Pet Food Recalls, Canine Nutrition, Ingredients Analysis

HSUS DOG FOOD INHUMANE TO DOGS

Humane Choice, the new vegan dog food from HSUS, reads like bird seed and looks like a bad choice for your dog and the economy!

Heavy on seed and oil content, the new dog food from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) appears to be more about a non-profit organization making money than it is about producing a healthy dog food.

by Nel Liquorman, | 07|07|2010 TheDogPress Health Editor

With a list of ingredients looking like a seed catalog, the product contains no meat protein, is grown and processed off-shore, and the origin of supplements is unknown.

According to HSUS, their dog food is produced by a certified organic grower and manufacturer in Uruguay.  Their product created no new jobs for Americans and unless your dog is some rare kind of “bird” dog that thrives on seeds, he may be upset with this particular “Choice.”

Could the new dog food simply be a clever way for HSUS to impose their vegetarian and animal rights views on uninformed dog owners?  Dog owners know dogs are carnivores but there is no meat in Humane Choice.  We view this as a bad diet for dogs but here is the ingredients list so you can decide.

Organic ground canola seed has been genetically modified to remove the bitter taste so cattle will eat it.  Formerly known as “rapeseed”, it belongs to the cabbage family.  It is processed for cooking oil, protein meal, and bio-diesel.  As the main ingredient, canola seed is noted as a risk for bloat (GDV).

Organic brown rice is a safe grain, but dogs are meat eaters.

Organic soybean meal is a cheap protein used in animal feeds in spite of the fact that phytoestrogens in soybeans are linked to infertility, hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer and other debilitating and deadly diseases. see Spilling The Beans On Soy

Organic buckwheat is considered good for people but in spite of what vegetarians say, dogs need meat.

Organic flaxseed, an ancient plant used by the Egyptians to make cloth, it was not even a part of the human diet until marketed as “health food” in the 1980s. Large intakes of flaxseed are known to upset hormonal balance and cause birth defects.

Organic sunflower seed can cause severe anaphylactic reactions in susceptible humans.  It is possible that seed producers remove the oil for sale in that market.

Organic carrots are okay in reasonable quantities, but dogs are carnivores.

Organic beets are okay in reasonable quantities but beets have been questioned as converting to sugar.  They are added to cause firmer stools.

Organic broccoli is controversial because it contains isothiocyanate, a toxic substance which can cause gastrointestinal irritation.

Organic sunflower oil is questionable.  According to a Perdue University School of Medicine veterinarian, it is considered a risk factor for bloat (GDV) if found in the first 4 ingredients.  Sunflower seeds may still contain the oil, thereby making it possible to reach the amount required to cause gastric torsion.

Organic canola oil is more oil, and a potential cause of bloat.

Organic peas are a good veggie for dogs with no risks likely.

Salt is okay but should contain iodine for the thyroid gland.  Many table salts today do not contain iodine and human goiter and hypothyroidism is on the increase.

Organic garlic can produce the same toxicity as onion, which causes dogs to develop hemolytic anemia if consumed in large amounts.

Organic oregano is a safe herb for the human population.

Organic thyme is a safe herb for the human population.

Organic rosemary contains natural neurotoxins which may affect a small pet.  It is considered GRAS (generally regarded as safe), i.e. not tested, studied, or restricted by the FDA or USDA.

Organic green tea extract is believed to have benefits in the human population, but studies suggest that dietary polyphenols such as falconoid, may actually have adverse effects and no benefit to canines has been established.

These are the remaining ingredients: choline chloride, ascorbic acid – vitamin C (as a preservative), mixed tocopherols – vitamin E (as a natural preservative)

Vitamins:  vitamin E supplement, calcium pantothenate, Niacin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin A supplement, Riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine hydrochloride, folic acid, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate.

Minerals: ferric sulfate, zinc oxide, sodium selenate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate.

The preservatives, vitamins and minerals are pretty standard in the pet food industry. However, since the recent pet food recalls, we now know that vitamins and minerals are often added to pet foods in the form of a pre-mix.  So where the pre-mix is made becomes vitally important but - there is no country of origin information.  We can’t forget the history of melamine and how it got into the wheat gluten purchased from ChemNutra, a Chinese import company in Las Vegas, owned by a Chinese National.

Hopefully knowledgeable dog owners will reject any “dog food” label that reads like bird food, does nothing to help our failing economy, and is marketed for carnivores by a vegan seller whose non-profit status (integrity? honesty?) has been challenged.

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