I recently saw an ad asking for humans willing to eat pet food as pet food tasters. While I have no idea how serious the ad was, it made me think about how many pet parents would ever consider eating the pet food they feed their beloved four-leggeds.
Most, of course, would not. And I certainly wouldn’t advise it.
Not only is most commercially prepared pet food not suitable for human consumption, I would say it’s not even suitable for animal consumption. Maybe if I share a few cleverly disguised ingredient definitions with you, you’ll agree.
For instance, “powdered cellulose” is creative wording for sawdust. Yes, sawdust. “Chicken drum” doesn’t sound so bad as an ingredient, right? Not until you realize that “chicken drum” is literally a 50-gallon drum full of chicken remains that were first thrown in a dumpster and then “rendered” down to a powder. “Retail food waste” is exactly what you’d imagine: expired grocery store food (AKA trash) that has been thrown in a dumpster (and exposed to rats and other nastiness)… then served as something palatable, even desirable.
Yuck.
So, even if you forget how non-nutritious this “food” is for our pets, it’s hard to get the gross factor out of your mind, once you know these ingredients. There are amazing pet food companies that I recommend and of course there’s always the option of making your own. This morning, Gunny was served warm chicken thighs, navy beans, spinach, carrots and tomatoes — all cooked in the crockpot I’ll use today for our own dinner. Of course, he also had few slices of banana for dessert.
Healthy. Tasty and not at all gross. THIS food, yes… i’ll eat myself. Most others, I don’t even want in my house.