Fresh, frozen and homemade diets: A movement with legs?
By Gina Spadafori
July 17, 2008
When a marketing group decides it’s worth the effort to produce and sell a study, you gotta think this is one movement that’s staying and growing:
[C]onsumer demand for fresh pet food is on the rise, helped along by innovative new products based on technological advances and convenience features, frequent overlap into the high-growth natural/organic segment, heightened food safety concerns stemming from the sweeping pet food recalls of spring 2007, and the mobilization of the raw/frozen pet food market via the formation of two industry groups: The North American Raw Petfood Association and the Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers.
This groundbreaking report from Packaged Facts-the first market report to quantify this dynamic segment of the North American pet food market-is grounded in primary interviews with top industry experts supported by extensive canvassing on the Internet, where the “word-of-mouth” raw foods movement has long been based and continues to spread. The report defines the North American pet food market as consisting mainly of raw diets sold in frozen form to consumers in the United States and Canada-but the definition also includes refrigerated or frozen pet foods that have been lightly cooked (i.e., pasteurized) and uncooked products made shelf-stable via freeze-drying or other processes of dehydration. This report also examines the growing trend toward homemade pet foods, especially within the context of overlap with raw pet foods and commercial pet food mixes, and the market trend toward the usage of fresh ingredients in traditional shelf-stable dry and wet pet foods.
Throughout the pet-food recall, we here at the PetConnection resisted calls to use the tragedy to push home-prepared diets (except in the short-term, of course, when no one knew what was safe).
We believed then and we believe now that it’s reasonable to expect that no matter what you buy, how much you pay or where you buy it, the minimum you should be able to expect from a product is that it not kill your pet.
That’s said, you should know (in case you didn’t already) that Christie has been feeding home-prepared meals from scratch to her dogs and cats for close to a quarter-century, and I have been feeding mostly commercial raw and raw dehydrated for a decade, with the occasional completely home-prepared meal when I have time, usually on the weekends. (And canned and kibble when I’m sick, we’re traveling or I’m lazy.)
Still, there’s no doubt a lot of people decided to change how they fed their pets — and themselves — as a result of the continued meltdown of the food-safety system. I’m delighted to see the expansion of the market and the choices offered to all.
It’s not just the kibble alternatives that have done well post-recall, by the way: My friend Pamela, who carries the kibble brands you won’t find at the large retailers, says that in her shop sales are up dramatically and remain strong. (None of the “boutique” foods she carried were recalled in 2007. Not one.)
Finally, the pet-food industry continues to obsess on raw, the better to frighten you. Really, this is more about knowing what you’re feeding and where it came from. It doesn’t have to be raw (although it needs to be said: When you source your food well and prepare it with common sense, there’s no more risk in raw than in any other food). Many people can feel comfortable about the home-prepared non-raw option: My brother Joe, who isn’t alternative about anything, every weekend makes a pot of meat and veggie stew (working with a recipe from his veterinarian) to feed his dog all week long. It’s easy, inexpensive and his dog has never been more healthy.
***
Confession time: I have never watched “reality TV.” And not even reality TV with dogs would be enough to have me turn off the computer or put down a book long enough to turn on my lonely TV. But over on PetHobbyist, Shari Brodsky is following “Greatest American Dog” so I don’t have to. Check it out.
A little more than a dozen years ago, I was driving to a meeting with some pet food company representatives with Debbie Phillips-Donaldson (she was then the editor of Cat Fancy and now is editor in chief of Petfood Industry and I was editor of Dog Fancy). They wanted us to tell them about trends in dog food. We weren’t really sure what to say and were discussing it on the way there. At the time, dog bakeries were a relatively new thing and I had read about butchers in Europe where pet owners could buy fresh food for their animals. So one of the trends we suggested to them was a growing interest in fresh or homemade foods. It still makes me laugh when I remember the looks of horror on their faces.
Comment by Kim — July 17, 2008 @ 8:27 am
I saw a van the other day in Chicago advertising ‘home made’ pet meal delivery. I wish I could remember the name of the company.
Comment by 2CatMom — July 17, 2008 @ 8:54 am
I don’t suppose you could post that recipe of your brother’s?
Comment by Inanna — July 17, 2008 @ 9:14 am
O yes - recipe! Recipe!
Now see, if you watch the pet food commercials, they would have you believe that homemade stew made of delicious looking foods is exactly what you get in the bag/pouch/can.
Comment by slt — July 17, 2008 @ 9:22 am
I will try to get it out of him again. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 17, 2008 @ 9:32 am
Check out this store that just opened in Minneapolis:
http://woodyspetdeli.com/
I hope they do well! We stopped in on their opening day and it seems like a great idea for people who want to do raw right, but don’t have the time or resources to grind whole chicken carcasses, mix up the right ratio of vitamins, or grind up bones at home.
Comment by Megan — July 17, 2008 @ 9:36 am
The problem with prepared commercial raw/frozen or raw/dehydrated diets is that they can be VERY expensive.
A friend of mine lost his job recently, and that meant he had to really look at living on his savings while he got his new business going. He has been using co-op buys and other strategies to feed his animals a home-prepared diet without the expensive of having someone else do all the planning and work.
So far, he’s doing very well with it.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 17, 2008 @ 9:54 am
Ah, well- let’s just say that this store is in a neighborhood where people tend to not worry about how much it costs to let other people do things for them :)
Comment by Megan — July 17, 2008 @ 10:18 am
I’ve read with interest people who feed their dogs at least in part veggies and meat they are eating themselves. But I’ve wondered about how it works to change the dogs’ diet. I know when I change the brand of prepared kibbles my dogs eat, the recommendation is always to change gradually, over a week to ten days (and one of my dogs is very sensitive to sudden dietary changes). How does it work if you are giving your dog a variety of many of the same foods you eat, with, say, chicken and carrots one night, and beef and beans the next? No stomach upsets?
Comment by Arlene — July 17, 2008 @ 11:10 am
Amazingly enough, when your pets always get a variety of foods, no runs or stomach upsets.
No more than you get, eating a variety of foods.
The “don’t change your pet’s food or else dire things will happen!” idea is another in a long line of myths (like that EVERY meal has to be “complete and balanced”) that have been driven more by the need for brand loyalty by pet food companies than the facts of what pets need.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 17, 2008 @ 11:17 am
I’ve never had a dog or cat who has gotten diarrhea or any other digestive issues from the fact that they never get two meals in a row that are the same. I change their diets literally every time I feed them, and they never blink.
And this means 22 and a half years, dozens of dogs and cats of all ages and states of health.
It’s not normal (although it’s common) for pets to react with digestive problems to a diet change. It’s caused by feeding them the same exact thing day in, day out, with no variation. Perhaps the intestinal bacterial population adapts to the mono-diet, and they lack the proper microbes to easily digest anything else. Perhaps that’s not the cause at all, I don’t know.
But I do know that the fact that a dog or cat gets sick when you take them off their mono-diet is just one more indicator to me that the mono-diet is a bad thing.
Comment by Christie Keith — July 17, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
For years I’ve fed my dog a variety of fresh foods and occasionally whatever ripped bags of dry or dented cans I get each day (I own a holistic pet supply store). We tend to eat really healthy whole foods in my house so I also feed them whatever is left after a meal. Sometimes I cook for them and sometimes they get raw meat, bones and veggies or fruit. Every once in a while one of them might get a bout of diarrhea or just not do so well with a certain food. I keep cans of pumpkin around for those times; a tablespoon or two usually does the trick and then I just avoid or give smaller amounts of whatever it was that upset their tummies. My dogs and cats enjoy excellent health and personally, I LOVE the bonding and happiness of daily food-sharing that comes with doing more than just throwing a handful of dry cereal in a bowl twice a day.
The whole idea of “complete and balanced” pet food has been so twisted with advertising and research claims. A complete and balanced DIET (not necessarily each meal) actually requires variety. But the claim for commercial pet food is based on one simple question - if whatever is in this can/bag is ALL the pet ever eats - will it sustain that pet’s life?
And I guess if all the pet is going to eat is that one brand or type of food, it better be “complete and balanced”. Kinda like if Kelloggs created a cereal to sustain kids eating only that cereal -at the exclusion of any other foods. If that’s how we fed our kids, we would want that cereal to contain proper amounts of every possible nutrient the kid might ever need. Right?
Comment by Joy — July 17, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
Considering that most commercial dry foods are largely cereal, that’s an apt comparison.
Comment by 2CatMom — July 17, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
“Finally, the pet-food industry continues to obsess on raw, the better to frighten you.”
What they should obsess over is why additives like cyanuric acid keep “popping up”—this time in PRE-recall food manufactured in 2006 prior to the “ChemNutra incident”.. more detailed testing is being done.
http://www.pfpsa.org/news.html
Comment by Carol V — July 17, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
PFPSA found cyanuric acid in pre recalled food . I am not surprised . It is my understanding the pet food companys don’t need to put on labels of food the ingredients of additives they buy premixed.
Also who can use the test results in a lawsuit? The owner of the site or anyone? If the test results are posted are they part of public domain?
Comment by thomas — July 17, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
Christie,
The thing I find most surprising and the thing I’m most happy about since home cooking for my dog (a year now)-she has had no upset stomachs, no gas and no runs; these were all common occurances on commercial kibble. It also has meant less trips to the vet clinic.
Gina,
Your friend might want to talk with his butcher; whether it be supermarket or wholesale, etc. I’ve found that if I ask for 10 or 20 lbs of meat wrapped as a large order, they will give a nice price cut.
Katie
Comment by Katie — July 17, 2008 @ 8:24 pm
Your Canadian readers need to stay on top of the planned changes to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Slowly leaking out over the last few days are reports that the CFIA is planning to drastically cut costs, have industry police itself, and cut funding to cattle producers for BSE testing. The plans have been around since last fall but were held back due to “significant communications risk” - ie. backlash. Pls Canadians, let’s make *this* particular risk a reality.
As petconnection has been teaching us so well - it’s not a pet food issue, it’s a food issue & in Canada, things are about to get much worse, unless we speak out now.
http://www.canada.com/edmonton.....912d897a7f
http://www.canada.com/ottawaci.....0127fd01c7
Comment by hornblower — July 18, 2008 @ 8:17 am
Something’s going on when WAL MART, of all stores, jumps on the organic bandwagon and is going to sell its own brand of organic pet food called “Natural Life.” Wal Mart’s Ol’ Roy brand was produced by Doane, a private label manufacturer; Doane has been bought by Mars (they produce Pedigree). All of this was on the Pet Industry Weekly blog. Wonder how the quality control is going to be on Wal Mart’s organic pet food.
Comment by perkysmom — July 18, 2008 @ 9:48 am
Thats a great idea Canada has ! After all look how well industry policing itself has worked for the US. Do any NA gov’ts ever think about the EU’s food standards ? They actually seem to work !
Comment by Leslie k — July 18, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
Look at this handy nutritional content calculator I just found:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 19, 2008 @ 11:18 am