Third Edition
Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food
Ann N. Martin
Paperback Original ISBN 978-0939165-56-8
214 Pages, $14.95
Includes Recipes, Resource, Index
In her third edition of this groundbreaking book, Food Pets Die For, the author provides information on the state of the commercial pet food industry.
The largest recall in the history of the commercial pet food industry erupted in March 2007, resulting in manufacturers pulling more than 60 million bags and cans of their pet food from store shelves. Premium pet foods as well as low-grade, store-brand pet foods ended up on the FDA’s recall list. Over the course of several months, more than one hundred brands of cat and dog food were recalled as thousands of pets got sick or died after eating food containing contaminated rice protein and wheat gluten from China.
This massive recall shocked millions of consumers, leaving them confused and uncertain about what to feed their pets. Prior to the 2007 recall, most pet owners never questioned what was in the attractive cans and bags of pet food that the industry declares as “Complete, Nutritious, and Balanced.” Now, consumers realize all pet foods are suspect and they have to educate themselves about pet nutrition and what can be served up as pet food.
Ann Martin also gives her recommendations for the healthiest alternative pet foods on the market, along with numerous recipes for home-cooked meals for your cats and dogs.
Food Pets Die For goes far beyond the typical cookbook recommendations now available for feeding your pets. The author explains and documents why most commercial pet foods are dangerously unhealthy for animals, and then provides the most updated and accurate information for deciding what to feed your animal companions—whether buying pet food in the store or cooking for your pet.
Once again, Martin goes behind the scenes of the commercial pet food industry to expose the hidden and unsavory ingredients in most bags and cans of pet food. Martin unravels the latest mystery ingredients listed on pet food labels, the deceptive practices for labeling ingredients, and the problem with many overseas food sources, such as those imported from China. In addition to identifying the problems with most pet foods, she offers answers for consumers now asking, “What is a safe food to feed my dog or cat?”
This third edition includes four extensive chapters dedicated to cooking for your cat and/or dog, along with easy, nutritious recipes. For people who do not have the time to cook for their pets, Martin provides updated, detailed information on several pet food companies that make healthy, human-grade pet food. She also identifies certain foods to absolutely avoid. Throughout her new book, Martin builds a strong case for why animal companions will live longer healthier lives if they eat wholesome nutritious food.
Ann N. Martin first wrote about the dangers of commercial pet foods in 1990 after her two large dogs got sick from a popular dry dog food. “This compelled me to investigate commercial pet food ingredients and the pet food manufacturers,” explains Martin. “Quickly, I learned that this is a multi-billion dollar industry that, in many ways, is self-regulated.” After several years of researching and questioning numerous pet food industry officials, government agencies, veterinarians, and anyone who could shed light on the hidden practices and ingredients used to make pet food, Martin wrote one of the first books on the subject, Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food. On the heals of last year’s pet food recall, Martin has written the Third Edition of her grassroots bestseller, just released in July 2008.
In 1977, Martin found that many deplorable ingredients could legally be used in pet foods, including euthanized cats and dogs, diseased cattle and horses, road kill, dead zoo animals, and meat not fit for human consumption. Martin also found that fiber sources in many foods are composed of the dregs from the food chain, including beet pulp, peanut hulls, and even sawdust sweepings from the floor of the rendering plant! She identified many toxic additives, preservatives, inferior vitamins and minerals, and other mystery ingredients regularly added to the unsavory and unhealthy pet food mix. In 2008, Martin reports that many of the same deplorable ingredients are still being used in pet foods and they are still making pets sick.
Martin’s investigative writing on the commercial pet food industry in the United States and Canada garnered special recognition from Sonoma State University’s School of Journalism, “Project Censored,” which conducts research on important national news stories that are underreported, ignored, misrepresented, or censored by the U.S. corporate media. Veterinarian and author, Michael Fox, praised Martin’s work, stating, “Ann Martin is to the pet food industry what Rachel Carson was to the petro-chemical industry. In the same spirit of rigorous investigation, Martin has revealed what ingredients go into pet food.”
In the Third Edition of Food Pets Die For, Martin continues her rigorous investigation of the commercial pet food industry. She also offers consumers solutions for feeding their pets healthy foods, including easy and nutritious recipes for home-cooked meals. Martin’s chapter, “Natural Pet Food Companies,” identifies companies she believes produce healthy, human-grade foods for pets. Ultimately, Martin warns consumers to take heed: “Recalls of pet food and human food will continue until there are more stringent government regulations and increased oversight of food imports. ”
After more than fifteen years of researching and writing about the dangers of commercial pet food and offering pet owners healthy alternatives, Martin is now considered an international authority on pet food. Martin’s second book, Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts, furthers the discussion on pet food as well as delving into other health concerns for cats and dogs.
Praise
Ann Martin presents information that is eye-opening, and ground-breaking in exposing the truth behind what is contained in many commercially produced pet foods. While the information contained in Food Pets Die For may appear controversial and will likely be dismissed by some, it is well-researched material.
Veterinarians should provide copies of this book for their clients, and everyone with a companion dog or cat should not be without it. Good nutrition is a cornerstone for health and disease prevention. Ann Martin documents how this cornerstone has been removed by the commercial pet food industry.
The health of pets depends so much on what you feed them. That is why you need to read this eye-opener of a book.
This book rips the curtain off one of the most suppressed news stories of the decade. It took courage and amazing persistence to write this astounding book. It should be widely read: In the process, it will transform the pet food industry.
About The Author
Ann N. Martin is recognized as an international authority on the commercial pet food controversy. since 1990, Martin has investigated and questioned exactly what goes into most commercial pet food as well as the multi-billion-dollar, self-regulated pet food industry.
The first edition of Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food, published in 1997, was the first book to expose the hazards of commercial pet food. in 2003, the second edition of Food Pets Die For was published, launching Martin’s book as a grassroots bestseller. In addition, her second book, Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts, was published by NewSage Press in 2001, providing readers with additional information on issues related to pet health and pet-related issues.
Sonoma State University’s journalism awards for Project Censored honored Martin’s investigative reporting on the commercial pet food industry, acknowledging this as “one of the most censored news stories of 1997.” Project Censored focuses on important news events that are largely ignored by mainstream media. Martin has been on numerous television and radio shows internationally, and interviewed by major newspapers in the united states and Canada, particularly during the 2007 pet food recall. Food Pets Die For has been translated into Japanese.
Martin graduated with a B.A. in business from the University of Western Ontario, and worked in a tax office for several years. She lives with her family and animal companions in Ontario, Canada, where she continues to research and write about pet-related issues.
Also by Ann N. Martin
Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts
Chapter One: The Truth About Commercial Pet Foods
The information in this book may not be easy to accept, but if you care about your animal companions, then keep reading. Since first writing the original edition of Food Pets Die For in 1997 and exposing what goes into those attractive cans and bags of commercial pet food, far more consumers are realizing that many of the claims made by commercial pet food companies about their products being “balanced and nutritional” are false. This reality hit home for millions of pet owners in March 2007 when the largest pet food recall in history began to unfold. There are still many unanswered questions about this recall that involved more than one hundred pet food companies and millions of bags and cans of their products.
I first began to question the pet food industry in 1990 after my two dogs, Louie, a Saint Bernard, and Charlie, a Newfoundland, got severely ill after eating dry dog food. This compelled me to investigate commercial pet food ingredients and the pet food manufacturers. Quickly, I learned that this is a multi-billion–dollar industry that in many ways is self-regulated.
I also learned that there are many deplorable ingredients that legally can be used in pet foods as sources of protein—in particular, euthanized cats and dogs, diseased cattle and horses, roadkill, dead zoo animals, and meat not fit for human consumption. In addition, fiber sources in many foods are composed of the leftovers from the food chain, including beet pulp, the residue of sugar beets, peanut hulls, and even sawdust sweepings from the floor of the rendering plant!
Some people will question if it is really possible that so many disgusting ingredients can be legally added to commercial pet food. I have taken great care to responsibly make my case about the dangers of most commercial pet foods and to document the sources.
Since the massive pet food recall in March 2007, consumers have learned that many of the ingredients used in pet food as well as human food, are being sourced from China. Contaminated rice protein and wheat gluten from China caused illness and death in hundreds, maybe thousands of cats and dogs. Imported foods from countries such as China with questionable food safety regulations, have made millions of consumers wary about both pet food and human food.
The percentage of imported foods subject to regulatory inspections has steadily dropped in recent years, however, the proportion of imported food used in domestic manufacturing in the United States has skyrocketed. Don Lee, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, wrote, “China exported $2.5 billion of food ingredients to the United States and the rest of the world in 2006, an increase of 150% from just two years earlier.” (1) Less than one percent of all human food imported from China is checked before its entry into the United States. I believe it is only a matter of time before consumers see more major recalls—for pet food and human food. We need reliable regulations on all imported foods, including any ingredients added to pet foods.
Research
The information in the third edition of Food Pets Die For reflects years of persistent questioning and research into the pet food industry. I have gone back to government agencies, pet food industry representatives, rendering industry representatives, independent organizations, pet food companies, and individuals and veterinarians with many questions, numerous times.
Over the past eighteen years of researching the pet food industry, there have been times when I was horrified with what I learned. There are other times when I was extremely frustrated with the run-around I received from government agencies, organizations involved with the pet food industry, the rendering industry, and at times, veterinary research centers. What has kept me going is the hope that pet owners will read my findings and be convinced that their pets’ health is directly related to what they eat—and that most commercial pet foods are garbage.
Many years ago, I learned that if I wanted to get any reliable information from various United States and Canadian governments, I did not write to them with my questions and simply expect them to give me honest answers. For several years, I dealt with bureaucratic run-around and delay tactics from both countries’ governments. I was constantly referred to someone else for an answer. This still goes on. Government agencies are notorious for beating around the bush, saying a lot yet saying nothing.
Now I file Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Through trial and error, I have learned how to be specific regarding the information I request under the FOI. Over the years government agencies have sent documents that have been remotely close to what I had requested, but not what I asked for. So, I had to go back again with a more specific request. This was the case when requesting the results for tests the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertook on dry commercial pet food that contained pentobarbital. (See Chapter Five.) It took nearly three years to obtain that information and I received it only after I got help from a lawyer.
I have learned that the multi-billion–dollar, pet food industry wants to continue using the same dubious ingredients it has used for years, and increase bottom-line profits. Until consumers demand change, and government pressure insists on better regulation, change will only come in small increments. Getting answers may take time. Getting changes, and perhaps regulations, will take even more time—but it is something that anyone who cares about their pets must demand.
If it had not been for the illness of my two dogs in 1990, I probably would have kept feeding my animal companions commercial pet foods, thinking I was doing what was best for my beloved pets. I would also have paid veterinary bills almost on a monthly basis. And ultimately, I would not have been aware that after my animal companions died, there was a good possibility their remains may have ended up at a rendering plant.
Pet Carcasses in the Human Food Chain?
While researching the latest information on the 2007 pet food recall, I came across disturbing information that indicates rendered cat and dog carcasses could be entering the human food chain. Evidence leads to the strong possibility that shrimp, fish and eel grown on fish farms in China and other Asian countries, could be eating “tankage” shipped from renderers in California. Dry rendered tankage is defined as material from rendering plants that is ground, heated to release the fat and drive off the moisture, percolated to drain off the free fat, and then pressed to remove yet more fat from the solids. This tankage could contain rendered cat and dog carcasses. This means that rendered dogs and cats, which are allowed to be a part of “tankage” in California rendering plants, could be destined for shrimp and fish food in China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.
California is the only state that classifies this material as tankage. It is perfectly legal for tankage to be shipped outside of California and be labeled as “meat and bone meal.” I have contacted the USDA several times to verify whether or not this is true and have received no reply.
In March 2004, Bill Gorman, president of West Coast Rendering in California told Kate Berry, a reporter with the Los Angeles Business Journal, “We’ve been building a mountain [of euthanized cats and dogs] in the back of our place.” He told the reporter he only had room “for another 600 tons of dog and cat byproduct in silos behind the Vernon plant.” (2) These euthanized animals had been stockpiled because numerous Asian countries had banned imports of beef by-products due to the mad cow scare in the United States in December 2003. The ban was lifted in the summer of 2004, and shipping tankage to Asia resumed.
Leo Grillo is the founder of D.E.L.T.A. Rescue based in Acton, California, which claims to be the largest no-kill, care-for-life animal shelter worldwide. Grillo wrote about his investigators who followed trucks carrying “protein meal” made from rendered companion animals at the West Coast Rendering facility to the ports where they were loaded for shipment to Pacific Rim countries. Grillo explained that this material is fed to the “farmed fish and seafood that comes back to the United States and is sold in our supermarkets.”(3) China is the leading exporter of seafood to the United States.
An article in the World Daily News reported that China is raising “most of its fish products in water contaminated with raw sewage and compensating by using dangerous drugs and chemicals, many of which are banned by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA].”(4) The article goes on to say that the FDA inspection process of China’s seafood has worsened over the years “from 0.88 percent in 2003 to 0.59 percent in 2006 – this while seafood consumption in the U.S. was rising and more of that seafood was coming from China.”
In the ever-broadening mystery and madness surrounding global food imports and exports, for both human foods and pet foods, it is becoming incredibly difficult to track the true source(s) of food for ourselves and for our animal companions. The case for buying locally, and supporting sustainability within one’s own community, grows stronger by the day as we face expanding food problems—for both humans and pets. In the meantime, I plan to avoid fish and seafood from Asian fish farms.
Making an Informed Choice
In order to understand the problems with the commercial pet food industry it is first helpful to understand what can legally go into pet foods, how the product is made, and how large, commercial pet food companies work. Several chapters will explain all of this. Then, once you have the facts, you can decide the next best step for you and feeding your animal companions. The latter part of this book offers information on diet considerations for your dog and/or cat, along with easy recipes.
My hope is that the information in my books will help pet owners make informed choices about what they feed their pets. If people feed their animal companions healthy diets, and in turn, pay closer attention to their own diets, both humans and animal companions will live longer happier lives.
Footnotes
1. Lee, Don, “China’s additives on menu in U.S.,” Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2007.
2.Berry, Kate, “Export ban leads to pileup of dead beasts at rendering plant facilities,” Los Angeles Business Journal, March 22, 2004.
3. Grillo, Leo, “Food Poisoning: You Are Eating California’s Dead Pets”, Information Sheet, October 2, 2007.
4. Farah, Joseph, “Seafood Imports from China raised in untreated sewage,” World News Daily, June 4, 2007.
