Food for thought???

Found this article from a holistic vet on the net
Dr Jones author of "Veterinary Secrets".

Who Controls The Dog Food Industry?


Unfortunately primarily LARGE corporations.

Here are the BIG 5

1. Nestle is the LARGEST dog food manufacturer better known as the chocolate and candy maker Nestle owns Purina and controls over 30% of the dog food market. It just so happens that they are also a not well thought of corporate giant...they were encouraging mothers in 3rd world countries to feed formula and NOT breast feed for example.

2. Mars is the second largest, now owning, Nutro, Royal Canin, Pedigree, and even small Canadian Company Medi-Cal;they control approx 20% of the market. Mars is of course better known for making candy..

3. Then there is the MONSTROUS multinational company Proctor and Gamble- they own Iams, Eukanuba, and recently purchased Natura Pet Products making Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature and Karma.They now control over 15% of the market. P and G is of course better known for making ubiquitous consumer goods such as Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), Braun(R) and Fusion(R)...


4. Colgate Palmolive - yes the makers of toothpaste and dish soap NOW own Hills Pet Products...think of Science Diet and their family of brands which has over 10% of the dog food market.


5. Del Monte- yes the company best known for Pineapples has nearly 10% of the Pet Food Market. They own Natures Recipe, Pounce, Meow Mix, Kibbles and Bits, 9 Lives, Jerky treats, and the well known dog treat Milk Bone..


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So What's the problem?

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Big companies are focused on profits, and increasing shareholder value first.

Let's use the Proctor and Gamble takeover of Iams Pet Foods as an example.


Iams and Eukanuba were very reputable brands of pet food over 10 years ago....then the company was sold to the BIG MULTINATIONAL P & G.

Shortly after this P & G. placed Iams/Eukanuba in the mass market of groceries stores, Wal Mart etc..

Dog owners started to notice changes..diarrhea, vomiting, hair loss, allergies- even though the company INSISTED there was no change in formulation.


P&G had a class action suit brought against them, and the lawsuit showed that they had reformulated the dog food ingredients substiting 'chicken by products meal' instead of real chicken, substituting bran sorghum/barley for rice, and then adjusting on its package instructions to reduce the per day servings by 25%"


The substitution of the lesser expensive ingredients and reducing the advised feeding amounts by 25% allowed them to be MORE profitable, but decreased the QUALITY of the food producing the health issues in the dogs.