Are you the type of person who walks to the farmers market to buy organic tomatoes and other veggies from a local farmer? Just as you’re concerned about what goes into your own body, you need to be equally concerned about what your furry friends are ingesting.
Imagine that you were planning to install an electronic dog fence and wanted to know your four-legged friend would be safe in your absence. Wouldn’t you read invisible dog fence reviews before buying and installing it? Why not do the same for pet food which can affect the health of your best friend?
You may be nodding thinking, I buy top of the line organic pet food. In fact, it even has organic in the name. But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s natural.
As a good pet parent, you want to make sure you don’t have any poisonous plants in the home. It’s equally important to evaluating the ingredients in pet food. As a smart consumer, you have to read the ingredients on the label. Things to watch out for specifically include:
- names of unrecognizable products
- anything listed as a byproduct
- chemical names that are not typically in food
- inorganic flavoring or dyes
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulates the ingredients in pet food distributed in the US. AAFCO allows ‘organic’ food to contain additives or processing aids that are part of the manufacturing process, as long as these substances are unavoidable. These substance amounts aren’t defined or strongly regulated. This is a problem for those who feel organic pet food should be totally organic.
Another thing to consider is that many of the products that end up in pet food are shipped in from other countries. Though these countries may say the food is organic, it’s not as strongly regulated as food for human consumption. There’s no guarantee that the ingredients noted as organic are truly organic if they’re from an unregulated country. It’s unfortunate that the regulations on pet foods are not as stringent as for human food, but this is the sad fact.
Although this shouldn’t stop you from buying organic food for your furry friends, you just need to be wary of the ingredients and the company standing behind the product. Choosing pet food is not as simple as choosing an electronic dog fence. If you become an avid label reader and put in a little research time, you may help your pet live a longer and healthier life.
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Your pet doesn’t get to choose what they eat each day, nor are they able to read labels. Do your pet a favor and find the best so that they may stick around for many years to come.
