It All Starts With Food

You can boost your pet's health profoundly by making one simple decision. All you have to do is to change his diet from unhealthy, commercial-brand fare to something you may never have imagined giving him: real food!

Think about that a minute, and then gauge your reaction. Chances are, the notion of feeding a pet "real food" seems peculiar to you, or foolish, or just plain wrong. Chicken stew for your Afghan, madam? A T-bone steak for that hungry-looking Lab? The vegetarian plate for Miss Fifi today? Yes, it does sound odd, And yet what could be more natural than an animal eating…food?

There's a lack of logic here, and it isn't accidental. Over the decades, the pet food industry has grown to be a powerful force in America's economy. We've been taught by it to believe that pet food comes out of a can or package--period. Advertising leads us to believe that the only question before us is which well-known commercial brand to choose over the others. Supermarkets reinforce the perception by offering the major brands--all highly processed, low-quality fare--and nothing else. Even the few newer brands of relatively good-quality prepackaged pet food are almost never found at mainstream markets. Partly that's because major brands monopolize shelf space. Partly it's because small manufacturers can't afford to supply the chain stores: pet food is too heavy in bulk, and has too narrow a profit margin, to be transported in anything less than huge volumes, thanks to the way the majors have defined the business (low-quality food at low cost). As for finding fresh pet food at the market--forget it. There is no such thing. Though in one sense, none need be added: the fresh food you buy at the market for yourself is the food you should give your pet, too.