Food Pets Die for: Shocking Facts About Pet Food

Rating:
Summary: You'll Never Feed Your Pets Pet food Again After This...
Review: After her dogs kept getting sick from the pet food she was feeding Ann Martin, an average pet owner like myself and others went about finding out what was in the food itself to cause such a reaction.
Her search took her from Canada(where she lives) to the US and spaned almost 8 long years. What she found will shock and horrify you. The pet food giants are putting unbeliveable things into the food we so diligently buy for our beloved animals thinking its for their good health. After this, I would rather feed my pets my own garbage to be frank. Not that I would, but it would be much healthier than what goes into the feed they're eating from the bag.
Diseases and potential toxins are sitting in that bag of food, be it, premium name or generic, they are from the same place and cut, don't be fooled. After reading this, I will never again subject my furkids to this kind of sick treatment. These people should be locked up for what they are doing to our pets.
Ms. Martin took on the Canadian Government and the FDA with not much luck. Apparently the governments don't care what our pets are eating, so its up to us to be warned and take precautions. I commend Ms. Martin for the excellent job she has done and the thousands of dollars she's spent trying to blow the cover on the pet food giants.
A book WELL worth the money. One you SHOULD NOT miss if you're a devoted pet owner. Consumer beware, an excellent book that gives the facts, horrifying as they may be.

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: Food Pets Die for
Review: Ann Martin has really uncovered the truth about what's happening in the pet food industry. She is just an average pet owner that became frustrated by the industry when her dogs became ill and began to investigate the industry. I command her for her time and effort to uncover the truth about this industry. What she found will shock you but it has to be said. After you read it, no doubt you will think twice about feeding dog food. I found this book a great place to start in understand why you should feed a natural diet. If your looking for a book for complete recipes for a balanced diet it falls short, but I don't think that was her intent in this book. I do hope she follows up with another. Thank you Ann

Rating:
Summary: A very good read for all dog owners ...
Review: Did Ms. Martin discover the truth about the pet food industry? ... Is she telling the truth? In many ways, this book reads like a fiction who-done-it mystery novel ... Written in 1997, Ms. Martin takes us through a journey which began when one of her dogs fell ill after eating pet food ... Not satisfied with the answers provided by the pet food company ... she investigated further. She believes that pet food is the last thing to feed our pets ... she explains that pet food contains teeth, hoofs, diseased meats ... and possibly the remains of dead pets and road-kill and can very well be the cause of many of the problems faced by our pets. Ms. Martin's book provides details and particulars of her investigation. Is Ms. Martin telling the truth? ... Well, the book is still on sale ... Perhaps the very non-action of pet food companies speak for themselves ... 5 stars for caring and for daring to seek ... Definitely worth a read ... and worthy of serious consideration if we are at all concerned about the health of our pets.
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I ended the review written in in August 2001, with a question ...

Well, since then we have moved our dogs from an exclusive kibble diet to a more natural and freshly prepared diet ... consisting of raw & lightly cooked meats, blended fruit, vegetables & fresh whole grain (brown rice) ... fresh probiotics and natural (human quality) supplements ... And our dogs are much better for the change ... they have better coat & skin, they are bright & alert and for sure their general of health has imporved lots ...

And have you noticed, in the years since the publication of Ms. Martin's book ... how many new dog food products have hit the shelves, promising better quality ingredients, human grade meats, even holistic food for dogs? ...

Rating:
Summary: If you love your pet -- read this book!
Review: Extremely informative and shocking look into the pet food industry. You should know what your pet eats and that there is no guidelines on the quality and what goes into the food.

After taking the time to read this slowly and absorb it all, I have switched the brand of food I feed my furry babies. It takes some research but the book does give you enough info and some recommendations to check out for yourself.

A MUST TO READ if you truly care for your pet!

Rating:
Summary: If you love your pet -- read this book!
Review: Extremely informative and shocking look into the pet food industry. You should know what your pet eats and that there is no guidelines on the quality and what goes into the food.

After taking the time to read this slowly and absorb it all, I have switched the brand of food I feed my furry babies. It takes some research but the book does give you enough info and some recommendations to check out for yourself.

A MUST TO READ if you truly care for your pet!

Rating:
Summary: 1st part of book EXCELLENT... 2nd part needless filler
Review: I cannot recommend the first part of this book enough. Even if you do not take everything the author writes at face value (which I do not knowing that there are always 2 sides of every story), there are still wonderful pieces of very useful information provided when trying to interpret ingredients and food labels. The first half of this book will make you more aware of what you are feeding your pets, which I think is the ultimate goal regardless of which diet you eventually decide on.

The 2nd half of the book was an utter and total disappointment (why I did not rate it 5 stars). The author discusses home-cooked diets, supplements and provides an entire chapter on receipes. This is all very fine but does not belong in a book entitled FOOD PETS DIE FOR: SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT PET FOOD. This is not why I bought the book, and indeed, I felt quite alienated by the author's attempt to push me towards this type of diet.

I greatly respect the author's viewpoint on the pet food industry because she had spent 7 years investigating the subject--she should have stuck to this topic for the whole of her book instead of dedicating such a large part of the book to opinions better left to pet nutritionalists who have an expertise on the subject of specific diets that I do not think the author does. For this purpose, the author should have written a different book, not include it in this one.

Although I absolutely HATED the 2nd part of the book, it does not negate the merits of the 1st part. However, in my opinion, the book would have been better as a whole if she had not included all that stuff about home-cooked diets (which I am NOT opposed to but just feel it inappropriate for this book).

Rating:
Summary: Do you love your pets like they were kids? READ THIS BOOK
Review: I love my dog, he's my buddy and I love him dearly. As a loving dog owner I want my buddy to eat good food, like I do. I would love to give him the food I eat, but I've always heard that it can be bad for them so I always purchase the "Premium" dog food for him because the bag says it's healthier for him than the cheaper brands. Like I said, I want my buddy to eat good food.

I AM SO GLAD I SAW THIS BOOK.

It said, "Shocking facts about pet food" Why would there be a book about that? I now know why, and thank you Ann Martin.

All the B.S. on the "big brand" bags of pet "food" can mean pretty much anything at all.

"Yeah right! How can they put something on the bag that's not true? That's false advertising!"

Yep, that's what I thought too, and that is true for human food. If there is any indication that human food has been contaminated or poisoned somehow, there is an immediate recall for safety purposes. BUT, the pet "food" industry is pretty much UNregulated by the government. Basically, the pet "food" industry is in charge of itself! That's as bad as how the government representatives are in charge of whether or not they get a raise for the next year (HELLO! What would you vote?!). The pet "food" industry has such a high profit margin because the "food" they use to make they're products are the leftovers from the human food industry, and animals that weren't fit to be processed for human food which are called 4-D. Dead, Dying, Disabled, Diseased. The most horrendous thing that was discovered is how euthanized animals from kill shelters are disposed of to the rendering plants where they make pet "food", and do so without even removing collars, flea collars, tags, or even the plastic bag they are in before they are thrown in the grinder.

That is just the sickest thing I have ever heard, and the worse part of that, the drug that is used as poison to KILL animals is recycled back into the pet "food". I WILL NOT FEED MY DOG POISON. Also, in the book it shows the requirements for the different nutritional values for protein, fat & fiber are so UNregulated that they could be qualified as "leather, crandshaft oil & sawdust". This goes for both dry and canned "food". Ann also says that alot of the "fiber" in the "food" isn't only from sawdust, but ground peanut shells too. This is completely unacceptable.

I'm not going to feed my buddy what I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't even feed him chicken nuggets from fast food places after what I found out about how they are made, I won't touch one again. Not the ones that you can actually see the meat fibers, but the ones that are just a pressed meat product.
Ann also lists a few different companies that actually make pet FOOD starting with human grade materials, or food that is regulated and healthy for US to eat. The day after I finished the book, I went out and got some of this good FOOD and threw out the "food" I was giving my buddy for years. I'm so glad I saw this book.

So actually, I could have been feeding my buddy my food, and it would have been a whole lot better for him that that "waste" I was feeding him before. She also has many recipes for homecooking for your animals, which is good, but my wife says that some of these recipes can cause weight gain, and I agree because there are too many "bad carbs" included in them. We know this info from Dr. Atkins! I would say just stay away from giving them all that rice and pasta and stuff, and they should be fine.

Ann also brings up how pet "food" companies are owned by the most unlikely corporations. A well known candy bar maker owns 4 of them, a well known chocolate company owns at least 3, and a well known kechup company owns at least 5 others.

If you love your animals like they were your kids, then I don't know how you could feed them waste. PLEASE read this book, you will not be sorry you did. Besides, I would rather support a small operation pet food company that makes quality food, than some big corporation that's just out for your $$.

Rating:
Summary: Read this BEFORE you feed your pets!
Review: I was honored to be asked to write the forward to this wonderful book. While many lay writers really don't have the complete picture about medical topics, Ann has done her homework and backs up her claims. The information really helped me write the diet sections for my 2 recent books, 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. For owners who want to answer the question, Do You REALLY Know What You Fed Your Pet Last Night?, this book provides many disturbing answers. Diet is so important to our pets' health; the proper diet is my foundation to every holistic medical protocol I prescribe.

Rating:
Summary: Reading it now
Review: The last year and a half has been a real journey for me as my childhood cat companion has grown old and sick... He now has restrictive dietary needs. That coupled with my growing need and desire to prolong and improve the quality of his life, I started last year to look for the best cat foods available.

Unfortunately, even with a good general biology and nutrition background, wading through the marketing [...] that accompanies most pet foods in the stores was really difficult for me. On the one hand, XYZ pet food company markets a line of products as scientifically formulated for performance, etc. etc., yet the food in the can/bag turns out to be made in nearly the identical way as its general supermarket (well-known and marketed as 'cheap') line. This despite the higher cost, fancy packaging and limited availability (in pet food stores) of the 'performance' or 'premium' product.

It seems as though last year there was very little information available online and I never found out about this book. I wish I had. I ended up purchasing a mix of good and not so good foods, which my cats have enjoyed (or so they think) over the last year. I was determined to look further and recently found that there is more information out there than before. About.com's article on cat nutrition led me to this book, which I am now reading. Although there are many other details about ingredients that I wish were covered in this book, I am very happy with the author's research and conclusions. I really feel that her efforts have created a small wave, slowly getting people aware of the issues and helping them to identify and make informed choices about the food they feed to their pets.

Although my cats are slightly addicted to the less than desirable ingredients in some of their foods and tend to turn their nose up to whole, natural, healthier ingredients, they will come to appreciate them with patience and time... As a result, I am sure my older cats' health will benefit in the remaining years and any future cats (which I am sure to own) will never have to eat unsafe and even deadly foods.

Please read this book and tell other people you know out there who really love their pets but are ignorant (not willfully) about the ills of the pet food industry and about the foundation of what good nutrition for companion animals really is. Don't believe the marketing! I hope one day that consumers will be making informed choices that will affect the market and, in turn, force these companies to reconsider their current practices.And perhaps the improved nutrition will mean that veterinary care is less often needed. The great thing is, is that even though we as humans might lack the disicpline to take care of ourselves and eat healthfully, our pets don't have the control. We can choose good nutrition for them and we'll all be better off for it.[...]

It is an excellent discussion of the choices available, what to look for and WHY.

Rating:
Summary: The book is mostly conjecture, speculation and innuendo
Review: Very revealing, inciteful book. Makes me wonder whether my dog could have lived longer if I had started feeding him differently earlier in his life. Unfortunately, the author seems to paint all pet food manufacturers with the same brush. There are companies out there that make pet food specifically because their own research led them to the same conclusions as Ms. Martin�s did. Some of those small manufacturers use hormone-free, range-fed USDA meats, human-grade carbs and add nothing artificial or toxic. They can be hard to find though. The Whole Dog Journal...rates dog foods year after year and comes up with a set of ten or so that they recommend. (Search for Commercial food reviews in back issues.) Many of the same names come up every year because they're just plain top notch. Visit rottlover.com for a look at one of them.