Grain Free Food Warnings

[Erin]

Hello all! My doodle currently eats Zignature Trout and Salmon grain free after trying Orijen for many months and him being constipated from it. He has done great on Zignature now for almost 3 yrs but my vet and many breeders I follow are now warning against grain free diets (especially those high in potatoes and legumes) because of the effects on the heart. Is this something I need to be worried about?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm glad. :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Posted just now by a scientist friend on FB:
 "I was digging deep into the research on this submitted to FDA and it appears the real proponents are, in fact, pet food manufacturing companies (grain inclusive type) and in most cases, they funded the studies, and provided the studies to the FDA (lobby groups here). Makes sense, the pet food lobby is huge, and, of course, the ones funding are Hills (Science Diet), Purina, etc. and others."

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Sounds like firing or moving SOME of those scientists might be a good thing.    Just kidding....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's just like doctors who are hired by the prosecutors or the defense as expert witnesses in a trial. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Typical of all food industries - unfortunately.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Nooo one of my FB friends is freaking out about this (he has been feeding zignature).  Sigh.  I briefly told him that the number of cases was small and BigDogFood was likely responsible but he hasn't responded yet.  In any case they don't even mention the taurine thing in the NBC article my friend linked... just another juicy news bandwagon for them to jump onto :/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exactly. 

[Stacy]

The problem is that it all sounds so official. People really have to dig to get to the truth, and they have to want to know the truth. I really wish the FDA wasn't involved in spreading these claims. They should be a source we can trust, and they've made it hard to read between the lines on this one. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

In the news article one of the first things they said is the FDA isnt recommending avoiding these foods at this time.. you think anyone clues in to that part? Probably not.  I also wish they would point out that some of these brands also offer grain inclusive alternatives so you don't even have to switch brands in some cases if it worries you enough to switch off grain free...

[Stacy]

But that wouldn't get nearly the ratings...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It should come as no surprise to anyone that U.S. government agencies are influenced by corporations and money, not by the best interests of the public, and never more so than under this current administration. 

Here's a great source of information on this. Start reading:
https://www.foodpolitics.com/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And for those who weren't aware of the 2007 recalls, which was the main reason for the Food Group, please do some reading.
https://www.foodpolitics.com/

Of particular interest, besides the brands affected, is this sentence: 

By the end of March, veterinary organizations reported more than 100 pet deaths amongst nearly 500 cases of kidney failure,^[1] and experts expected the death toll to number in the thousands, with one online database already self-reporting as many as 3,600 deaths as of 11 April.^[2][3][7] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received reports of approximately 8500 animal deaths, including at least 1950 cats and 2200 dogs who have died after eating contaminated food, but have only confirmed 14 cases, in part because there is no centralized government database of animal sickness or death in the United States as there are with humans (such as the Centers for Disease Control).

Now...anyone still want to believe the numbers we are hearing about DCM?