#9 Environmental Impact vs. Pet Health: What You Need to Know About Pet Food

The population of pets and environmental impact due to pet related industries especially pet food have been a global issue. Pets, especially dogs and cats require meat. Several articles and websites mention how these animals negatively put environmental impact on the planet.
One of the solutions is using meat by-products.
I understand the concept of food recycling. It may be necessary, but at least pet owner should be informed what pet dry food is really made from.
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I have met many owners who decided to take additional work hours, to give up their retirement, etc. to pay veterinary bills. I have met many owners who felt guilty and cried because they couldn’t afford to save their beloved furry friends. I know many pet owners who need to visit a vet once a month for “chronic” issue.
What if the food you believe and feed to your dog is part of reasons your dog/cat is sick?
I want to provide the information about dry food. That is my intention today.

​Why are most dog foods cheap and dry?

​Please think about it. When you cook vegetables or meat, what happens? It reduces the volume. When you see the label of dog/cat dry food, how many of ingredients on it?
Let’s say you buy 30 lb. bag of dog kibble, how many days does it last for your dog. For example, 70 lb. dog probably needs 3-4 cup of kibble per day according to the label. 3-4 cups is close to 1 lb. So, one 30 lb. kibble bag will last almost 30 days.
Let’s say the bag costs about $60. That means the feeding cost is $2 per day. If you have never fed raw diet or home-made diet, please imagine what it is like and how much of food in the bowl?
Do you think you can buy the same ingredients/food, but fresh one, with $2?

To make dry food, there are multiple cost occurred during the production process such as manufacturing, packaging, storage, shipping, and top of that, marketing cost. Do you really think “meat and vegetables” you can imagine cost less than $2 dollar for 70 lb. dog?

Rendering:
Here is the first site you may want to look up:
https://nara.org/what-is-rendering/
https://nara.org/policy-issues/pet-food-and-animal-feed-safety/
You see the answer from the website above: Cost-efficiency.

“Meat” is not the same as what you see at a grocery store. They need to process the rendering meat with extremely high temperature (ultra-process) to kill all bacteria and pathogens. Some of the meat used for rendering includes diseased and died with unknown cause. That means the meat needs to be highly processed because it is not safe.
Interestingly, there is not much information regarding the health risk caused by highly processed foods in domestic animals. But there are many in human medicine to prove the negative health impact due to ultra-processed food (= highly processed foods). For example, Chen, X., et al describes the health risk on their research paper as:

“High UPFs consumption was obviously associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, overall cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, overweight and obesity, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, overall cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, gestational obesity, adolescent asthma and wheezing, and frailty.”

Do you really think ultra processed foods (UPFs) are safe for dogs and cats?

​Maillard reaction

The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between proteins and sugars which occurs when food is cooked. It creates flavor compounds in food items such as dog food and can be used to add flavorings to increase palatability. The Maillard reaction has been linked to the production of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).
AGEs are compounds that form when proteins or fats react with sugars and can also be formed as a result of the body's natural inflammatory processes. AGEs have been associated with increased risk of a variety of health conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
​Recent research has also suggested that AGEs can also negatively impact the gut microbiome. Studies have found that AGEs can reduce the diversity of the gut microbiome, which can lead to an increased risk of certain illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. In addition, AGEs may interfere with beneficial bacteria in the gut, leading to an imbalance between harmful and beneficial microbes.

Image source:
https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/405259/fimmu-09-02088-HTML/image_m/fimmu-09-02088-g001.jpg

Final thoughts and Video

I used to use commercial dog food to my furry families. I didn’t have any or enough veterinary background at that time. Most of my coworkers at vet hospitals still don’t believe raw or home-made diet. But I do! Because I saw the difference in my dog’s health.
You are the one who knows how your dog/cat’s skin and coat changed after feeding a certain diet. You are the one who take care of him/her every day. You are the one who loves your dog/cat. If your vet doesn’t listen to your belief/choice, research it.   
At last, I am a visual person. I think many people are too. Here is the documentary about pet food.
Pet Fooled 

Resources:
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/the-truth-about-cats-and-dogs-environmental-impact

Okin GS (2017) Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats. PLoS ONE 12(8): e0181301. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181301

Chen, X., Zhang, Z., Yang, H. et al. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes: a systematic review of epidemiological studies. Nutr J 19, 86 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-020-00604-1

Buffington, C.A. (2008). Dry foods and risk of disease in cats. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 49 6, 561-3 .

Castro-Barquero, S., & Estruch, R. (2021). Ultra-processed food consumption and disease: the jury is still out. European Heart Journal, 43(3), 225–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab795

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake 

Samant, S. S., Crandall, P. G., Jarma Arroyo, S. E., & Seo, H. S. (2021). Dry Pet Food Flavor Enhancers and Their Impact on Palatability: A Review. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 10(11), 2599. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10112599

Oba, P. M., Hwisa, N., Huang, X., Cadwallader, K. R., & Swanson, K. S. (2022). Nutrient and Maillard reaction product concentrations of commercially available pet foods and treats. Journal of Animal Science, 100(11). https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac305

Teodorowicz M, Hendriks WH, Wichers HJ, Savelkoul HFJ. Immunomodulation by Processed Animal Feed: The Role of Maillard Reaction Products and Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs). Frontiers in Immunology. 2018;9. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02088
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Qu W, Yuan X, Zhao J, et al. Dietary advanced glycation end products modify gut microbial composition and partially increase colon permeability in rats. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2017;61(10):1700118. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201700118‌