If you are a dog owner you’re probably aware of the recent pet food scandal that has rocked the nation, resulted in several pet deaths, hundreds of animals falling mysteriously ill and the nationwide recall of 60 million packages of dog food products (and counting) as well as other pet foods!
The Culprit
Melamine: This is the substance at the center of the pet food poison scandal. Pure melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizer so how the heck could it make the transition into dog food? Well the story begins in China…kind of.
Animal feed producers in China have apparently for some time routinely supplemented their feed with melamine to artificially boost the protein content (which translates into more profit). Protein readings are done by assessing the nitrogen levels of the feed and guess what? Melamine has a high nitrogen content!
Unfortunately this sordid tale gets worse. As if adding poisonous melamine to your dog’s food was not bad enough another toxic ingredient is routinely added to Chinese animal feed products. This substance is known as cyanuric acid. In the United States this stuff is commonly used to disinfect swimming pools!
Investigators looking into the hundreds of pet food poison related deaths now believe that the combination of those two ingredients in commercial dog food and other pet food synergistically elevated the toxins to the point where they became lethal to pets.
The Dirty Secret Close To Home
Although American food safety regulators are pinning the blame on pet food contaminated with Chinese animal feed products, the alarming truth is that dog food manufactured in the USA is also toxic to your pet!
Commercial dog food manufactured in the US contains no less than 6 deadly chemicals that have been banned as unfit for human consumption because they cause:
Hair Loss (fur loss);
Kidney Disease;
Liver dysfunction;
Stomach cancer;
Blindness;
Leukemia; and
Skin cancer, to name but a few! The substances that cause these problems are found in preservatives…
Oh But I Always Use Preservative Free Dog Food!
You may think that your dog is safe and healthy because you only insist on buying preservative free dog food. Well dog manufacturers have found a legit way around that too! Many dog foods labeled as preservative free in fact contain preservatives because the manufacturers exploit a loophole whereby they do not have to list any preservative that they themselves did not add.
And unfortunately many preservatives are added to pet foods at the rendering plant well before the meat is ever sent to the manufacturer. One of the most widely used and most powerful preservatives also happens to be one of the most toxic! It is called ethoxyquin (EQ) and you aren’t going to see it listed on your dog food label anytime soon (even though it is in that “preservative free” dry pet food you love to buy) because the manufacturer has no legal obligation to list it.
Although ethoxyquin is permitted in pet food, workers exposed to this substance showed symptoms similar to those of people exposed to agent orange (poisonous herbicide used by the US government in Vietnam War that caused cancer and other diseases).
Your Dog Is Eating Dead Dogs And Dead Cats!
Perhaps the sickest part of this sick tale is that euthanized (put down) dogs and cats are recycled as chow for your pet! The city of angels (Los Angeles) is known for the devilish practice of recycling approximately 200 tons of dead cats and dogs each month into pet food!
Arrrgghh…disgusting huh?
Still it gets worse; poisonous disinfectants and denaturing chemicals are used to treat those recycled dead animals and “render them safe” for your dog’s consumption, not to mention the fact that the toxin used to kill those animals (sodium pentobarbital) can withstand the heat used in the denaturing process.
Bottom line: If you love your dog and want to see him/her live to a ripe healthy old age, perhaps it is time you considered alternative means of nutrition!
About The Author: Kayye Nynne is the webmaster of http://www.dog-breeds-spot.com/
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