With all the organic pet product talks nowadays, it is no wonder
that people are very much aware and conscious of this fact
already.
People hear so much double-talk about organic foods, including
"free range" chickens and "hormone free" lamb. What does
organic pet product really mean and why is it given so much
importance?
Most people are under the impression that anything with "organic"
inherent on it is superior. This is a nice ideal. And of course,
organic products may indeed taste better and be healthier for us.
However, do people really need organic pet products? In the first
place, is there such a thing? Even the government is confused
about how to define "organic" and is continuously struggling to
establish uniform and stable standards to assist consumers in
figuring it all out.
You might be surprised to learn that many "certified organic"
foods contain acceptable levels of pesticides and chemicals. On
the same note, naturally raised livestock may still be fed non-
organic feeds, or be given acceptable drugs or hormones.
Let us consider the production of poultry, which is popular meat
for both humans and pets.
"Free range" poultry means the chickens were let out of their
cages to roam free. They are "naturally fed" meaning that the
feed for these chickens was scattered on the ground. Then they
were allowed to scratch and peck the ground to ingest their food
"naturally."
Is that considered an organic food product already? Were the
grains and other components of the chicken feed grown
organically? Was the actual production of the feed done in
compliance with regulations to maintain organic standards?
What if the chickens ate some bugs while they were scratching the
ground? Were those bugs previously exposed to chemicals or
pesticides prior to being eaten by the chicken? Let's say the
farmer has done everything in his or her power to comply with
every regulation concerning the production of organic, free-range
chickens. Even the best-intentioned and well-educated farmers
cannot control environmental factors like air pollution, smog,
water pollution and acid rain. All these contributing to making
pet products "non-organic".
The USDA and FDA regulations concerning what is and what is not
be labeled as an organic pet product is unclear and confusing.
That is just for individual items, like animals raised for
slaughter, and individual vegetables, herbs and fruits.
Just try to imagine the difficulty in modifying whether products
like pet food, which is comprised of several ingredients, to be
labeled as organic. Common sense dictates that as long as each
and every ingredient used is "certified organic", then any final
product containing these ingredients would also fall into the
organic pet product category.
However, there is no rule on this for pet foods. This simply
means that a pet food manufacturer might use one or two organic
items out of the several recipes, and still be able to call the
finished product an organic one. The manufacturer is not doing
anything illegal by doing that.
The consumer would not be able to tell too. Besides, the price
tag on anything "organic" is much higher than a similar product
that does not make the claim. Seems to be the trend now also.
There is always that initial checking of the labels and
manufacturers to determine if what they are getting are really
pet products with "organic" all over it.
Majority of the people do not really seek out organic pet
products for themselves and their families to eat. But when it
comes to feeding their pets, the emphasis is on anything fresh
and ingredients of high quality.
Organic pet products are fine, but not really necessary. Grocery
store meats and vegetables that are sold for human consumption
are far superior to the ingredients contained in most
commercially produced pet foods.
Next time you go to purchase your pet's food, check the label and
ask these questions. Is it cooked? Does it contain too many
grains? Does it have any vegetables? Does it list any meat by-
products or meat meal? Are there any ingredients that you do not
recognize such as preservatives, additives, chemicals, dyes,
etc.?
Switching your pet to a "natural" diet comprised of fresh, raw,
human-grade meats and vegetables will provide a multitude of
health benefits too. And all this regardless of the fact whether
or not the individual ingredients you purchased is really an
organic pet product or not.
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