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Dow Chemical – Maker of Napalm and Agent Orange Has an Image Problem, and the Pet Sustainability Coalition is Helping Them Fix It
From napalm to pet shampoo: How the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) is helping give Dow a new name. The PSC is in the business of selling the illusion of sustainability in the pet industry, and they help companies like Dow – cultivate that image. For companies willing to pay for it, the PSC will certify that pet food, treats, and…
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A Hippie’s Guide to Shopping For Sustainable Pet Food
I grew up in a hippy commune in Northern California, where living in sustainability and harmony with nature was a way of life. But, back then, I could have cared less about being self-sufficient because all I wanted was a blow dryer and a curling iron, two things I couldn’t have because we didn’t have electricity. And, yes, I lived…
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Mars Petcare’s Sustainable Seafood Pet Food Campaign Sounds Great Until You Do a Little Digging
For over a decade, Mars Petcare, the largest pet food maker in the world, has been promising they would introduce a certified sustainably sourced fish-based pet food, but today, Mars does not have a single product that meets that description in the US. Twelve years earlier, Mars announced they were the “first pet company to make a commitment to sustainable…
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From Stable to Table: Horses Turned into Pet Food & Their Bones Sold as Dog Chews. In America. Right Now.
There have only been a few times in my career as a pet food safety advocate where I stood paralyzed – frozen in horror – when I witnessed something so terrible it was beyond my comprehension that such brutality against animals could exist. It was during the testimony of a whistleblower who recounted his experience at a place called Bravo…
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Dolphin-Safe Cat Food? Think Again. Lawsuit Accuses Nestle-Purina of Using Suppliers Whose Fishing Practices Endanger Marine Mammals.
Three separate class action lawsuits filed last week accuse Nestle-Purina PetCare Co., StarKist Co., and Bumble Bee Foods of fraudulently labeling their products as “Dolphin Safe,” while use suppliers whose fishing practices endanger marine mammals. The Nestle-Purina lawsuit, filed on May 13, 2019, in California federal courts, claims the company labels its Fancy Feast brand of cat food as “Dolphin…
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How Plastic Will End Up in Everything You And Your Pets Eat. Sorry, But it’s True.
A stunning, and deeply troubling, report published in the journal Science Advances, scientists are finding tiny pieces of plastic, in organic fertilizer made from food waste. Microscopic fragments of plastic are showing up all over the world, floating in the ocean, buried in soil, in food, and in animal feed. In a complex interrelationship of food production, the natural environment…
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Pet Food Institute Backs Puppy Breeding Program to Keep Supply of New Customers Growing
While reading this month’s Pet Business magazine, I came across an article called (prophetically), Dying in the Lap of Luxury. What the article explained, was that there would be shortage of puppies if the industry didn’t pull together and support the work of puppy breeding programs. One program in particular was mentioned, Purdue’s Dog-Breeding Standards Program, sponsored by, among others,…
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Obama to Stop Fish Caught by Slaves; Closing Loophole For Goods Made by Slaves to be Imported and Used in Pet Food
Buying cheap fish flavored cat food may just get a little harder. For decades, American companies have legally been allowed to import fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia — mainly due to a gaping loophole in federal regulations, but, that’s all about to change. A bill being sent to President Obama’s desk this week may finally close that loophole…
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Nestle Purina admits putting fish from slave labor in cat food
Nestlé Purina made the stunning admission that they had found evidence of that slaves were used to catch fish – fish used in their cat food. The unusual disclosure comes from Nestlé, which announced the conclusions of its year-long internal investigation on Monday. Nestlé contracted Verité, a non-governmental organization that tackles human rights problems, to conduct a three-month assessment of…
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FDA says: “Food From Genetically Engineered Plants Is Safe To Eat”
Today the FDA publicly declared that “Food From Genetically Engineered Plants Is Safe To Eat.” The agency says since there is no scientific proof that GMOs are bad, therefore, they must be safe. Following that logic, the agency says that genetically engineered foods are pretty much the same as traditional (or non-engineered) foods: “The agency is not aware of any…
