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Mostly Garbage: Because he’s just a dog
By Gina Spadafori
October 4, 2009
Of course, “SNL” is making one point, but here, we see another. As Dr. Marion Nestle says, there’s only one food supply, and we’re all eating from it:
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That’s pretty funny.
Dogs in most of the world live on what they can find. Feeding dogs is a relatively recent Western invention. Feeding them organic food, raw food, and other exotic diets is relatively new.
However, I won’t say that a dog is just an animal. They are canine beings.
I don’t know if anyone has seen the numbers on this, but dog related products aren’t hurting that much in this recession. They aren’t down as much as one would assume.
Comment by retrieverman — October 5, 2009 @ 7:05 am
Feeding them organic food, raw food, and other exotic diets is relatively new.
Comment by retrieverman — October 5, 2009
You know what else is relatively new? Feeding grain and all kinds of processed garbage (including meat waste) to grass-eating herbivores, keeping such animals in concentrated animal feeding operations, a/k/a factory farms and loading them with antibiotics just to keep them alive.
The issue isn’t “raw” or “organic” or “pampering pets.” It’s the source. And there’s only one industrial food trough, and we’ll all eating from it. If you can’t put a name to the source of your food, this is what you risk. YOU and your pet.
I am really tired of people making fun of putting extra effort into feeding “just” a pet. For me it’s not about that AT ALL. I feed myself the same way I feed my pets: With humane, regional, sustainable food from family farms and trusted food companies, including ones I can pick up the phone and talk to the boss.
This is not hard and it doesn’t have to cost more. Get an effin’ freezer and fill it with meat from someone you know, from animals you could actually have met if you wanted to because the farmer isn’t ashamed to show you how they lived. Yes, it’ll cost more, so eat less meat. That’s better for you anyway. Offset the cost with delicious veggie dishes. Plant a garden. Join a CSA or buying co-op. Go to the farmer’s market regularly. Even get some hens, if you can.
What’s “relatively new” is buying processed crap for the entire family from multinationals. And that’s the point.
The pet-food recall should have been a message everyone got: The industrial food system is broken.
This is NOT a pet-food issue. It’s a FOOD issue, as we said from Day One of the pet-food recall.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 5, 2009 @ 7:54 am
Gina,
I don’t disagree.
Where I live, people actually kill deer for their dogs to eat— after all, with all the permits you can get, you can kill I think 8 deer in West Virginia. My dogs always get a little deer offal and hearts after deer season.
Comment by retrieverman — October 5, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
Gina, you write,
“Get … meat from someone you know, from animals you could actually have met if you wanted to because the farmer isn’t ashamed to show you how they lived. Yes, it’ll cost more, so eat less meat.”
I recently made the difficult decision that I will only eat meat I cook myself. If you knew how much I hate to cook you would understand why it’s taken me YEARS to finally draw this line in the sand.
There is a fabulous farm that will be my source. I’ve talked to them already about visiting. I just sent the link to their website to an active, health-oriented elderly man I know, along with a link to a very disgusting article about where ground meat comes from.
Their eggs are $5 per dozen (that’s expensive where I live) and I assume the meat prices are high too, relatively. I wouldn’t know since I don’t buy meat. But (gulp) I will be.
But as I said to my friend, it’s worth it and I’ll just eat meat less often. That said, I ate chicken maybe three times a week, and have a burger maybe once a month. Bacon (from a certified humane source, as much as I can trust that) twice a year. I don’t eat other pork.
But even though my consumption is low I’m still going to have to (shudder) c o o k .
Comment by Mary Mary — October 5, 2009 @ 1:22 pm
Mary Mary!
We’re separated at birth. I NEVER cooked, never-ever-never, until about two years ago. The first house I bought 20 years ago had a non-functional oven. I didn’t realize that for almost four months. That should give you an idea about me and cooking.
But here’s the funny thing: I now really like to cook! I feel good about what I buy and the family farmers I buy from, good about how I prepare it and think it’s respectful to what had to die (animal and vegetable) to handle it in a conscious, grateful and celebratory way.
It’s sort of spiritual, even. I think now that it’s Thanksgiving Day here every day. And cooking is how I say grace. :)
Special bonus: Since I stopped eating out and started cooking, stopped buying factory farmed, antibiotic-laden toxic cruelty meat, eggs and dairy and started buying sustainable, humane food from regional sources, stopped eating much meat/poultry and started looking for good veggie alternatives (golden beets, who knew?!) …. I have lost 50 pounds, and no longer have to take blood pressure medicine. And I’m still losing …
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 5, 2009 @ 3:30 pm
You must feel great! I have made some major nutritional changes over the years to improve my health … mostly because I will not exercise on a schedule. I can walk for 15 miles without noticing — IF I have someone with me to talk to. Walking solo around the neighborhood? Boredom to the point of suicide. And I would never go to a gym. Who has TIME for that?
But food … that’s relatively easy for me to control, except the cooking thing. It involves fire + attention to timing. Not my strong suit. That’s why I write for a living! Nice and abstract.
Comment by Mary Mary — October 6, 2009 @ 8:29 am
No fire when you microwave almost everything like I do. At least, no fire yet.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — October 6, 2009 @ 8:40 am
No fire when you microwave almost everything like I do. At least, no fire yet.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — October 6, 2009 @ 8:41 am