internationally in venues ranging from universities and conferences to public libraries. He has served on the board of directors for multiple organizations, attends AAFCO meetings, and has numerous published articles. He is a trusted pet health advocate that specializes in turning hard to understand nutrition concepts into plain English. He lives in Lancaster Pennsylvania with his wife Emily, their daughter Maple, and their dog Huckleberry. Enjoy the episode! Want to learn how to feed your dog a homemade diet? Sign up for our Homemade Diet Guide below!
Pet owners will soon find updated packaging and labels when shopping for pet food and specialty pet food products. This is because the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has approved new suggested labeling guidelines. Guidelines that will ensure consistency and transparency and allow consumers to more easily make more informed buying decisions for their pets.Passage of the revised Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food sets a new standard for pet food manufacturers and distributors and is the result of feed regulatory professionals across the United States and Canada working cooperatively with consumers and professionals within the pet food industry on a strategic course to ensure pet food labels provide a more comprehensive view of the product.Joining us in the episode with all the details is Austin Therrell, Executive Director of AAFCO. We talk about what the new guidelines will mean for pet owners and feed manufacturers. We also talk about what's ahead in terms of adoption of the new guidelines at the state level and, for that matter, what may be the best approach to the regulation of pet foods and animal food. For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.
When it comes to pet food, what does "complete and balanced even mean? Why does it matter and why should it change throughout your pet's life? These questions and more are answered in this informative episode as Dr. Judy chats with Steve Brown, one of the early founders of the raw diet industry, developer of the Animal Diet Formulator and the author of Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet. Don't miss this opportunity to understand more about the optimal feeding of dogs and cats at different life stages and get the inside intel on how AAFCO develops their nutrient profiles and what that means for you and your pet. How do we avoid nutrient deficiencies or excesses? Your pet will thank you! PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTHere at Naturally Healthy Pets, we're huge fans of Steve's Real Food. Steve's has been providing raw pet food that is convenient and affordable since 1998. We're proud to offer their freeze dried food options for both dogs and cats. You can help your pet thrive with a well rounded, nutritious diet using the code PODCAST06 to get 10% off any Steve's Real Food product at naturallyhealthypets.com
What a treat to have Susan Thixton, pet food consumer advocate and publisher of TruthaboutPetFood.com, PetsumerReport.com and Association for Truth in Pet Food on the Show to chat with Dr. Judy about not only the lack of regulation in the pet food industry, but what really happens at the AAFCO meetings. The fight is real! What's really in our pet food and the hidden dangers in this controversial industry. Listen up! The information discussed in this episode is current as of the date of this episode. If this is used years down the road, it could be the information is not accurate. SPONSOR AD: Dr. Judy here. I want to thank our sponsor DOG-EARED with Lisa Davis. Do you love to read books about dogs? On all subjects? I was recently a guest on the podcast “DOG-EARED with Lisa Davis” where she interviews authors who write books about dogs and I highly recommend you check it out. Lisa reads every book cover to cover and her warm and engaging personality draws out her guests and the resulting conversation illuminates the book, but without giving away the whole story. Also, I will be on monthly to answer her listeners questions about natural pet health. So, whether you want the latest advice on how to keep your furry friend happy and healthy, training tips, inspirational memoirs, or anything else dog, DOG-EARED is right for you! Go to where you get your podcasts and type in DOG dash EARED with Lisa Davis.
Breck & Bailey is a Colorado born and bred home-delivered freshly frozen dog food company. We work with a veterinarian nutritionist to develop fresh recipes that not only meet AAFCO standards but also OUR standards. Not only do our own dogs taste test our recipes, but SO DO WE! We are human and pup approved! We use only ingredients that you can pronounce and actually identify. We also use a limited number of fresh and sustainably sourced ingredients that are grown in the USA only. Our proteins are sourced from Colorado-based ranches and our vegetables and starches are sourced as close to Colorado as possible based on seasonal availability. You know what is so awesome?! Bark@BreckAndBailey.com. Visit https://breckandbailey.com/
Welcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott hosts the Believe in Dog podcast.CHAPTERS:How Bella has reacted to Kimberly's crazy work schedule (0:54)What Erin learned at the Healthy Dog Expo (3:22)What happened when Kimberly tried to correct inaccurate info being shared on social media (26:53)More stories from the Healthy Dog Expo (42:33)How in-person events and online courses create a sense of community that's important when your vet disagrees with how you care for your dog (48:31)Penny's legacy and Bella's play date (56:23)Poop cheese, what Guardians of the Galaxy has to do with ending laboratory testing on animals, and last thoughts on the Healthy Dog Expo (1:04:16)SHOUTOUTS:The Feed Real course (https://keepthetailwagging.com/feedreal)FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines (https://europeanpetfood.org/self-regulation/nutritional-guidelines/)What Dr. Becker, Dr. Recker, Steve Brown and Susan Thixton are asking of AAFCO (http://petfoodstandards.com/)Animal Diet Formulator (https://animaldietformulator.com/)Veterinary Cannabis Society is having more events for Pet Parents (https://veterinarycannabissociety.org/)1TDC supplement (https://www.workssowell.com/products/1tdc-periodontal-joint-holistic-health-dogs-cats)Believe in Dog Podcast episode discussing ending laboratory testing on animals (https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode-430)OUR BLOG/PODCASTS...Kimberly: Keep the Tail Wagging, KeepTheTailWagging.comErin Scott: Believe in Dog podcast, BelieveInDogPodcast.comFACEBOOK...Keep the Tail Wagging, Facebook.com/KeepTheTailWaggingBelieve in Dog Podcast, Facebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastINSTAGRAM...Keep the Tail Wagging, Instagram.com/RawFeederLifeBelieve in Dog Podcast, Instagram.com/Erin_The_Dog_MomThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
Executive Director of the Association of American Feed Control Officials Austin Therrell answers the question, "What is the current state of regulation in pet food ingredients?"
'THE RAW DOG FOOD TRUTH' PODCAST YOUR PET'S HEALTH IS OUR BUSINESS FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS FEED KIBBLE Brian one of the Raw Squad delivers another great piece about why AAFCO isn't what you think it is. 1. Why you pup won't get healthy on this diet. 2. How the approval process gets substandard food passed. 3. Why real raw companies don't want the stamp of AAFCO products. Get your pets on a Species Appropriate Diet today! Help them feel and live a healthier and happier life now. www.RawDogFoodandCompany.com
THE RAW DOG FOOD TRUTH' PODCAST YOUR PET'S HEALTH IS OUR BUSINESS AND FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS FEED KIBBLE DeDe CEO of Raw Dog Food and Company Discusses: 1. Why you don't want the AFFCO stamp of approval in Raw Diets 2. What does the AAFCO really do in regulating pet food 3. Why Supplemental Feeding is More a Scare Tactic than Factual
Adam Jacobson truly represents the pet industry's best of the best - Adam is the Executive VP of Pet Pantry, a family-owned, multi-award winning regional pet supply chain with store locations servicing Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT. He is truly involved...he is responsible for all of the day-to-day operations of the business. Including the site selection, purchasing, and ground-up construction of owner-occupied commercial buildings housing current Pet Pantry Warehouse (PPW) retail businesses. Adam and his family took their knowledge of the pet industry and partnered with the Ruud family to bring Raised Right, a family-owned human-grade pet food company that makes "home-cooked style" whole food recipes for dogs & cats to market. In 2019 - Raised Right received the IVC Innovation Award for Nutrition from the Innovative Veterinary Care Journal. In 2022 -Jacobson and Ruud launched Right Way Reps with the aim to level the playing field between brands of all sizes by providing them with support to effectively grow within the retail sector - their passion for people, pets, and innovation has created a space of growth for brands that need resources and support to stand out in the pet market place. Since recording this episode with Adam I am excited to write that I am working with RWR and the Raised Right brand - I am strict with brands I support and Raised Right easily meets my criteria for a TOP quality line of products... A family-owned company that is transparent about its quality ingredients and processes. Single protein formulations for cats, dogs, and puppies. No synthetic supplements, the puppy formulas meet and exceed AAFCO standards using human-grade minerals for the specific health requirements of growing puppies, excellent quality control methods, produced in USDA kitchens, and almost all of the recipes have less than 2% carbohydrates - there is truly no other product on the market like this - Click here to learn more about Raised Right Pet Foods. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tazz-thepetropolist/message
Dog Food Behind the Scenes: Meat, Meal and Byproducts Defined Rob Downey, nutritionist, researcher and CEO of Annamaet dogfood company, joins host Laura Reeves for a deep dive on what ingredients lists on our dog food labels mean. “We have to back up a little bit and look at what those statements mean and where definitions come from,” Downey said. “That really comes from AAFCO. You'll see on the package whether it be canned, frozen or whatever. AAFCO is Association of American Feed Control Officials. They don't regulate pet foods. What they do is they set up the guidelines. And then the regulation goes through the FDA and the Department of Agriculture in most states. So AAFCO is actually a volunteer organization. Each person gets a vote, and you have to be on one of these bodies. So each state has the ability to regulate how they view it. And the sad part is, those regulations are open to the interpretation of each state official. So, every state has a feed control official. And as a pet food manufacturer, for me to sell in each state, I have to be approved by that state. So, you have to send your labels in to each individual state. “They are the ones that determine the terminology that we're allowed to use. And so, for example, fresh meat. If the meat you use has been frozen at any time, it's no longer considered fresh. So as a manufacturer, I wouldn't trust shipping non-frozen meat. What I call fresh meat, I want frozen and I'll thaw it when I want to use it, but then I can't attach the word fresh to it. “Then you get into the term meal, and meal is actually a processing term where you take raw meat, and it's heated up, moisture is removed, a lot of the fats removed and it becomes a powder and then that's how it shipped as a meal. And then that's also called a rendered ingredient. AAFCO is pretty strict about rendered. Anytime you change the physical component or whatever, you heat it up or you do this or do that now, it becomes a rendered product. So even in the food chain, like for instance my local meat store, if they make a sausage? If it was in the pet industry, that would be considered rendered And the other thing that is kind of interesting, the term meal isn't used in most parts of the world. Like if I use chicken meal, somebody in Europe, they don't have the term meal. They would call it dehydrated chicken or simply chicken. "Now the advantage of using a meal, is that basically the moisture has been removed. So, if I'm ordering chicken meal, a truckload, it's only going to be 10% moisture. I'm ordering fresh chicken, a truckload is going to be 70% water, only 30% dry matter. But when you read the label. On the ingredient list, it's according to wet weight, so it includes all that water. That's why when you see a fresh meat formula or a meat formula, there's always seems to be more meat ingredients, because there's so much water. Of course, when you're doing an extruded product that all gets kicked out. "So chicken meal is basically skin, muscle and no internal organs. Like you can't have organ meat in it, you can have some bone in it. But when you go to byproduct meal, that's when the organ meat gets involved." Mind Blown… When the label gives the minimum percentages of the contents (30/20 protein and fat, for example), it doesn't have to specify the maximum, which can vary drastically from the minimum! Listen in for more insider details.
小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/user/ck4fgb04n698h0804wzdkaycj ．什麼是營養均衡？ ．均衡的標準是什麼？ ．處方糧不符合AAFCO標準？為什麼？ ．胰臟炎是否需要長期飲食控制？ ．肥胖動物的比例比你想像的還要高！ ．有聽過「癡肥寵物社」嗎？https://petobesityprevention.org/ ．肥胖與關節炎的關係？ ．如何順利進行狗狗的減重計畫？ ．瞎咪！貓咪吸空氣都會胖？ ．毛孩減肥越減越肥怎麼辦？ ．多貓家庭該如何進行減重計畫？ ．鮮食減重會遇到什麼困難？ ．適合犬貓的減重零食選擇？ ．營養補充品該怎麼選？ ．誒？補充品吃越多越營養？（有效性與安全性） ．你知道補充品會影響化療藥物效果嗎？(cytochrome p450) ．每日零食最高攝取量？ ．飲食中鈣磷能透過血鈣監控嗎？ ．鮮食補鈣就能補足需求嗎？ ．幼犬幼貓飲食加鈣可以嗎？ 留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/ck4fgb04n698h0804wzdkaycj/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting
Welcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott is the host of the Believe in Dog podcast.CHAPTERS:Kimberly's experience with Feed Real's Real Dog Food Nutrition Course for Pet Parents (1:22)Kay's professional background and how she came to work with Ruby (5:10)How the Feed Real course evolved and why there's a Pet Parent course and a Veterinary Professional course (7:21)What do vet students learn in vet school about nutrition? (12:50)How Feed Real was received at a conference of conventional veterinarians last week (16:05)Kimberly felt depressed after talking to other Pet Parents in the vet office waiting room about raw feeding and their dog's health issues (18:00)Feed Real's goal to facilitate the Raw Feeding Conversation between vets and Pet Parents (22:17)Variety, balance and testing because each dog absorbs nutrients differently (23:16)Letting dogs choose and self-select (27:40)What's the deal with synthetic vitamins? (30:57)The most surprising things Kay has learned about feeding and caring for dogs (37:25)Navigating the divide between conventional vets and alternative pet parents (43:57)All about the Feed Real research database that Members get access to (47:08)NRC versus AAFCO guidelines (49:35)Is it true that dogs don't live as long now as they did in the past? (52:04)Feed Real's course is for all Pet Parents who want to improve their dog's diet (no kibble shaming) (58:08)Future updates and courses that Feed Real will be incorporating to support Pet Parents (1:02:25)SHOUTOUTS: Sign up for the Dog Food Nutrition Course by The Feed Real Movement (https://tinyurl.com/5f9b3h44)What is SIBO in dogs? (https://tinyurl.com/5n6jmket)PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)Maggie, the oldest dog in the world (https://tinyurl.com/2sxbccvr)OUR BLOG/PODCASTS...Kimberly: Keep the Tail Wagging, KeepTheTailWagging.comErin Scott: Believe in Dog podcast, BelieveInDogPodcast.comFACEBOOK...Keep the Tail Wagging, Facebook.com/KeepTheTailWaggingBelieve in Dog Podcast, Facebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastINSTAGRAM...Keep the Tail Wagging, Instagram.com/RawFeederLifeBelieve in Dog Podcast, Instagram.com/BelieveInDogPodcastThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
Welcome to Alternative Dog Moms - a podcast about what's happening in the fresh food community and the pet industry. Kimberly Gauthier is the blogger behind Keep the Tail Wagging, and Erin Scott is the host of the Believe in Dog podcast.CHAPTERS:Chelsea Kent's origin story (1:14)Solutions fast turnaround (7:29)Importance of sourcing/regenerative farming (12:40)Why don't the jiggles jiggle? (15:38)Solutions' herbal blend products (18:00)What is DogH (and how do you say it?)? (24:18)Formulating Solutions foods, why the diets aren't 80/10/10 (25:55)Why Solutions food (and other products) are affordable (31:06)How to stretch your budget, making Solutions more affordable (34:29)How to order Solutions online (40:08)Common trends seen in ParsleyPet results (41:27)Chelsea's experiences attending AAFCO meetings (47:57)Using ParleyPet testing to learn about your pet's health (51:43)Why pork, chicken, beef, and duck eggs for Solutions foods? (59:22)What's next for Chelsea and Solutions? (64:10)Where the name Solutions comes from and voting with our dollars (72:08)The Hero Pets website is a great resource for pet parents (77:49)SHOUTOUTS:Solutions Pet Products (https://solutionspetproducts.com/)ParsleyPet Nutritional Blueprint Testing (https://tinyurl.com/47t9huu9 - KTTW to save $50)Hero's Pets (https://herospets.com/)Solutions Feeding Calculator (https://tinyurl.com/yphxnnrj)Where to buy Solutions (https://solutionspetproducts.com/where-to-buy/)Raw Pets, an online retailer of Solutions Pet Products (https://tinyurl.com/24c9hvr6)Wigglebutt & Company online retailer of Solutions Pet Products (https://tinyurl.com/45e8yh84)Omorog Raw online retailer of Solutions Pet Products (https://tinyurl.com/3r4c98t2)RISOBiotics (https://risobiotics.com/)OUR BLOG/PODCASTS...Kimberly: Keep the Tail Wagging, KeepTheTailWagging.comErin Scott: Believe in Dog podcast, BelieveInDogPodcast.comFACEBOOK...Keep the Tail Wagging, Facebook.com/KeepTheTailWaggingBelieve in Dog Podcast, Facebook.com/BelieveInDogPodcastINSTAGRAM...Keep the Tail Wagging, Instagram.com/RawFeederLifeBelieve in Dog Podcast, Instagram.com/BelieveInDogPodcastThanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.
What do you consider when choosing the right dog food? Happy Howl is a human-grade dog food that exceeds AAFCO requirements for complete & balanced for all life stages. Use the code: DOOBERT to get 40% off on your first order!
Big pet food. The FDA. AAFCO. Let's explore the confusing world of pet food and pet food labeling.
Today we're talking to Billy Hoekman! Billy is Vice President of Nutrition and Communication for Green Juju. He's got brains for days and had the most magnificent responses. We're going to talk about Billy's start, Green Juju, AAFCO meetings, fermentation (duh - since he's fermentation king), + lots of fun randomness (including my mother?) And as always, we end with a killer Q&A session with questions from you – the listener! Connect with Billy & Green Juju: Billy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billy_hoekman/ Green Juju Website: https://green-juju.myshopify.com/ Green Juju YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/greenjuju Feel free to subscribe and leave a comment/rating on Apple Podcast & Spotify to support our content if you enjoyed listening. Connect with us on our website (therawstorm.com) plus Instagram, Facebook, & YouTube @therawstorm. Follow our podcast on Instagram (@therawcastpodcast) to keep up with past and future guests. I hope you learn something new today & Always Keep Exploring!
This is part two of our interview with Linda Case: trainer, author and owner of https://thesciencedog.com/ (The Science Dog). Linda's latest book, "Feeding Smart with The Science Dog," explores common myths and misconceptions surrounding canine nutrition and feeding practices. In this episode, Linda explains what AAFCO feeding trials are, what the "complete and balanced" claim on dog food means, and how important processing is in creating pet food (from kibble to wet food to raw diets). Listeners of The Good Dog Pod get 15% off the Good Dog merch store with the code GDP15. Go to https://shop.gooddog.com/ (shop.gooddog.com) to redeem this exclusive discount! If you are interested in entering the giveaway to win Linda's most recent book, "Feeding Smart with The Science Dog," fill out this form: https://goodbreedercenter.typeform.com/feedingsmart (goodbreedercenter.typeform.com/feedingsmart). This giveaway ends on Sunday, March 20th, 2022.
At a time when nearly 90 percent of our human population is metabolically unhealthy, we were extremely interested to meet Jaron Lucas, who has devoted his career to helping dogs regain their health through proper nutrition. Jaron sat down with LowCarbUSA® co-founder Doug Reynolds for an incredibly informative podcast interview. After personally discovering many of the health benefits after implementing a ketogenic diet for himself, Jaron wondered if he could use what he learned to improve the health of his own dog by changing the formulation of the food he served. “I discovered that the pet food industry is a very large industry with many really terrible products in it, including dry kibble. After doing a good amount of research, I started to believe strongly that we could create something better.” So he co-founded the Yumwoof Natural Pet Food company along with two others who, like him, had spent years working in the tech industry. The stated mission of their company is to increase the health span of dogs through the creation of healthy food for dogs. “We went back, and we looked at NIH studies that have been done over the last 10 to 15 years,” said Jaron, “and we looked at the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) dog food nutrient profiles with the goal of creating an industry-leading low carb dog food.” He discovered that many of the most popular brands of dog food are loaded with nearly 50% carbohydrates, a fact that does not align well with the primarily meat-based diet that dogs historically consumed. “One of my biggest pet peeves in the pet food industry is the marketing lie that rice and potatoes are good for your dog,” said Jaron. “There no scientific evidence to show that dogs were digging potatoes out of the ground and eating them. They're just chains of simple sugar molecules that raise blood insulin levels, and cause the same kind of damage in dogs as they do in humans.” He talked with Doug about the surging rates of obesity in dogs, which he says is caused by diets containing too many carbohydrates and the feedings which, in many cases, are too frequent. “We're seeing a 60% obesity rate in dogs,” he said. “When dogs eat too much (carbs), they can't store it anymore in their fat cells. Diabetes rates have almost doubled over the last 20 years in dogs.” According to an article Jaron recently wrote, “...canine diabetes is up 79% since 2006, 56% of dogs are now classified as obese, and almost half of dogs over the age of 10 will develop cancer.” He explained how he and his partners have created a recipe that includes important vitamins and minerals dogs need, as well as other ingredients such as antioxidants and MCT oils. “Might that help them live longer?” The answer is yes,” said Jaron. “There have been many studies done to show that dogs with more antioxidants in their diet benefit.” Discussing a study that compared dogs that ate a processed diet, (dry kibble) to dogs that ate a natural diet of whole foods, he says, “Unsurprisingly, the group of dogs who were eating whole foods had doubled the microbiome diversity than the other dogs, which is associated with greater longevity,” said Jaron. ”We are trying to apply this latest nutrition evidence to fulfill our company mission of extending the lifespan of all dogs.” He went on to explain how popular dog food companies exploit the current labeling requirements, specifically the fact that carbohydrates do not need to be listed per FDA and AAFCO requirements. The reason, according to Jaron, is motivated by profit. Carbohydrates in the form of rice and potatoes are cheap, and their use leads to larger margins. he also explained how many brands use ingredients like beef meal, chicken meal, fish meal, and other byproducts to make their products more profitable. “Not a lot of people know this, but beef meal is where they just take the beef bones and put them through a highly processed manufacturing process to extract all the protein that's left. There's a lot of ultra processing going on in the creation of most dry kibble.” “This is a topic that's really important to me,” said Jaron. “The largest pet food companies who manufacture dry kibble are also effectively in control of the regulating body in pet food. I think that a grassroot action is really the only way that we can achieve change.” He has launched a petition aimed at getting United States lawmakers to add carbohydrate nutritional information to pet food labels. “This is really a passion project for me,” he said, “I think we need to work to bring a greater level of honesty to the pet food industry, for the benefit of consumers and their dogs.
This week on the Lancaster Farming Podcast, our guest is Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, a non-profit organization whose mission is to gain federal approval for hemp and its byproducts as animal feed to create new markets. Last month, in response to the results the HFC helped achieve in Montana and Pennsylvania, the Association of American Feed Control Officials wrote an open letter to ag leaders and state policy makers concerning the allowance of hemp in animal feed. The letter calls for more research and education and asks stakeholders to move cautiously when considering hemp as a livestock feed. AAFCO lists three areas of concern — animal health and safety; safety of food from production animals entering the human food chain; and adverse impact of farmers, ranchers and the animal feed industry. Tweet and the HFC don't dispute the need for further research and education, but they argue that AAFCO is conflating hemp grain with cannabinoid hemp. Tweet says hemp grain contains no detectable levels of cannabinoid content. Compounds like THC or CBD are produced in the flower of the plant, not the seed. Hemp grain was used widely as a livestock feed up until the mid-20th century, but was banned as the cannabis plant was vilified by anti-marijuana propaganda. Furthermore, the FDA has already granted GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) to hemp grain. But under the current regulatory landscape, it is legal to feed hemp seeds to your children, but not to your livestock. Granting approval to hemp grain as a livestock feed would give producers a healthy, high-protein option for their animals, and would also open up markets for hemp grain producers, Tweet said. Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/ AAFCO's letter https://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/SiteContent/Announcements/Hemp%20Joint%20Open%20Letter%20-%20AAFCO%20-%20FINAL%203.pdf HFC's response to AAFCO's letter https://hempfeedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/LETTER_FINAL_-HFC_signed-response-to-AAFCO_022822.pdf For News Nuggets Links, go to the show page on Lancaster Farming.com: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/unpublished/podcast-hemp-feed-coalition-responds-to-letter/article_fb3d8f88-52e3-5629-bdbe-22684177b3f6.html Sign up for Americhanvre's Hempcrete training Session https://americhanvre.com/training/ Thanks to our sponsors: Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/ IND HEMP https://www.indhemp.com/
Susan Thixton On The Secrecy Of AAFCO Part 2 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kohl-harrington/support
Dr. Jean Hofve was raised in Oakland, California. She worked a number of jobs before veterinary school, including working as a sheriff's deputy while taking prerequisite courses. She got her DVM from Colorado State University in 1994. She was introduced to holistic medicine by visiting speakers while in veterinary school, and even took a short course in homeopathy while still a student. After graduation, she started practicing in a feline only integrative medicine practice. After working in a number of practices, she started the Little Big Cat website with Jackson Galaxy. She has continued to teach, write, and consult since then. Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jean Hofve as we talk about attending veterinary school as an older student, finding holistic medicine, serving as an advisor to AAFCO, consulting, formulating and selling flower essences, and working with Jackson Galaxy.
Green Juju With Vice President of Nutrition and Communication today on It's a Dogs Life with Angela Ardolino only on Cannabis Radio. Billy Hoekman joined Green Juju in 2021 as Vice President of Nutrition and Communication for Green Juju. He is involved in the formulation, product development, science education, and sales and marketing. He participates frequently in expert panels, and he speaks nationally and internationally in venues ranging from universities and conferences to public libraries. He also serves on the board of directors for Royal Animal Health University, attends AAFCO meetings, and has numerous published articles. He is a trusted pet health advocate who specializes in turning hard-to-understand nutrition concepts into plain English. He is a proud member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Emily, their daughter, Maple, and their dog.
Nutrition in Breeding Dogs with Dr. Gayle WatkinsDr. Gayle Watkins, founder of Avidog and Head of Education at Good Dog, joins host Laura Reeves for a fascinating and informative conversation on the nutrition requirements for breeding dogs. Watkins addresses raw feeding, kibble and specific nutrient requirements, especially calcium:phosphorus percentages, that enable the animals in our breeding programs to be successful in conceiving and raising their litters. “We don't have a lot of really good research on optimizing nutrition for breeding animals, either stud dogs or bitches, and we have a lot of myths,” Watkins said. “If you are in the US, you need to feed an all-life stages or growth and reproduction diet to your breeding dogs. Ideally, that is also for stud dogs, but we don't have much information on that. Definitely your bitches, as they prepare to breed, while they're being bred, during pregnancy and during lactation. Adult maintenance food is inadequate for reproduction. It is not designed for reproduction. “Dogs are scavengers … think about the stuff they eat! But breeding animals, we're asking those bitches to do so much. They not only have to create puppies, they have to maintain their own body while that's happening and they have to maintain their brain. So I think we have an obligation to not do homemade foods with our breeding bitches. “I'm a big fan, if we can find those foods that are also certified by AAFCO through feeding trials. The all life stages feeding trial covers just prior to being bred, pregnancy and it covers their puppies for 10 weeks. So it's a big feeding trial and that food has been tested as much as it could possibly be tested.” Watkins continues with specific recommendations on additional micronutrients, fatty acids, probiotics and other supplements. For previous Pure Dog Talk episodes on breeding topics with Dr. Watkins, click https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/11-dr-gayle-watkins-nutrition-of-the-dam-canine-nomograph-and-puppy-immunity-2/ (here), https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/14-dr-gayle-watkins-2-breeders-guide-to-neonatal-puppies-2/ (here), https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/17-dr-gayle-watkins-transition-period-in-puppies-part-3-2/ (here) and https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/20-bomb-proof-your-puppy-dr-gayle-watkins-4-2/ (here). Support this podcast
Hero’s Pets is a leading retailer in the natural pet supplies market. Founded in 2007 in Littleton, Colorado, the company operates a retail store that offers more than 14,000 products from local and ethical national and international manufacturers in the natural, organic, and eco-friendly pet supply market. Our focus is consumer education and the products we carry and recommend are chosen as a result of our own comprehensive evaluations, educated opinions, and commitments to ethics. With experience extending back to 2000, Chelsea Kent has developed a diverse, comprehensive education and experienced perspective in holistic nutrition and product integrity by spending vast numbers of hours on nutritional, product, and regulatory research in the pet industry. She continues to working closely with the owners of multitudes of holistic pet product manufacturers, complementary medicine practitioners, Veterinarians, AAFCO, State Departments of Agriculture, the FDA, and many more. Working as a product rep in the pet food industry taught Chelsea that good information must be found at the source, from the manufacturer company owners, and not from product reps or labels. Upon understanding the rules, regulations, and practices in the pet food industry, Chelsea and her mother, Kathy, decided to open Hero’s Pets with the intention of creating a place where consumers can come to trust that the products don’t just SAY they are quality but have verified their claims through documentation and evidence.
With so many options on what to feed your pet and so many people offering advice, let’s discuss pet nutrition with Jessica Joosse, @nutritionrvn , Registered Veterinary Nurse and Animal Nutritionist from Melbourne Australia. We ask: -What do cats and dogs need in their diet? -Can you balance a raw diet? -What is AAFCO? -Does the diet need to be consistent? -What are breed based and lifestyle diets? -Is kibble in a diet bad? -Should we feed bones? -Do good diets need additives? -Can you feed your pet a vegan, vegetarian or gluten free diet? -What are prescription diets? -What can I take out of the ingredient list? -What treats should I feed? -Who do I ask for nutritional advice? Jess’s answer is simple….” don’t ask some random on Facebook!”
And what does it mean when my pet food is AAFCO approved? I'll go over this and more in great detail, launching into one of my most in-depth podcasts yet. Don't skip this one - it's not as simple or as boring as it may sound! Regulations and legislation can make our eyes glaze over sometimes, but my mission is to keep you in the know about all things related to pet nutrition so you can be a Wizard! And this is a huge factor in whether your pet food is safe and complete. Please reach out for any additional questions at my Facebook page! :) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anw/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anw/support
Today on the Biohack your Pet Podcast we have Billy Hoekman! He is the Nutrition Science Director for Answers Pet Food. He is involved in formulation, research, product development, working with farms, science education, and performs all of their nutrition consultations. He attends yearly AAFCO meetings and routinely speaks around the country on a wide variety of topics ranging from nutritional concepts to environmental concerns. He also serves on the board of directors for the Royal Animal Health University and is frequently published in Dogs Naturally Magazine. He is a proud member of the Weston A Price Foundation and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Emily and their dog Lua. We hope you like this content and if you do, please follow us on Facebook or YouTube, check out the website, subscribe and leave a review!
#025 My guest this week is your best friend if you buy commercial pet food of any kind. Susan Thixton came to her calling as crusader for quality pet food many years ago when her vet told her her healthy dog died of bone cancer from a commonly used pet food preservative.She’s learned so much since then and shares it regularly with interested consumers with pets to feed via her website and newsletter. And believe me when I tell you, the world of Big Pet Food is “buyer beware!”Her work has included:— tracking aflatoxin in corn to poisoned pets (110 have died recently from this liver toxic mold)— using FOIA documents to get at hidden loopholes in the regulation of pet food quality— attending the AAFCO meetings as a voice for you, the pet food consumer— publishing rankings of pet food from best to worstThis woman is on a mission! Your pets need her to stay safe in the jungle that is commercial pet food.You won’t want to miss Susan’s inspiring and cautionary message in this episode.You can find more in the show notes for this episode at https://VitalAnimal.com/25
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Susan Thixton On The Secrecy Of AAFCO, which is a private organization run by public employees. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kohl-harrington/support
In Part One of your fourth lesson, I begin to dig into some of the basics on reading pet food labels. This episode includes information on where to start, AAFCO guidelines for product names and ingredient rules, special needs for large breed puppies and what to look for, and how to tell if your food is actually a meaty diet. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anw/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anw/support
Welcome back Dr. Seigel! Dr. Seigel is a veterinarian in Tampa, Florida. She has been blending the best of eastern and western medicine for over 20 years. She started her veterinarian practice in Tampa, Florida 35 years ago. Alternative skills and tools she uses on pets include chiropractic, ozone, bioenergy scanning, herbs, energy, emotional healing and so much more! Dr. Seigel has been a keynote speaker and guest on TV shows, radio, and webinars. She costars on pet start TV, a bi-monthly interactive live talk show teaching pet owners how to integrate a healthier lifestyle for their fur babies. Her mission is to redefine veterinarian health care by educating pet parents on what strategies, tools, and products are available to ensure their fur babies can live the longest, healthiest lives possible. On this episode of Bio Hack You Pet we are talking about Gut Health. Topics include digestions, enzymes, inflammation, cancer, gut bacteria, RAW food, how to switch from kibble to raw and so much more! More detailed topics on this episode: Let's talk digestion! Starts with enzymes. Foods contain enzymes, our cells contain enzymes, - these are how we break down the building blocks so that we can reuse them. 105 is the temperature the enzymes are killed Why grain free didn't fix the issues with dog food. Lectins cause inflammation, still very high carb which leads to inflammation, pesticides, preservatives. All of this is leading to leaky gut. Dogs get cancer 1:1.65 and Cats 1:3 If you are not ready to jump from kibble to raw then what can you do? Talking to our gut bacteria?? Where we really need to get antioxidants from. How not to feed RAW and how to. Marlene's food- SAFE raw food- Species Appropriate Fundamentally Vitamin mineral sup called pet fuel to make sure diet is complete and balanced The main Q SAFE pet food answers to help people pick the right formula. How many calories does this pet need from fat? There are 4 options. How the SAFE raw food is treated so that it isn't contaminated. Hygiene with RAW dog food prep. What is your schedule or system to remember to defrost the Raw food? Leave out 15 mins or double boil. Why not to feed cold food or drinks? Bone broth as an additive 36:00 Dr. Seigel recaps the best diet for your dog- RAW as much as possible- SAFE Fermented Foods- make your own Vit/Min/FA supp. – Pet Fuel Bone Broth- make your own Humic acid to repair leaky gut- Product name? Why Dr. Seigel purposefully did not get her food AAFCO approved. 40:00 Why you might want to use enzymes between meals. How to switch from kibble to raw. What is the worst thing you can do for your cat and how can you fix it? Diet related cardiomyopathy. Links:
For almost a decade, Roxanne Stone has been attending AAFCO meetings. In today's conversation, we talk to Roxanne about her expriences attending these meetings, the concerns regarding this private organization, and how AAFCO has attempted to ban hers and others from having a voice in what ultimately becomes the animal feed system. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kohl-harrington/support
Who is the AAFCO and what do they have to say about human grade dog food whether it's raw or cooked? The answer may surprise you. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/andrea-partee/message
Billy Hoekman is the Nutrition Science Director for Answers Pet Food. He is involved in formulation, research, product development, working with farms, science education, and performs all of their nutrition consultations. He attends yearly AAFCO meetings and routinely speaks around the country on a wide variety of topics ranging from nutritional concepts to environmental concerns. He also serves on the board of directors for the Royal Animal Health University and is frequently published in Dogs Naturally Magazine. He is a proud member of the Weston A Price Foundation and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Emily and their dog Lua.
We are excited and honored to have Dr. Sally Perea in the studio. It is rare to have the opportunity to interview a Veterinary Nutritionist. There are not many Veterinary Nutritionists in the world. And she took the time to come to our studio and help all of us to understand pet diets. Sally is also the co-host along with her husband Curtis, of the fantastic podcast, Arise and Shine. Arise, and Shine is a daily devotional podcast where they read a portion of scripture, then discuss what stood out to them and apply it to their day to day growth. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arise-and-abide/id1493077635 More info on Dr. Sally Perea linkedin.com/in/sally-perea-38907576 In this episode, she considered all types of diets, raw, grain, homemade, allergy, and answered the top questions we get on diets and nutrition for pets. So what is true about pet food diets. It is complicated but listen to what Dr. Perea has to say. **The one thing we learned and worth noting is to always look for the AAFCO statement on the pet food package. This is critical. AAFCO establishes standards or models for regulations aimed at ensuring that manufacturers provide clear, accurate, and consistent information about animal feed, including pet food. ** The other truth worth noting is marketing, blog, commercials, etc. have all outpaced research, so be careful what you read and hear about pet nutrition.
If you are looking for healthy options when feeding your dog or cat, we think you will find this podcast very informative. In this episode of The Woof Meow Show from February 22nd, 2020, Kate and Don interview Karen Neola, the founder, and president of My Perfect Pet. If you are a regular listener to The Woof Meow Show you know that Don and Kate believe that what we feed our pets is important to both their physical and mental wellbeing. Both of them choose to eat fresh, wholesome food as much as possible and choose to feed their pets the same way. In this week's podcast, we interview Karen Neola, the founder, and owner of My Perfect Pet, and a kindred spirit in our approach to pet nutrition. For the last thirteen years, My Perfect Pet has been making and selling food for cats and dogs using fresh ingredients sourced from local suppliers who exclusively sell human-grade food, the same companies that supply restaurants and high-end grocers. The food is gently-cooked, frozen, and packaged in a ready-to-eat format for cats and dogs. You can learn more about Karen and My Perfect Pet in this podcast and in our show notes below. Learn what Green Acres Kennel Shop likes about My Perfect Pet at - http://bit.ly/WhyWeLikeMyPerfectPet Below you will find a summary of Karen’s answers to our questions. Tell us a bit about yourself and your pets. My Perfect Pet has given me the opportunity to combine my career and love for animals. I’ve been an animal lover my whole life, my parents named me “Karen’s Reject Animal Farm” when I was 7 because I was always bringing home strays and begging them to let me take care of them. Dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, even the chickens we hatched at school. At present, I only have one dog, Sweetheart, adopted from Lab Rescuers – named Sweetheart only because I started calling her that while I was trying out other names and the only time she responded seemed to be when I called her Sweetheart. Why did you decide to get into the pet food business? After working at Hewlett-Packard for 25 years as an R&D program manager, I had a bucket list a mile long when I left. However, on Jan 3rd, 2007 I lost my lab Hunter to contaminated pet food that was subsequently recalled. I was devastated. And angry. I felt betrayed by companies who had knowingly put toxic substances into food to increase their profits. I vowed never again to buy commercial pet food and started making my own, using only fresh, whole, natural and safe ingredients – the same quality I trusted for myself. I immersed myself in research on dog and cat nutrition and worked with nutritionists, veterinarians, universities and health care experts to create the perfect blend of all-natural high-quality ingredients that provide maximum nutrition for dogs and cats with the least processing and highest safety. I did not start with any intent to build a business, it just kept growing. The My Perfect Pet Story - check out the video here - https://www.myperfectpetfood.com/process Tell us about My Perfect Pet: I started making my own food in January 2007 – with no idea that my decision to make dog food with cooked meats and raw vegetables would 13 years later become the fastest-growing category of pet food. I wondered for 12 years why no one else was doing this, finally this year we’re starting to see everyone jumping into this category. We are located in Poway, CA near San Diego, and have a second facility under construction in Sulphur Springs, TX (90 miles NE of Dallas) My Perfect Pet is in a relatively new category of pet foods, gently-cooked from fresh whole food. Why did you make that choice over kibble, canned, frozen, or freeze-dried? I wanted my pet’s food to be as fresh and natural as possible, fresh whole foods with minimal processing and no preservatives. My decision to go fresh and natural basically ruled out other options. I didn’t want to do raw as I was vegan at the time and didn’t want raw meat in my refrigerator next to my food. My dogs were therapy dogs and while their registrar had no restriction on pet diets, many hospitals and health centers ask that we not feed raw diets before a visit out of concern what might be transmitted to a person with a weakened immune system. So I decided to use the same food standard that I used for myself, following FDA food safety guidelines which meant cooking meats to minimum temperatures. It was I believe, the best of both worlds – all the benefits of raw with the safety and convenience of food that had been gently-cooked. Canning requires heating to temperatures far above FDA minimums, which eliminates fresh foods. The extrusion process used to make dog kibble requires the highest temperatures used in the pet food industry and requires that all ingredients be in powder or pellet form, which is about as unnatural as it gets compared to fresh whole foods. In addition to cooking at high temperatures, kibble is also cooked under high pressure which is detrimental to many of the ingredients. That is why synthetic amino acids and vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients needed to be added to kibble after the cooking process. Freeze-drying also involves far more processing than gently-cooking and is expensive. Pet parents intrinsically understand the benefits of eating fresh whole food because that’s what they hear from human healthcare professionals. It is not a leap to understand that fresh food is also better for their pets. Some of the reaction to the Grain-Free & DCM “crisis” has been for some in the veterinary community to tell clients not to feed a food unless the company making it has an accredited veterinary nutritionist on staff. Do you think that is important and who formulated the My Perfect Pet diets? I believe that companies with deep pockets that employ their own staff of nutritionists are the ones telling vets and clients to demand this. I find it amazing that companies with veterinary nutritionists on their payroll saying what they are told to say have more credibility than companies like My Perfect Pet who consults with a number of independent, objective, unbiased, and accredited nutritionists without any potential conflict of interest. There are international standards for nutrient profiles, some far more stringent than the AAFCO standards in the USA. These standards have been developed over the years by thousands of animal nutritionists and have been proven by testing. I put far more credibility into consistent results from wide international sources than an employee on a single company’s payroll. My Perfect Pet does not recommend nutrient profiles that deviate from recognized standards. We do not use ‘exotic’ ingredients in our blends. The ingredients we use have been used in pet food for decades, we just have consciously chosen to use a higher quality version of those ingredients. We do not claim to have more company expertise in determining nutritional needs for animals than recognized experts in those fields. My Perfect Pet has been a preferred supplier to a major zoological park, supplying carnivore diets to a number of animals including polar bears, cheetahs, and a lot of other carnivores. Cheetahs can be extremely finicky and liked both raw and cooked versions of diets we produced. The zoo did not ask us to become experts on the nutritional needs of all those animals, but just to asked us to formulate diets that met the nutritional needs and profiles that their animal nutritionists provided. We do the same for our pet foods. We base all our formulas on known and established standards and use only ingredients that have been proven to be easily digested by the intended species and that offer the best bioavailability and absorption of nutrients. If it’s not absorbed it is just waste and unnecessary processing. While some of the big pet food companies make a big deal about feeding trials they do not disclose the relatively low standards for a feeding trial and the conditions in which the subjects of the feeding trial are kept. For the record, My Perfect Pet will never cage an animal for feeding trials. Some of the companies making these claims have done what I consider unspeakable testing on animals. We will continue to rely on published results and decades of proven results. Tell us about the ingredients you use in My Perfect Pet? We source our ingredients locally whenever possible. All the ingredients are sourced within the USA with the exception of lamb from New Zealand and Australia, and coconut oil from the Philippines. We buy only from suppliers who exclusively sell human-grade food, mostly the same companies that supply restaurants and high-end grocers. We never purchase ingredients from any company selling feed grade ingredients or foods not intended for human consumption. The ingredients we use in our products are better than what many people can buy in supermarkets. One of our company perks is that employees can purchase our ingredients at cost for home use – they often go together to buy cases of chicken or beef or some of our produce. Our fresh locally grown produce is the best - I can hardly stand to buy vegetables at the market after eating the ones at My Perfect Pet. If you visit My Perfect Pet I’ll make lunch from whatever we are making that day, you’ll be amazed! In fact, it is not uncommon for employees to make themselves lunch from the same ingredients we are using to produce pet food on that day. I’ve stopped taking multi-vitamins since starting My Perfect Pet. I realized many of my supplements were originating in China, if I’m not willing to give them to my pets why would I take them? I decided throwing a bunch of fresh vegetables and fruit, along with a little dried kelp and calcium supplement into my blender was just as healthy and a lot tastier. How many formulas do you have for dogs and cats? We currently have ten blends for dogs and three blends for cats. What drove you to develop those specific formulas? The original blends were the Boomer’s Chicken & Rice and the Buckaroo Puppy formulas which is basically the puppy version of the Boomer’s. When I started My Perfect Pet I had one older dog and one puppy – the puppy’s name was Boomer but I called him my little Buckaroo, so that’s how I got those names, Boomer’s for the adult blend and Buckaroo for puppies. We recognized that pets with beef, chicken or grain allergies needed different ingredients and developed foods that were appropriate for them. Then we addressed other pets with special dietary needs, and the My Perfect Pet line keeps growing. We produce a number of specialty blends not currently released for retail distribution. Do the My Perfect Pet blends meet AAFCO’s requirements for all-life stages? Buckaroos blend is for puppies and all of our other dog blends are for adult dogs. We do have one all-life stages cat blend, Toby’s Turkey Carnivore because the profiles for cats and kittens are so close. Because we use real food with nutrient profiles certified by USDA, we can publish complete nutrient profiles which means pet parents don’t have to wonder how much is really in a blend when the label states “minimum crude” – our profiles are actuals. Nutrient Profiles - Cat Blends https://www.myperfectpetfood.com/store/assets/pdf/PROFILES_Cat_Blends.pdf Nutrient Profiles - Standard Dog Blends https://www.myperfectpetfood.com/store/assets/pdf/PROFILES_Std_Adult_Dog.pdf Nutrient Profile - Buckaroo Puppy Blend https://www.myperfectpetfood.com/store/assets/pdf/PROFILES_Puppy_Blend.pdf Nutrient Profiles - Personal Care Dog Blends https://www.myperfectpetfood.com/store/assets/pdf/PROFILES_Personal_Care_Dog_Blends2019.pdf All of our blends meet all AAFCO nutrient profiles except for two: Low Phosphorus Lamb for dogs and Low Phosphorus Chicken for cats. These are intentionally lower in Phosphorus which is commonly recommended for dogs or cats with compromised kidney function. Because we use only muscle meats as the protein source, we can keep the protein at recommended levels while lowering the phosphorus levels. How have you evaluated the food to make sure all formulas meet the required nutrition requirements? We have all profiles tested prior to release to confirm that they meet the nutrient profiles published on the label, and we have 13 years of proven results. See what the ingredients in the My Perfect Pet Formulas look like. Cat Formulas Dog Formulas How is your food distributed? We have distribution to independent retailers in 26 states, and we serve those areas without retailers online. Unfortunately, we have to charge for overnight shipping for food purchased online since it’s a frozen food, so we’re working to get local retail distribution set up for the entire U.S. Our website has a store locator where pet parents can put in their zip code and find the closest store, and if you’re outside of our distribution area then you can order it online until we get distribution in your area. We are glad to say that pet parents in the greater Bangor region can get My Perfect Pet at the Green Acres Kennel Shop. We’re excited that you believe in sampling. In the short time, we’ve had My Perfect Pet at Green Acres, providing a sample has been instrumental in getting people interested in and willing to try it My Perfect Pet with their pets. How have you seen cats and dogs respond to My Perfect Pet? We’ve been accused of putting crack in the food! That’s why we believe in sampling – the first one is free, then when you see how much your pet loves it you have to buy it! Who doesn’t love watching their pet go crazy happy over their meal! People have asked us what we put in the food that seems to resolve a number of health issues – from itching and scratching to fur balls, to tearing/staining, sensitive stomachs, etc. I tell them we don’t do a thing except use the freshest highest quality ingredients and prepare it in the best way to ensure easy digestion. We don’t make any guarantees or claims, we just encourage pet owners to try it and see for yourself. I encourage every pet owner to do their research. Don’t take anyone’s word for it in the pet food industry, there are companies out there making claims that I think should be criminal. Don’t even take my word for it, do your homework, look at the ingredients list, know what every ingredient is, where it comes from, how it’s processed, the company’s history and reputation, etc. Describe what the food will look like when a client opens the bag and prepared to feed their pet. The standard dog food packaging is a pouch containing 7 individually wrapped food bars for easy portion control, thawing, and serving. They are stored frozen to avoid preservatives. The average feeding amount is 1 food bar for every 20 lbs of the adult dog’s ideal weight, more or less depending on age, exercise, metabolism, etc. The food bars can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. We commend thawing before serving so your dog doesn’t try to swallow frozen chunks whole. We also have plastic-free packaging for dogs, 30 individual food bars in a compostable carton, all made with 100% recycled materials – except for the food bars. Cat food pouches have 10 individually wrapped food bars, with recommended feeding 1 food bar per day for every 10 lbs of the cats’ ideal weight. While it would be ideal if everyone could feed My Perfect Pet at every meal, due to the nature of the quality of ingredients used it is more expensive than kibble. Will a pet still benefit form My Perfect Pet if it is only fed periodically? We recognize that not every budget supports feeding exclusively My Perfect Pet and it can easily be mixed with other food – just remember to decrease the other food by whatever amount you are feeding My Perfect Pet. Any fresh is better than no fresh! Ours is the perfect topper that not only adds delicious taste but also the benefits of fresh whole food and balanced nutrition. If someone tries My Perfect Pet and they or their pets don’t like is, what is your refund policy? When in doubt we encourage your customers to try a sample before purchasing the entire bag – it’s not a feeding trial but 1/2 bar is a generous taste test. We have never had a quality issue so there should never be a return due to a quality concern provided customers keep it properly frozen or refrigerated. We get very few returns, but we do stand behind our products and of the proper documentation is completed we will honor the occasional return. My Perfect Pet is not alone in the gently-cooked category. What sets you apart from your competitors? My Perfect Pet was the first company to introduce gently-cooked pet food and has been doing so for thirteen years. We have the longest history and a perfect track record. Our quality is unparalleled. Most companies claiming human-grade ingredients use a contract manufacturer, and we have seen many recalls where the companies point to their manufacturers or suppliers or whoever. I decided early on I wanted absolute quality control over every step of the operation. We source the ingredients ourselves and manufacture it in our facility. We are building a second new facility to expand while keeping the same absolute quality control. I have spoken to enough suppliers and enough others in the industry to be confident in saying My Perfect Pet has the highest quality ingredients in any pet food. Fresh quality ingredients cost more but I will never compromise pet health over profit. I don’t answer to investors or private equity, only to my commitment to the integrity of our company and our products. What are the four most important things you would like our listeners to remember about My Perfect Pet? Quality of ingredients, Quality of Processing, Quality of Nutrition - It doesn’t get better than PERFECT! Go for quality, don’t take any chances with your pet’s health. Convenient portion control packaging for pets of all sizes from small dogs and cats to large breeds. Our food stores and thaws easily. The taste! We win every picky eater contest! The real meat gets them every time. The variety of blends we offer, from complete and balanced diets to fresh whole food alternatives to many of the prescription diets or veterinary blends. Contact Info for My Perfect Pet Address: 11870 Community Road Suite 200, Poway, CA 92064 Phone: 858-486-6500 Website: www.myperfectpet.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MyPerfectPet/ Instagram: www.instagram/myperfectpet
Welcome Dog Lovers! I am honored to have Steve Brown on the show today. He is a true icon in the dog food industry. Steve is a nutritional researcher, he was the founder and formulator of the first AAFCO compliant commercially available raw-food diet in the US, author of 2 top-selling canine nutrition books, a formulation consultant to some of the best-selling and most nutritious meat-based canine diets and Steve is a frequent lecturer/speaker at veterinary and dog-health related conferences. Steve has made a lot of contributions to the pet food industry and continues to make an impact on the health of our dogs.Steve, why don’t you tell us about this study and why you are so passionate about it?And this is the first study linked to your Canine Healthy Soil Project. Please tell us more.How did you learn about this hypothesis?Where do you find healthy soil?So regenerative farms have healthy soil. What exactly is regenerative agriculture?And you suggest that early exposure is best? So, with puppies?When will your testing begin?How is healthy soil actually added to a dog’s food? How much is given?Do they like the taste?If any of the listeners have a scared rescue and want to participate, how do they enroll in the study?What should they expect from being involved?Steve, where can everyone find out more information about you, the study and the Canine Healthy Soil Project?https://caninehealthysoil.com/We appreciate our sponsor: Let’s Go DesignThanks for Listening!Thanks so much for tuning in again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the Bark About it section. Or you can click on the social media buttons to share an episode.Special thanks to Steve for being on the show. Catch you next time!Also, don’t forget to Subscribe for FREE: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify I StitcherThe purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. It is no substitute for professional care by a veterinarian, licensed nutritionist or other qualified professional. The host as well as guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and Wag Out Loud LLC neither endorses or opposes any particular views discussed here.
Are you feeding a raw diet? Do you know if your raw diet is truly the best? Have you been convinced that HPP or AAFCO diets are good for your pet? Know the Raw Dog Food Truth before you buy! DeDe Murcer Moffett is the CEO of Raw Dog Food and Company. DeDe is a two time author, a certified pet nutritionist, motivational leadership speaker and the host of the Raw Dog Food Truth. Dr. Judy Jasek, DVM is considered one of the top Cancer Prevention/Treatment Vets in the country. Dr. Jasek understands that food is medicine and what you put in your pets body directly effects their chances of getting or not getting series illnesses like cancer, diabetes, IBD, IBS, and many other life threatening diseases. Dr. Judy Jasek, DVM recommends for all pets a fresh whole food pure raw diet for ultimate nutrition.
We are thrilled and honored to have Susan Thixton back on the show with us today. She is a dog and cat food consumer advocate, representing pet owners with the FDA and AAFCO (pet food regulatory authorities), and heads the largest pet food stakeholder organization - Association for Truth in Pet Food. Susan is also the Publisher of the website TruthaboutPetFood.com and creates The List, a list of pet foods that she would trust to give her pets… and for manufacturers who make The List, it’s a big deal because the foods on there were chosen after detailed information and verification of quality of ingredients were provided. Of course, Susan is super picky on what she feeds her pets.You might be wondering what states might test for? The answer is not as much as you’d think.Let’s talk a little bit about label claims and what these companies can get away with.What information is in a Guaranteed Analysis on the packaging?How often are inspections done?Susan shares how she got into this line of work, what’s involved and how you can support her efforts.The List – how do you research different dog foods, the ingredients, sourcing and the manufacturer’s practices and how does a manufacturer make the list?TruthAboutPetFood.comThe ListAssociation for Truth in Pet FoodBooks:Dinner PAWsible: a cookbook of nutritious, homemade meals for cats and dogsBuyer Beware: The Crimes, Lies and Truth about Pet FoodThanks for Listening!Thanks so much for tuning in again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the Bark About it section. That’s also where you can click on the social media buttons to share an episode.Special thanks to Susan for once again being on the show. Catch you next time!
Pet food is supposed to be regulated on a federal and state level. On the federal level it is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In most states it is the State Department of Agriculture that enforces law on a state level. So there are federal laws and state laws. Interestingly enough, in three states, pet food is regulated by universities. The misleading thing is that it appears on the surface that pet food is regulated on a state level and a federal level. Therefore, it must be highly regulated right?Last year in the US, we spent over $33 billion on commercial pet food and treats. Compare that to 2017, that was an increase of 5 percent, or $1.5 billion in sales. We really have to ask ourselves just what are we getting in return?Susan Thixton is a dog and cat food consumer advocate, representing pet owners with the FDA and AAFCO (pet food regulatory authorities), and heads the largest pet food stakeholder organization - Association for Truth in Pet Food. Susan is also the Publisher of the website TruthaboutPetFood.com and creates The List, a list of pet foods that she would trust to give her pets… and for manufacturers who make The List, it’s a big deal because the foods on there were chosen after detailed information and verification of quality of ingredients were provided. Of course, Susan is super picky on what she feeds her pets.TruthAboutPetFood.comAssociation for Truth in Pet FoodThe ListDinner PAWsible: a cookbook of nutritious, homemade meals for cats and dogsBuyer Beware: The Crimes, Lies and Truth about Pet Food
The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care with Dr. Jean Hofve. Holistic veterinarian and author Dr. Jean Hofve has more than 20 years’ experience in integrative veterinary medicine. She has a passion for feline health and nutrition and has intensively studied and researched pet nutrition and the pet food industry since the early 1990s. She has written dozens of articles and been interviewed for print, radio, and television around the world. She is an advisor to AAFCO, the organization that sets standards for pet food production.
An interesting announcement by the FDA over the decade long complaints of illness and death from jerky treats made in China and if you feed pet food, why you should check out Susan Thixton's truthaboutpetfood.com or get her book. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/andrea-partee/message
More and more dog food manufacturers and producers are labeling their food "human-grade." What is considered "human-grade" and how can you purchase dog food that is truly '"human-grade"? This podcast will reveal what the AAFCO recommends "human-grade" to be, what is false and misleading about "human-grade" claims and how dog food (and cat food) manufactures should label their food. For more information about The K9 Chef™ go to www.thek9chef.com.
nPodcast kiinnostanee vain sellaisia, jotka ovat innostuneita teoriasta ja mikä sekä miksi säätelee koirien ravitsemusta. Erotetaan kaksi asiaa: pilkuntarkka usko NRC:n suosituksiin ja NRC:n suositusten taustojen ymmärtämisen tuoma kyky soveltaa ne käytäntöön niin, että koirat saavat parhaan mahdollisen ravitsemuksen. NRC tarkoittaa National Reseach Counciliä, joka on USA:n kongressin kirjaston elin, joka kerää yhteen tutkimustiedon ja rakentaa Yhdysvalloille (ja koko muulle maailmalle) standadit suunnilleen kaikkeen ravitsemukseen liittyvään: koirille, kissoille, hevosille, lampaille, naudoille, käärmeille, kanarianlinnuille... ja ihmisille. Kun puhutaan koirien ravitsemuksesta ja koirien tarpeista ravinnolle, niin tarkoitetaan aina NRC:tä. FEDIAF, joka on EU:n alla toimiva valmistajien elin, taasen ohjaa ja määrää täysravintojen vaatimuksia, mutta nekin standardit perustuvat NCR:n työhön. USA:ssa toimiva AAFCO on eurooppalaista FEADIAF:ia vastaava elin. Käytännössä tuo kaikki tarkoittaa, että koirien (ja kissojen) kaikki ravitsemusvaatimukset ovat läpi läntisen maailman tismalleen samoja ja erot ovat marginaalisia. Podcastissä myös ihmetellään (Helsingin) yliopistoon pesiytynyttä näennäistieteellisyyttä, jonka pohja on aidosti huuhaassa. Kun viimein päästään kalsiumin ja sinkin suosituksiin, niin piipahdetaan hetki täysravintojen reseptiikassa. Podcast on hyvin pitkälle sellaisia asioita, jotka ravintokouluttajan on osattava, tai edes ymmärrettävä, ja sitä kautta tarjota asiakkaalle kunnollisen neuvot ilman, että täytyy kertaakaan mainita NRC: Ravintokouluttaja - KatiskaStore
Today we are talking with Billy Hoekman, the Nutrition Science Director for Answers Pet Food. He is involved in formulation, research, product development, working with farms, science education, and performs all of their nutrition consultations. He attends yearly AAFCO meetings and routinely speaks around the country on a wide variety of topics ranging from nutritional concepts to environmental concerns. He also serves on the board of directors for the Royal Animal Health University and is frequently published in Dogs Naturally Magazine. He is a proud member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Emily and their dog Lua.Answers Pet FoodParsleyPet
Tiny Farms CEO and co-founder Andrew Brentano thinks cricket protein will ensure future food security. Tiny Farms is an AgTech and Precision Farming company that produces food grade cricket protein for use in pet food and animal feed applications offering a sustainable, safe, reliable protein source for pets, livestock animals, and people.Transcript:Lisa:This is Method To The Madness, a biweekly public affairs show on KALX Berkeley, celebrating Bay Area innovators. I'm your host Lisa Kiefer. Today, I'm speaking with Andrew Brentano, the Co-Founder and CEO of tiny farms. Welcome to the program, Andrew.Andrew:Oh, thank you.Lisa:You are the perfect guest for a show about innovation. Co-Founder of Tiny Farms. First of all, tell us what Tiny Farms does, and what is the problem you're trying to solve.Andrew:We are basically, precision ag company. What we're doing, is we're trying to grow a whole lot of crickets. The big problem we're addressing is that we basically cannot produce enough animal protein to keep up with the demand. We've got growing population, growing per capita consumption and also a really huge growing pet food market, which is consuming a huge amount of meat. Traditional meat consumption, your livestock, your pigs, your chickens and your cows, is a hugely resource-intensive endeavor.You're concentrating huge amounts of feed, 25 30% of all the crop lands on earth are just growing feed for animals. Then we're also grazing about 25% of the earth's surface for cattle. There's really not any room to expand. We really have to find these higher efficiency ways to supply that animal protein that people need.Lisa:You have found, what I think is a pretty unique niche in this market of cricket farming, protein farming. I know the argument about cattle using energy and all of that, but what you're saying is that dogs, chickens, all of these other animals. If we can feed those animals your product, we can make equivalent savings, maybe?Andrew:Yeah. We can offset these huge resource environmental footprints. If we take the pet food example, in the US, we're feeding about 30 billion pounds or more of meat just to dogs and cats every year. That market is growing like 6% year over year. If we can, instead produce crickets, which use just a tiny fraction of the food and the water and the space required, we can essentially get more from less. We can meet this demand without just completely overextending our current resources.Lisa:Okay. When did you start this company?Andrew:We started in late 2012. We initially got the idea ... of course it took a while for markets to actually developed. We were a little bit ahead of the curve. We've been-Lisa:Do you mind if I ask how you came to this? Were you doing market analysis studies or looking at big data? How did you figure out that this was a niche?Andrew :In that moment, what we were doing was really just thinking about big existential problems. We were trying to decide what should we be spending our time and energy on and had really started drilling into food production. Everyone's got to eat. It's the largest and most resource-intensive endeavor that humans do on this planet and also one of the most immediately going to be effected by climate change, population growth, et cetera. What we realized when we were diving in was that meat production was this huge concentration of where all the resources were going, It was the most inefficient place and also the highest demand. Everyone wants to eat meat. We thought, wow, this is-Lisa:Yes. Especially with incomes going up.Andrew:Exactly.Lisa:First thing they want to do is have the steak that you and I have.Andrew :Exactly.Lisa:Right?Andrew:This westernization of diets around the globe, all these trends were pointing to essentially meat crunch in really the relatively near future. People need this protein, but how do we produce protein more efficiently but that still has a high-quality nutritional profile? We're looking at agriculture. We were looking at algae and fungus. Then we came across a body of research about insects and their nutritional values and their production efficiencies, historical uses around the world, and it just made so much sense.Lisa:Who's using crickets? I assume some of these countries have been using crickets for thousands of years, is that correct?Andrew:Yeah. Particularly in Oaxaca, in Mexico and some other Central American cultures. There are long traditions of eating crickets and grasshoppers, both interchangeably. A number of African cultures also like different types of crickets that are native, crickets and katydids. Then in Thailand, more recently, I think there's been a long tradition of eating different insects. Very recently, there's been quite a growth in, particularly the cricket market there. The Thai government has even, for the last 10, 20 years been sponsoring and promoting this. There's now tens of thousands of small backyard cricket farms supporting those largely street markets.Lisa:How did you start? Were you right out of college, or what was your motivation here?Andrew:I guess, I was about two and a half years out of college. I went to University of British Columbia, studied absolutely unrelated to agriculture, a program called cognitive systems. It was AI information systems, linguistics. What that did instill was this mindset of systems thinking. I'd worked an AI startup. My Co-Founder Jenna, who's now is my wife, had been working for an artist. She went to Rhode Island School of Design. She was managing an artist business in LA. We'd been living in LA for a couple of years and decided this wasn't fulfilling. This wasn't really where we wanted to be or what we wanted to be doing.That was where we took a summer, went and started doing freelance web development just to pay the bills and took this time to decide what are we going to do with our lives that's can be meaningful. That's what led us into this. It was important that, you we found something that we could do that would apply our creativity and actually be meaningful. HLisa:You know how we're all about organic and sustainable. How does that fit into the cricket industry? What do they eat? How do you follow the path to make sure they're sustainable and that they're organic?Andrew:Yeah. The great thing about crickets is they'll eat anything, pretty much. I mean, they're basically omnivorous. Anything you could feed a pig, or a chicken, or a cow, or basically any other kind of animal, they can eat. They really have a very high, what's called feed conversion ratio, which is basically the amount of food they have to eat to grow a certain weight as a ratio. With crickets, it's about 1.7:2 pounds of food to get 1 pound of cricket. To give comparison, chickens are more like 3:1. Pigs are between 4 and 6:1. Cows can range from 8:20:1, depending on what the diets are. Even if you fed them the exact same thing you fed a commercial chicken, you're using much less of that feed.You've got this corresponding, way much smaller land and water footprint. Then because they are so efficient converting that feed and they'll eat anything, we can then take food by-product streams and agricultural by-product streams and incorporate that into the feed formula. That can range anything from stale bread, which commercial bakeries, large scale ones are producing millions of pounds of stale bread or excess bread. They essentially overproduce by about two what they actually sell. Then we can also go to agricultural processing. There are huge streams of by-products, like dried distiller grains that come out of ethanol production, spent brewer's grain, juice pulp from the citrus industry.Lisa:The wine industry.Andrew:The wine industry. Exactly. Almond holes are huge one in the United States, or in California alone, we're producing 150 million tons of almond holes every year.Lisa:They're kind of like goats in the insect world.Andrew:Yeah.Lisa:They'll clean everything up.Andrew:Right. All we have to do is balance the different inputs, so we get the nutritional profile that grows the cricket efficiently We understand that pretty well. We can basically say, okay, we'll take 20% of this, 30% of that, 50% of that, blended altogether, and then we can just grow our crickets.Lisa:You been able to notice differences in tastes of your crickets by what you're feeding them?Andrew:One of the reasons crickets are so good, is they have a pretty mild and generally pleasant taste regardless what you feed them. You definitely can tell different things. You'll get either a nuttier cricket. Sometimes it'll be because the cricket is a little fatty or a little leaner.Lisa:What would you feed it to make it fatty?Andrew:You could feed it, for one, more fat or a higher carb diet. You can make it leaner by having more of a protein and fiber formulation. We've fed them carrots in the past and they turn just a tiny hue, more orange. They actually pick up a tiny bit of that sweeter carrot taste.Lisa:Do you ever feed them chocolate?Andrew :We've never fed them chocolate. It's a bit expensive.Lisa:How do your vegetarian or vegan customers feel about this product? Do they have any concerns?Andrew:There's two camps. There's one camp where folks are vegetarian and vegan primarily because of sustainability issues, humane treatment of animals, ethical issues. Those are exactly the issues that we're targeting and trying to address with cricket production. Those folks are generally very, very receptive to incorporating insect protein into their own diets. What's really exciting for these people is when we say, yeah, did you know there's dog and cat food you can get with insect protein? You've got vegetarians and vegans, but they still have a pet cat that they have to feed meat too.It creates a real dissonance for them. It's an amazing solution for those folks. Then there's folks that maybe have a religious or spiritual aversion to actually eating living animals. For those folks, that's fine. That's a different set of issues. Insects are living things, and if they decide that's not what they want to eat, it's not the product for them. We generally think that we have a great solution for the folks that really see the fundamental environmental and ethical issues around meat production.Lisa:If you're just tuning in, you're listening to Method To The Madness, a biweekly public affairs show on KALX Berkeley, celebrating Bay Area innovators. Today, we're speaking with Andrew Brentano, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tiny Farms. Tiny Farms is building the infrastructure for a new category of our food system, cricket protein, one that will play a big part in ensuring future food security. Talking about your products, and you just covered one, which is feeding pets. What other products do you have, and who are your customers?Andrew:Our core business is the design and development of a high-efficiency cricket production facility. That's really the big problem. We want to get crickets out into the market, but how do you do that? How do you produce enough crickets cheap enough that it can actually become this bulk commodity that could reasonably offset traditional meats. In a way, our core product is actually this method for producing them and then also how do you process them into palatable ingredient.Lisa:I read that your method was unique in that it avoids the monoculture of most agriculture.Andrew:Yeah. One of the fundamental problems that we see in traditional livestock production, farming in general, is that you have these huge centralized productions, whether it's, say 10 thousand acres of soy beans or if it's a mile-long chicken house with 4 million chickens in it. When you think about ecosystems and biology, that's a really unhealthy ecosystem. Also, it's incredibly risky because if something comes in there that's a blight, or past, or a disease [ 00:10:48], it just can, wipe out everything very quickly.The approach that we take is a more distributed model where we'll set up smaller production units, and then we'll put them around in a cluster, in a region. That way, you never have this just huge, enormous centralized population issues of just having a lot of animals in place, breathing and pooping and eating and all of that mess and the potential for pollution. Also, that you significantly reduce this biological risk.Lisa:Crickets get disease and die out like other ...Andrew:We've been lucky. We've never had a blight. We have a very tightly controlled environment, keep the biosecurity levels pretty high. There have been, in actually a different species of cricket than when we grow, there is a disease. It only affects crickets. There's no risk to any people or animals but that have gone around and wiped out some of the cricket farms that have existed in the US. One of the cool things about insects, again, too, is that biologically they're so different from people that you don't have the same zoonotic transfer of diseases the way that you've got your swine flu or your bird flu, which can jump to humans. It's this huge health risk.Every animal has diseases and parasites that can affect them. The cricket is so different. Its life cycle's so different. They don't carry that kind of disease that could jump to a human. It's much safer. Even with a mosquito or a tick, they're transmitting a disease, because they're actually holding some like human blood, Mammalian blood in them. It's not that that animal itself actually gets a disease that can transfer to a human.Lisa:You have a cricket powder, but that's primarily for feeding animals. Does it also go into human-Andrew:We produce this cricket protein powder. It's completely food grade. It's completely perfect to use in human food products or pet food products. We focus on the pet food market, because we see a really, really big opportunity to offset a lot more of the consumption in that space. There are a ton of human food products out on the market, and a bunch of being produced right here in the Bay Area. Chips and snack foods and energy bars and baking flour mixes and stuff that-Lisa:With cricket powder.Andrew:With cricket flour. Yeah. Exactly. In that market, it's awesome. It's a really great way to start introducing to people this idea that they can eat crickets. Long-term, the best possible thing is we stop eating animals as much and we eat much more insect protein. Put it in something that people want to eat anyways, crunchy, healthy snacks.To really have the big impact we want to have, we have to figure out how we can start really replacing the meat that we're using as quickly as possible and as big of volume as possible. That's where we're really focusing on the pet angle. There's actually another company here in Berkeley called Jiminy's. They've released a line of dog treats. The only animal protein in that dog treat is cricket protein. Dogs love this stuff.Lisa:You don't have any retail human products yourself as a company.Andrew:We do supply another brand that is currently distributed at the Oakland Days Coliseum and it's called Oaktown Crickets. In the cricket production, get more into how that works. You harvest most of the crickets at a certain stage in their life when they've got the optimal protein content to make into the protein powder. Then you maintain a chunk of your population to go through adulthood and breed your next generation. Those breeders, we call them, they've got a higher fat content because they're, particular the females, are full of eggs. They're really, really tasty.In Thailand, those are the prized ones that people want. They'll fry them up and sell them in the market. For the protein powder application, they're not very useful. What we do is, those get sold for culinary use. We had local chefs use them in different specials, and then they're being fried and seasoned and packaged in little snack packs and distributed at the Colosseum. [crosstalk] Extra tasty.Lisa:One of your main goals is to address the challenges that are facing agriculture, what we just talked about. Are there any other challenges that you've experienced as you enter this marketplace?Andrew:One of the big fundamental things about how the agricultural system is set up is it's very linear. You extract resources, you dig up phosphorous, you create nitrates and nitrites for fertilizers. You pour them on the fields, you grow these plants, you harvest them out, you process them. You throw away the byproducts. Then you feed the animals, and the animals create a huge amount of poop. You don't know what to do with that. It just sits there. Then the animals get eaten. It's this very just linear extractive system of production.That's part of why we're having so many issues with soil degradation and waterway pollution. We're also just running out of phosphorus, which is its whole own problem. What we really see is an opportunity for insects is to help start close some of these loops and create more of a circular system. If you've got your wheat industry and it creates all of this chaff when you process the wheat into flour ... well if you can efficiently convert that, instead of just say composting it or throwing it out there or using it more inefficiently to feed dairy cow, you can turn that into a really high-quality protein, putting that through the base of the cricket as a bio converter.We've spent the same amount of nutrients and water to produce all parts of that plant. If you only eat a little bit of it, that's not very helpful. Then the cool thing about the crickets is, the waste they produce is completely dry and stable. They're not releasing-Lisa:The cricket poop.Andrew:The cricket poop.Lisa:What is it called?Andrew:It's called frass. That's the technical term for insect poops. It's basically the consistency of sand. If you go by Harris ranch or the big feed lots, and they're just-Lisa:Hold your nose.Andrew:Exactly. Producing huge amounts of nitrous oxide and methane and ammonia. These are greenhouse gas emissions that are many, many times more potent than CO2. Instead, you've got this very, stable, safe product that can be applied directly as soil. It's actually produced dry. You can cost effectively transport it. You-Lisa:And amend your soil with it.Andrew:Exactly. Yeah. You can take it back to the source of production, or you can put out into gardens, community gardens, home gardens, anywhere. The frass, which is our by-product, we've just recently gone through the approval process with the California Department of Agriculture to sell that as a retail fertilizer. We now have one pound and five pound bags of that.Lisa:Where could I find that?Andrew:We've just listed on Amazon, and we're starting to starting in the Berkeley area. We're getting it out to some of the local gardens stores. We're hoping that we'll have a chance to really take on a life of its own. Besides that, we're also able to sell that wholesale to bigger garden and farming operations in the area.Lisa:How did you find the funding to start all these operations?Andrew:Definitely, financing is the least fun and hardest part of starting a business. We were able to bootstrap the first several years. We were just actually building websites on the side while the initial pieces came together. Then when we realized that we really understood what the business model was going to be and what the growth plan was, we were able to go out and convince a handful of angel investors to come in and put enough money that we were able to launch our first R&D farm down in San Leandro.That was really just a process of getting out there, both going to pitch events, networking, going to basically the places where the kind of people are who care about sustainability and the food system, who understood the issues. Actually, a number of our investors found us, which was great. We had enough of a presence on social media and had been featured at a few events that they said, "Hey, I really believe in what you're doing." They understood why, and they knew it was going to be a long road to get there.They were very supportive. Then, from there, once you've got initial traction, then as you need more funding, you go out, find ways of getting in front of the right people and being able to tell that story and show how the payoff is going to happen down the road.Lisa:Everybody's pretty aware. It's a huge problem.Andrew:It's amazing how the awareness and focus changed from 2012 to now, because when we started and we're going out there saying, hey, insect protein is this amazing solution. People just raised eyebrows. Now, we go out there and people say, "Yeah, we know, but how are you going to implement it?" Which is much better conversation, because we actually get right into the meat of what we're doing and how we're solving the problem. We don't have to worry about spending half an hour just convincing someone that they should even take us seriously.Lisa:Who are your major competitors?Andrew:The industry is so new, The demand for the product keeps growing at a rate that, essentially, we're not able to directly compete, because we're all just trying to keep up with the scaling of demand. There's a farm down in Austin, Texas, which has gotten some great funding and done some cool stuff, building their operation. There's a big operation up in Ontario, Canada that's been one of the major suppliers in North America.Lisa:Internationally?Andrew:They're a good number of companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia, starting to be a little more presence in Mexico. When we think about it, for us to saturate this market, they're going to have to be thousands of cricket farms, right? We have this concept of a benign competition. When they have a win, that's good for us, because we're growing this opportunity together. It's much less cut throat than you find in more matured and saturated markets.Lisa:There's room to grow in it. Yeah. For sure.Andrew:Huge, huge opportunity.Lisa:Have you had any negative response?Andrew:Certainly. Particularly early on, you got a lot of ew, yuck. What are you doing? What's great about people, is that we really quickly get used to ideas. The same folks we would talk to six years ago and say, "Hey, we think you should try eating crickets." They'd say basically, "No way in hell would I do that." My test is based. I'm sitting on an airplane and the person next to me says, "Hey, what do you do?" How does that conversation go? Six years ago, went one way. Now, Lyft drivers or just folks out of the coffee shop I say, "Hey, we do cricket protein." Almost immediately, people now start telling me why it's a good idea. I mean, it's amazing how the public perception has shifted. I think it's really just a consequence of exposure.Lisa:If you can find a tasty way to get protein and not have to pay what you pay for meat ...Andrew:The market's so young. It's still a pretty premium product. The price point is similar to that of an equivalent meat product. So like the cricket protein powder is basically a dried ... It's 60% protein, 20% fat. It's this really nutrient dense product. It costs similarly as if you bought meat and dehydrated it. What that would cost, 15 to $20 a pound, which seems like a lot. Then you think you're reducing that down. You can get your fresh crickets. The costs of production is similar to your higher-end meat now. What's great is that's with really barely any R&D that's been done over the last few years.Lisa:Barely anybody in the marketplace.Andrew:Barely anyone in the marketplace. You think about what the price of chicken and beef is right now. That's the result of 50 years and trillions of dollars. Our industry, with five years and a few million dollars of development, is already getting competitive with meat. In the next few years, it's just going to soar below that, which is great. Up until very recently, there'd never been really any indication of actual opposition to the idea. It was just niche enough. No one was really worried about it. We did interestingly have the first high-profile shot across the bow.What happened was, late in July when the Senate was starting to go through their appropriations bill process, Senator Jeff Flake actually introduced a amendment that would specifically ban federal funding for research projects around insects for food use. This really caught us all off guard, what seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere.It was very strange and essentially someone had brought to the senator's attention that a handful of small innovation grants had gone out from the USDA to companies that were developing food products with insect protein. It's not the kind of thing that someone like Jeff Flake would just pick up. Someone out there suddenly cared enough to bring that to his attention. We don't really know exactly what went on there.Lisa:You don't know what went on.Andrew:Not yet. Yeah. We have an industry group. There's over 90 companies in the United States, Almost every state, there are companies working with insect protein, whether it's for pet food or animal feed or for human food, both on the production side and the product side. This is actually an amazing opportunity for American economic growth, American leadership. It's very surprising that something would come along like this that you would want to block federal research funding. Specifically, it's the small business innovation research grants that were being referenced. We've received some of the same grants as well.Lisa:Was that this year?Andrew:This was just a few months ago. Now, very luckily, that amendment was not accepted into the final version of the appropriations bill. We realize like, oh, there are people that care enough to start throwing up some roadblocks. That's actually a good sign for us that we're being taken seriously in that way.Lisa:That's a positive way to look at it.Andrew:For us, anytime that we have a conversation with someone and I convinced someone that they should take this seriously or they should go to A's game and buy a pack of crickets or they should go to the pet store and get some Jiminy's treats that they can feed their dog. That's a huge win for me.Lisa:Yeah.Andrew:Every time I'd ride in a Lyft or sit on an airplane, that's an opportunity. Yeah. I mean, there's already been this level of engagement, which is great.Lisa:I wanted to ask you about other projects. One of them I'm intrigued with is the Open Bug Farm.Andrew:In a earlier stage of our business development, we actually developed an open source mealworm farming kit, basically for people at home who are interested in this. The could either buy the kit from us or the designs were online. It was all off-the-shelf components, so they can make it themselves.Lisa:Like having chickens in your backyard.Andrew:That was the same kind of idea.Lisa:Instead, it's crickets.Andrew :Exactly how we were modeling it. In fact, a lot of the people who were interested in that, wanted to grow the mealworms to feed their chickens. That project didn't end up being really good business model for us. We didn't keep selling the kits, but we kept the designs for it out there. What was really great was around that project, we just launched a forum and a huge number of people came to that forum and asked questions and provided expertise. We were able to share some of our expertise on the topic.Now, there's this huge information resource that just has tons and tons of discussion about raising different kinds of insects at different scales, from commercial to home scale. We're really happy that exists out there. We get a lot of inquiries from people that say, "Hey, I just want to start growing some crickets for myself or some meal worms" or whatever it is. We don't have time to help every one of those people individually. We're able to say, "Hey, go over to the forum here, because there's just this huge drove information."Lisa:What do you see in the future?Andrew:Looking at the future, there's just so much room for growth. For us, the key thing is just get more commercial cricket farms built over the next years. Get the production ramped up, instead of just being able to have niche premium pet treats on the market. There can be full-diet pet foods and then maybe even your mainstream pet foods. If the Walmart brand of dog food could have even 5% cricket protein instead of meat, we'd be saving millions and millions of pounds of meat, hundreds of millions of gallons of water. It's all just about being able to grow the production volume to be able to meet those demands.For us, the path to doing that is not just building cricket farms ourselves but to be able to take the facility that we've designed and package that into a turnkey product that we could then license out to a production partner. Because we got a lot of inbound inquiry from folks that say, "Hey, I would love to start a cricket farm, but I don't really know how." There's great opportunity to leverage that and provide a ready-made solution where you can say, "Well, here's the setup and here's the training. We can provide the technical support." Then you can grow these crickets, and then we can help you process that into the protein powder that we can get out to the market."That's really the longer term growth strategy, is being able to engage with all these partners. Over the last several years, we've had hundreds and hundreds of people contact us, say, "I'm a dairy farmer, but I want to get into crickets." A lot of folks with agricultural backgrounds, maybe they grew up on a farm, but their parent's farm isn't quite big enough to support them coming back to work on the farm. They say, "Hey, maybe I could throw up an outbuilding and we could have a cricket farm there."There's a huge amount of opportunity for people that essentially have cricket production as their own business and be able to feed into the supply chain where we can have this huge impact offsetting meat. Fundamentally, what we are after is really converting, like I mentioned, this linear extractive food production system into a circular sustainable food production system. Right now, we're just so overextended on our demands, on the very limited resources that we have available in terms of water and soil and arable lands and even just nutrients available to grow crops.We're going to stop being able to produce food. When we talk to folks in the chicken industry or the beef industry, they're actually all very interested in the potential for the insect protein in the feed for their animals. Because all these animals are not just eating plant-based proteins. Almost all the animal feeds out there also have some amount of fishmeal in them, which supplements key amino acids and fats that you don't find produced in plants. Fishmeal production is a really shocking industry. We basically send out ships that scoop up indiscriminately, all the small fish. Particularly, they'll go scoop up whole schools of anchovetas and anchovies. Then they just grind that up into a powder and send it off into the animal feed formulations.Essentially, all that farmed salmon is basically eating wild fish that's been caught and ground up and pelletized and then fed back to that salmon. Something like 90% of fisheries are on the verge of collapse or have already collapsed. There's a huge amount of interest in introducing insect proteins into animal feeds. The FDA and AAFCO, which is the organization that controls what can go into animal feeds, have already approved soldier fly proteins, which is another insect that's being widely grown for use in salmon feeds. Now, the FDA has also just indicated that they think that should also be allowed in poultry feed. Poultry feed is one of the biggest consumers of fishmeal in the land-based agriculture.Lisa:Do you have a website that people can go to?Andrew:Our company is Tiny Farms. The website is just www.tiny-farms.com. Yeah. You can check out our basic offering. You can contact us through the contact form.Lisa:Are you selling tiny farm hats, like you have on? [crosstalk]Andrew:We've printed short-runs of shirts and had these hats made just for the team. There's enough interest that I think we'll get those listed up there soon. We just have to start thinking about the food system, in terms of a self-sustaining system and not like feel good sustainability. This has to be a system that can continue to produce food forever.Lisa:There are a lot of us living here, and we'll need every tool we can use if we want to keep enjoying it.Andrew:Yeah. Exactly.Lisa:Thank you, Andrew, for being on program.Andrew:Thank you. This was fun.Lisa:You've been listening to Method To The Madness, a biweekly public affairs show on KALX Berkeley, celebrating Bay Area innovators. You can find all of our podcasts on iTunes University. We'll be back again in two weeks. 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Grain-Free dog food has been all over the news since July 12th and sadly the information the mass media has reported been oversimplified and incomplete. The fact is this is a complex issue. In this episode of The Woof Meow Show from September 29, 2018, Don speaks with canine nutritionist, science writer, and the author of Dog Food Logic Linda Case about this very issue, asking, Is Feeding A Grain-Free Food to Our Dogs Dangerous? Other issues addressed in the show are: Should dog parents currently feeding their dogs a grain-free diet immediately switch to a non-grain-free dog food? What is Dilated Cardiomyopathy and what is the role of Taurine in the disease and grain-free foods? Does the FDA know with 100% certainty that grain-free food is the cause or could it be something else? There has been some suggestion in posts on Facebook and other places online that one should only purchase dog food that has been tested via AAFCO feeding trials. Is that sound advice? Is it important for dog parents to review the ingredients label when making decisions about what to feed their dog? Recommended Resources FDA Reports FDA Investigating Potential Connection Between Diet and Cases of Canine Heart Disease – 12JUL2018 – https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm613305.htm Questions & Answers: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine’s Investigation into a Possible Connection Between Diet and Canine Heart Disease – https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm616279.htm How to Report a Pet Food Complaint – https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm Whole Dog Journal Articles DCM in Dogs: Taurine's Role in the Canine Diet - What is taurine-deficiency dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and how can dog owners prevent it? (Hint: It involves more than just grain-free foods.) – The Whole Dog Journal – September 2018 – https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/21_9/features/DCM-in-Dogs-Taurines-Role-in-the-Canine-Diet_21901-1.html Please Don’t Panic About the “Grain-Free Thing” – Whole Dog Journal’s Blog – 2AUG18 – https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/blog/Please-Dont-Panic-About-the-Grain-Free-Thing-21893-1.html Articles on Don’s Blog ( http://www.words-woofs-meows.com ) UPDATE! – Pet Nutrition – Grain-Free Foods and FDA Reports of Increased Heart Disease in Dogs – https://www.greenacreskennel.com/blog/2018/07/27/update-pet-nutrition-grain-free-foods-and-fda-reports-of-increased-heart-disease-in-dogs/ Grain-Free Foods and FDA Reports of Increased Heart Disease in Dogs – https://www.greenacreskennel.com/blog/2018/07/22/pet-nutrition-grain-free-foods-and-fda-reports-of-increased-heart-disease-in-dogs/ What Do You Feed Your Dog? – http://bit.ly/WhatDoYouFeedYourDog Some Myths and Facts – Part 1 – My story with Gus – Maine Dog Magazine – Winter 2017 – http://bit.ly/Gus-Nutrition Book Review – Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack – The paradox of pet nutrition by Richard Patton – http://bit.ly/RuinedByExcess-BookReview Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show ( http://www.woofmeowshow.com ) What do you feed your pets? – http://bit.ly/WhatDoYouFeedYourPets-Podcast Podcast – Pet Nutrition with Dr. Richard Patton – http://bit.ly/DrPatton-Podcast Podcast – Pet Fooled – A Look Inside A Questionable Industry with Kohl Harrington – http://bit.ly/WfMw-Pet-Fooled
This episode is our conversation with a couple of the key members of the Just Food For Dogs company. If you're one of our clients and you've been into our hospital since December of 2017, you've seen the Just Food For Dogs pantry that was built into our lobby. We analyzed Alicia Pet Care Center's standard of care for our patients and the dedication of Just Food For Dogs to improving the lives of your pet. It was a fairly simple conclusion to align our hospital with this progressive pet food company and offer their whole-food nutrition in the most convenient way possible. APCC's Office Manager Tim Wheaton sits down in this episode with Shawn Buckley, the Founder of Just Food For Dogs and their Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Oscar Chavez. While discussing the creation of the company, Shawn and Dr. Chavez both detailed some of their startling discoveries in regards to the ingredients in commercial dog foods. Shawn stated that when he learned what is allowed to be in dog food, he knew that he needed to create something that operated outside of that norm. Dr. Chavez detailed how using ingredients that are USDA-certified for human consumption changes the game of pet nutrition. They both discussed how the pet food industry is practically un-regulated. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was created to "regulate" how pet food is made. However, this is not a government-regulated entity. As a matter of fact, AAFCO is a voluntary membership association. When the established AAFCO feeding trials were run by the scientists at Dr. Chavez' university, the scientists came back to him with a proposal to up the ante on the standard trials, stating AAFCO's trials were too rudimentary. Dr. Chavez brought that to Shawn, who immediately agreed to push everything further than what other pet food companies were doing. Just Food For Dogs has published a document called the "White Paper", which is "an evidence-based analysis of the dog food industry in the USA". We talked about the toxins, contaminants, and adulterants that get into pet food. Shawn broke down kibble in a fairly simple analysis: you can't put meat in a bag at room temperature for a year... you shouldn't do it for more than an hour. You can't really do it for a day, and they [other pet food companies] do it for a year. So, they implore us to think about what would have to be done to that kibble (that "meat") to put it in a bag for a year at room temperature. The answer is: major chemical preservatives. The most common of those chemicals: ethoxyquin, which is a known carcinogen and is not allowed to be in human food. Dr. Chavez reminded us about the somewhat recent discovery of the barbiturate Pentobarbital in cans of pet food. He put the question out there of "how could something like that happen?". The answer to that is troubling. Dr. Chavez discussed the "compliance policies" created by the FDA that, paired with the lack of regulations on pet food, would allow something extremely unfortunate like this (to put it lightly) to occur. The giants of the industry have thrived on a somewhat "smoke and mirror" approach to advertising their products to the public. Dr. Chavez said it very succinctly when he said: "...they've stopped talking about nutrition; because they can't really do that very well anymore...". In an industry that is full of images of cute puppies and kittens running through perfect, green grass and looking incredibly happy, Just Food For Dogs is inviting anyone and everyone to take a deeper look. Furthermore, in a world where nearly every segment of pet-related industries have kept pace with the idea that so many of us have embraced: that your pet is a member of your family... pet nutrition is the industry that is trailing far behind all others. Veterinarians, veterinary medicine and especially pet owners have all moved forward with the mindset of elevating their pet's status within the household. However, so much of the pet food industry has remained anchored in the past with kibble: something that hasn't progressed in over 70 years. One of the incredibly unique qualities of Just Food For Dogs -- even amongst some of the newer competitors that are, on the outside, seeming to replicate their business model -- they are still the only company in the industry where consumers can be in a kitchen and watch their pet's food be made. In late July, Just Food For Dogs held a "Yappy Hour" and a Cooking Demo right here in Alicia Pet Care Center's lobby for a number of customers and clients. You can learn more about Just Food For Dogs by visiting their website at www.JustFoodForDogs.com. You can find us on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Periscope with our username @APCCvet. We are on Facebook as Alicia Pet Care Center. You can send any questions and topics you'd like us to discuss on a future episode to wecare@mypetsdr.com. Our hospital's website is www.mypetsdr.com and the podcast website is www.PetTalkPodcast.com. Thanks for listening!
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a hot trend in natural products for humans—and their pets. Bill Bookout of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) shares an update on the regulatory status of using hemp and CBD for animals, touching on the roles of FDA-CVM, AAFCO, the Farm Bill, DSHEA, pharma and more.
Do you feel a sense of comfort and trust in your kibble dog food simply because it has a label which reads "Meets AAFCO Nutritional Standards." Are you certain this is a good thing for your dog? Do you have the belief that the AAFCO - (American Association of Feed Control Officials) regulates, test, certifes and approves the nutritional value of your dog food brand? Think again. Many new raw feeders want to know why raw pet foods don't carry the AAFCO label and must state "This product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only." Find out why the AAFCO standard is not a good thing in the raw feeding community and understand the myth of 100% Complete Nutrition. Learn more at www.RawDogFoodandCo.com
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