‘Human grade’ food for pets: What does that mean and does it matter?
By Gina Spadafori
January 27, 2009
My run with the VIN News Service lasted about a month, no fault of theirs. After less than two weeks it became pretty apparent that with my father gravely ill and so many other things in the air for me at all times I just couldn’t add something that deserved so much more time than I had to give it.
Still, my parting gift to VIN News was a good one: My former Sacramento Bee colleage Edie Lau, who’s one of the best science reporters out there. Edie left The Bee when her husband got a good job in the Seattle area, and now she’s freelancing, with about all the work she can handle. (Funny how that works when you’re that good.) I’ve hired her to write for my “day job” Web site, OurGreenCommunity.org. (Check out her stories on greener TVs, parades without cars, hybrid vehicles and raising greener kids.)
Edie’s latest for VIN News looks at what “human grade” means with regards to pet food:
“Human grade” has no formal legal definition. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine has taken the position that if every ingredient in a product is edible, meaning that it was processed according to rules of sanitation required of food sold to people, then the product may be labeled “human grade,” said Dr. William Burkholder, a veterinary medical officer and the agency’s resident pet nutrition expert.
[...]
Because of its misuse, many players in the industry decry the label. “It is essentially a made-up term used by marketing interests to describe and promote products in light of anthropomorphic responses people have to their pets,” David Syverson, chair of the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ Pet Food Committee wrote in an e-mail response to questions.
[...]
Regardless whether a pet-food product meets the standard for human-edible food, people tend to misunderstand the term, Syverson said. He suspects consumers believe it applies to various body parts — intestines versus muscle, for instance — but it does not.
Here’s the rest, and do read it all.
Beyond the story: Now grant you, I’m willing to concede that I’m not the “average consumer.” But nor are many, many other pet-owners who have educated themselves about feeding their pets, either because they wanted to, or because they felt they had to in the light of the continuing food safety crisis for pets and people both. (By the way, the FDA now has a complete page on the ongoing recall of peanut butter products.)
And we’re not such idiots as to think feeding pets at home is about buying a steak and tossing it in the bowl.
Look, there’s a reason why things like unbleached tripe and beef hearts are no longer available for a song at the butcher counter. And why, when you order a case of organs or other things that people generally don’t like, the meat guys no longer ask you why. They know that enough people are preparing food at home for pets now that this is part of their regular business.
The issue isn’t about wanting to give my pet a “human grade” piece of chicken breast, or not understanding that the difference between a “human grade” steak and one that’s not is that one fell on the floor in the factory.
As I wrote Edie in telling her what a good job she did on this piece, I told her, ” ‘Human grade’ doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in me, considering recent history.”
In other words, if I were the new president, I’d move food safety a little higher in the agenda. The FDA would change, and the USDA would go.
There are good pet-food manufacturers out there, companies that have always and will always do their best to produce a product you can confidently feed your pet (as long as they’re not being cheated by unscrupulous suppliers, that is, and you can bet your pet all companies are pulling out all the stops to prevent another round of killer pet foods).
But we need to continue to push for the acceptance of preparing meals at home for our pets (just as we do for ourselves), and for our veterinarians not to automatically dismiss it when we bring subject comes up, but rather to help us get it right. The fact that a veterinarian’s question about “human grade” triggered the VIN News story actually encourages me in this regard. One question always leads to more, and the answers will lead many a veterinarian to supporting and advising about the feeding of pets in a way that can allow both sides to respect the intelligence and knowledge of the other.
There is no one answer, and there is no one right way. There’s a place to start, and continuing to ask the questions is the way to go.
That’s why I continue to be thrilled about the work and promise of the VIN News Service.
—
Still, it must be said that all is not perfect, and the learning curve is steep for new reporters on the veterinary beat. The background information in this VIN News piece on forced spay-neuter completely missed the mark, taking as “pet-lovers gospel” the idiocy of a former game-show host.
Forced spay-neuter does not reduce shelter populations and is a bad idea for many other reasons, including an increase risk to public health. It also imperils the work of reputable, ethical home breeders to preserve our heritage breeds with their work function … functional. We can — and are — reducing shelter populations in a way that supports the efforts of all animal-lovers, and we don’t have to sacrifice our own pets’ health, our health or our heritage breeds to do so.
Still, the piece did get the point that spay-neuter is a medical decision, and that all medical decisions should be made on an individual basis in consultation with a veterinarian. They should not be dictated by the state.
But hey, I don’t even agree with everything in this blog, so there’s always room for improvement. And I have no doubt at VIN News that improvement will continue.
off topic but FDA live talking NOW! and taking calls
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/T.....ut-the-FDA
Comment by Carol V — January 27, 2009 @ 9:09 am
Re: Human-grade
I’ve just recently decided to start making Kasey’s food on my own. I’m just waiting on some books coming from Amazon that were recommended by Dogaware.com, which in turn was recommended by Christie. I think I’ll start out by cooking for him maybe mixed with some raw foods.
But anyway…a definite reason I’ve made that commitment is that you can’t even trust what they write on the bag to be true because there are too many ways to weasel out of it (human-grade). And if you’re not on your toes, your good quality kibble company can sell their name to a big company, who doesn’t have any obligation to tell you that they’ve changed their formula.
Now I just have to find a butcher…And stop being squeamish about raw meat (not the safety factor, I just don’t particularly like to TOUCH it).
Comment by Lori — January 27, 2009 @ 9:11 am
Speaking of the FDA.
http://www.thoreau-fda.com/
Comment by Steve — January 27, 2009 @ 10:56 am
Gina, just like you said, there’s a lot of pros and very few cons on preparing their diet at home (most cons are human-caused though, like “Lack of time”). We recently wrote a post on our blog explaining some of the benefits of avoiding the bagged kind and opting for a more natural diet for cats.
Like Lori I agree the problem is that the name on the bag is just a brand, kind of an umbrella for who know how many companies behind it: the manufacturer, the producer, the bagger, the quality checker… If you go and do it home, it’s only between you and you (and maybe the butcher)! Great post and great link!
Comment by Karina A — January 27, 2009 @ 12:03 pm
It’s a funny thing. When you say “There are a lot of pros and very few cons on preparing [pets’] diets at home …” people go blank on you.
But if you say, “There are a lot of pros and very few cons on preparing your diet at home …” people will go, “yeah, so duh, everyone knows that.”
Last year, for this blog (which I’m not that good at keeping up), I started eating at home, cooking from scratch, concentrating on the Michael Pollan advice to “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Within a few months, I’d lost 30 pounds and didn’t need blood pressure meds any more.
Now THAT was an eye-opener, let me tell you.
If it’s pretty much agreed that a steady diet of a single processed food isn’t good for us, why is it such a surprise that it’s not good for our pets?
Of course, I take it all a step farther, since I focus my buying on fresh, regional, in-season foods, and what meat I buy is humanely and sustainably produced. And of course, I have my own eggs and am working at expanding the veggie garden.)
But that’s truly a step farther. Most people will improve their own health and save money by just planning simple, healthy meals at home, from a wide variety of good basic foods.
Same is true for the pets. It’s no more difficult (in terms of planning, money or time) to prepare meals at home for the pets as for the rest of the family.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
Gina do you buy your meat right at the place that raises the animals? Can a butcher say he only sources from farmers who humanely and sustainably raise their meat without any proof of it. Gah, I don’t know where to trust people any more.
Comment by Lori — January 27, 2009 @ 2:40 pm
Couple of answers, depending on where you live and what’s available.
Best choice is to join a food-buying co-op. Here’s one a list of them:
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=BARF+co-op
Human food co-op/natural food stores are another source, although more expensive and probably best in a pinch because of that.
You can also often tap in through certified organic farmers markets, where some ranchers/farmers sell directly and will work with you on filling the freezer at a discount for bulk buys.
I haven’t bought meat directly from a rancher/farmer yet, but I may. (Aside from the meat I bring home from my rancher friends’ place in TX when I visit.) I also know people who buy from from kids in the 4-H/FFA programs.
I also buy direct from companies that make a whole food diet, some of whom will offer a price break if you buy in bulk/pick up yourself. Although again, that’s a pricier option than starting with scratch ingredients on your own.
Christie’s far more experienced than I am, so maybe she’ll chip in on some source ideas here.
Once you get tapped in to a piece of this, the other pieces all start becoming visible.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 2:53 pm
This just struck me: Getting into feeding your pets at home is kind of like finding that reputable breeder. It’s all about word-of-mouth, research, reading between the lines and double-secret club handshakes.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 3:11 pm
::unable to respond as head is currently on desk::
Comment by Lori — January 27, 2009 @ 3:16 pm
Gina, I did the buying direct from a rancher for beef and pork. I searched online for resources through EatWild, LocalHarvest, JustFoods (NY resource) and one other. I checked as many as I could online (many still don’t have any more of an online presence beyond an email!). Narrowed it down and emailed. All emailed back quickly, answered many questions, didn’t seem to mind multiple back and forth, offered up suggestions for sources of other items (poultry, eggs etc) from neighboring farms. Really good experience (this was during the pet food recall, so it held extra value!) I bought from an upstate ranch co-op (several kinds of protein, and coordinated CSAs with downstate/NYC). A side of grass fed beef cost me $4.26lb delivered. I’ve shared cuts with my friends to help convert them over and also sent a grill pack to my parents. We all give the beef rave reviews. I spent about 4 and change on an energy efficient full size freezer that “may” have added a couple bucks a month to my electric bill, but also replaced all my lights to CFL which reduced my bill by about 60 bucks. The electric savings went to upgrading my pet meat from grocery store to Hare-Today and other sources. We have NEVER looked back :) To me, “human grade” meat is what’s on my plate, which I have no problem putting on the floor for my pets, lol!~
Bulk buying of meat is a fantastic way to go for savings and quality. I’m actually going to meet my rancher face-2-face at a Just Foods event here in the city in March. I think the dairy I like will be there also, etc. The freezer also came in handy for my produce CSA and farmers market buying of peak veggies. When the tomato scare hit, I was still using frozen crushed tomatoes for sauces. Last summer I moved on to canning in addition to freezing. Making big batches of soups with my weekly veggies was great and now I just pop open a jar and all my summer harvest goodness is there. And Dot the dog just loves to share some of the soups. She’s a big fan of veggies ;) I’ve also started canning organs and veggies to have on hand for the pets when I give them leftover meats from my dinners to round out their meal.
Comment by straybaby — January 27, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
You know … I’m doubling my garden this year. It’ll be huge! And about real food, not just cute and rare tomatoes. My friend Pamela (the farm girl) is teaching me to can and otherwise preserve all the goodies.
Sometimes I shake my head at the fact that I’m going back to the food my mom and gram couldn’t wait to get away from. Backyard chicken coops? Why, those are for poor people and foreigners! Victory gardens? The war is over, honey, we got us clean modern SUPER markets now!
Except for … well, those little problems … food safety, animal cruelty and environmental degradation. Piffle.
The food I’m eating now (still mostly from farmers markets, etc., as I convert to my full suburban farming thing) just tastes better!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
My mom is laughing at me! (in a good way) I remember her garden and teaching me to can when I was a kid. She’s back to gardening again and now I’m getting her into pressure cookers and such, so she may be canning this year. I bought her a small pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice steamer for x-mas and she’s really liking it. I’m thankful she kept us pretty much off processed food and mostly on fresh, scratch cooking. Made the switchover for me pretty easy.
The food does taste better. And I’ve also gotten to try foods I didn’t buy in the past because I was unsure of what to do with them, so I stayed safe. Not an option when it shows up in your weekly share. That’s another thing I’m thankful for. Expanded food knowledge. In defense of “rare” veggies, LOVED my blue potatoes and blush apples. Carrots in 5 colors is fun too. Most are old varieties that got pushed out in favor of more uniform looking veggies. Some (all?) of these colorful veggies also contain (extra)great nutrients.
Sadly, I have no garden space or room for chickens {pout}. Our CSA coordinator just moved and is researching chickens as she now has space for them. Of course I’m going to have to go visit when they arrive, lol!~
Comment by straybaby — January 27, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
for all the gardeners, check out this site: myfolia.com
I’m not affiliated in anyway besides being a member. It’s just a cool site where you can see what other people are growing, diary your own garden, swap seeds, find out how to grow tricky plants, etc. They helped me a lot last year, my first year with a big(ish) garden.
Comment by Lori — January 27, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
I love Teh Interwebs. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
We’re putting blueberries and raspberries on our cereal in January that I picked in the garden last year and stored in the freezer. Yum.
The front lawn is covered in black plastic to kill the grass and come spring we will have a 34’x 19’ vegetable garden. I want to see how much we can produce ourselves if we really try.
We’ve started to make homemade stew for Niki with local grassfed beef, organic green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes. Probably doesn’t cost much less than the canned, but, boy, does he finish every bite and lick the bowl.
Not sure what to cook for the cats yet. They love tuna and, of course, shouldn’t eat too much of it. I suppose we could try them on the stew? My impression is that in cooking for cats that one has to take into consideration that they are obligate carnivores (except for Eowyn, who likes bread in any form ;-)) and that they must have taurine in their diet for their eyes.
Comment by Susan Fox — January 27, 2009 @ 6:15 pm
Susan Fox—do you have a recipe for the stew or just throw stuff in?
Comment by Lori — January 27, 2009 @ 6:32 pm
It was from a link on a past Pet Connection blog post, I believe. I did a cut and paste, so all I have is the recipe. Beef chuck, olive oil, stock, garlic, white potato, sweet potato, carrots, flour to thicken, thyme, sage, garlic powder. Anyone remember where this came from? We added the green beans.
More than recipes, it would be nice to have a mix and match ingredient list for homemade dog and cat foods, along with a list of “don’t use this under any circumstances”. It might reduce the intimidation factor.
Comment by Susan Fox — January 27, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
As it turns out … Dr. Becker had an idea a couple weeks ago. :)
We’re going to start running recipes. Recipes for treats, meals for dogs and cats, special occasions, meals you can share with your pet, etc.
So stay tuned. It’s in development.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 27, 2009 @ 7:41 pm
A more complete listing of raw buyer’s groups and co-ops can be found here:
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#co-ops
As the owner/founder of the SFRAW group, I used eatwild.com and sustainabletable.org as resources when I first started the group in 2003. Our group’s specialty is sustainably raised/grass-finished/pastured meats – the very same products you’d buy through CSAs and Farmer’s Markets. No all raw co-ops have a focus on sustainability (for other groups price is the over-riding focus), but some of them do. There are some wonderful groups in the US and if there isn’t one near you - it is rewarding and worth it to start one.
Comment by Kasie — January 27, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
Kasie, I’m not interested in feeding raw, actually. What I want is to prepare cooked homemade food with ingredients that I can source locally.
Thanks, Gina. That sounds like just the kind of thing I’m looking for!
Comment by Susan Fox — January 28, 2009 @ 8:13 am
Thanks for the help, K. That’s a better list than mine.
I’m kind of a lazy shopper. I tend to re-order from the same sources — and negotiate rather than comparison-shop on price.
It doesn’t have to be combative: A simple, “look, can you do better on this for a long-time, regular customer?” delivered with a smile works wonders.
And that way, I get to keep my business with local small business, which is something I believe in, strongly.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 28, 2009 @ 8:21 am
CNN is reporting that even though the peanut butter company (the one with all the recalls) had tested and found salmonella in their product, they sold it anyway. About ten times in the last year they have had trouble. Of course, they did not notify the FDA.
I think it was American Peanut Butter Company.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 28, 2009 @ 8:48 am
Pres. Obama’s pick for regulatory czar has some interesting quotes attributed to him regarding animal rights. Check out this story:
http://www.motherjones.com/was.....dical.html
Comment by hornblower — January 28, 2009 @ 11:35 am
And check out this, as well, which I’ll be blogging later today.
http://terriermandotcom.blogsp.....th-me.html
Cass Sunstein’s views on animal rights have no intersection with the job he has been chosen to do. And the source of the e-mail/blog campaign against is an interesting one, to say the least.
Personally, I’m a lot more concerned with former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsak running the USDA, a choice that guarantees big corporate control over a food system that’s cruel to animals and workers, environmentally unsustainable and squashes the rights of consumers to choose from small, family-owned and sustainable farms and ranches. Oh, and food safety? Fuhgeddaboutit. (Interesting that his first actions, according to Pork magazine(!), included dumping Country of Origin Labeling and announcing “food safety” measures that will continue to advance our dangerously centralized system of factory farming (which is also a threat to bio-security, hello terrorists, welcome!). Oh yeah, that’s change we can believe in … not.)
But hey, work yourself up into a froth over Sunstein. It’s good for business. Big business, or the Center for Consumer Freedom wouldn’t be involved.
I have some pretty strong views. What if I were not allowed to be hired at my day job because of those views, in a job in which I am in no position to act on those views? Even if I were the best person for the job unrelated to my own personal views?
There’s a word for that … hmmm … oh .. wait … two words, take your pick:
1) Blackballing
or
2) McCarthyism
It’s a free country, and Cass Sunstein is entitled to hold views with which I do not agree in a position in which those view are irrelevant. And so are you. And so am I.
Do you really want that to change?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 28, 2009 @ 11:43 am
Ummmmm. Ooops. I didn’t realize there was some sort of smear thing. I was at Mother Jones for something else when I saw this & thought it was interesting.
I personally actually agree with Sunstein’s views as quoted ….. I was merely bringing it up because people who hold strong personal views do often find ways to champion some of the causes in their public lives. And I actually think this might be a good thing in this case. But if there’s some smear thing happening because of it - well, that sux.
Anyway, I’m Canadian so it’s not my country, not my regulator.
:-)
Comment by hornblower — January 28, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
Canada is a separate country? Who knew?
Just kidding. REALLY!
See, the thing is these e-smears are launched and fly around like the world’s craziest game of telephone. When you get one, you have to go figure out why.
It usually isn’t very hard. Big industry is behind this one, but I’m pretty sure animal-right folks have been behind others. (I gotta suspicion that the Swiffer/Febreze-kills-pets e-mail crap that won’t go away is all about the animal-rights folks’ intense hatred of all things Proctor & Gamble.)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 28, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
Gina, I have concerns about Vilsak also. I have to wonder if the food safety issue has reached a point where the industry is going to have to collectively change on it’s own. The last two years seem to be highlighted in the latest recall. It’s got all the “high” points of what’s wrong with things as is and it’s basically effected every walk of life. Not “just” pet owners, not “just” beef eaters, not “just” new mothers, etc. This thing has hit everyone, well, aside from the few who don’t buy processed food. Add in the economic situation and we may just have the perfect situation for reform. Companies can’t convince people that their peanuts are safe. Tomato farmers, same boat, infant formula anyone? I think we are well beyond taking them at their word. Action may be their only hope. And we have the advantage of being more educated about the “process” now.
Comment by straybaby — January 28, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
Hi Susan, Actually I was going to include that our group is not raw-specific or any particular diet specific in my original post, but didn’t want to come across too much like an advertisement. I know that our members feed many different ways - from locally made commercially prepared raw diets to home-cooked to raw and beyond. We supply the ingredients to prepare just about any diet out there. Other groups may be this way, too – but I strongly encourage the diversity because I simply love the diversity of our group and learning about all the different ways our members feed. Though there are some not great ways and even some wrong ways to feed; there are a lot of different right ways to do it and I do not feel there is only one right way to feed a fresh foods diet. A lot of our members feed the entire family with the foods they buy through the group; and my turtles love the Marin Sun Farms beef heart! :)
Gina - Local is huge for me, too. It’s so cool to get to know our small family farmers and hobbyist producers. It feels great to support them and our local economy. We have enough local producers of treats providing us with goodies now that we only sell treats made by hand by people we know personally and have quite the selection! One thing I love about the group aspect is the strong community bond and getting to know a large group of supportive, smart, responsible, knowledgeable, like-minded people that truly “get it”. It’s so refreshing and simply feels good; good food from good people, and good people to share it all with – all good!
Comment by kasie — January 30, 2009 @ 9:54 am
Speaking of it. Is Itchmo Forum going to get back on line?
I’m really in need of some critical information available there.
Comment by Steve — January 30, 2009 @ 11:42 am