For your dog to get the appropriate level of nutrients from a commercial diet, it needs to be a high quality diet, consisting of high - quality protein sources (
not meat byproducts), fruits and vegetables and other nutrients such as calcium, beta carotine and vitamin A.
For cats, chicken, fish or beef should be the first ingredient in canned food and
not meat byproducts.
Optimally, you want there to be a high quality meat source and
not meat byproducts (which are unspecified parts left over after animals are slaughtered).
Human grade whole meat such a chicken, beef, or lamb (
not meat byproducts or «meal») is the best choice, and should be listed first on the ingredient label.
Not exact matches
Many types of
meat, organ
meats, fish and foul are eaten, but they are humanely raised on their natural diets or wild caught, and have
not been force fed grain, gobs of soy, animal
byproducts, antibiotics and hormones to obtain maximum growth in minimum time.
However, to be Vegan, one
not only does
not consume
meat or
meat byproducts, one also has cut out all dairy products, as well.
It does
not contain
meat byproducts, gluten, artificial flavors, dyes or chemicals.
However, substitute
byproducts and white
meats, like chicken, do
not have the same acidifying effect.
AFFCO, or the Association of American Feed Control Officers, explains that chicken
byproducts can refer to any «non-rendered, clean parts, other than
meat, derived from slaughtered animals...» Even though the term «
byproducts» does
not refer to hair, teeth, or horns, it applies to intestines, feet, and parts of the head.
Pet food companies use animal
byproducts because they are cheaper compared to other
meat products,
not because they are more nutritious.
Byproduct means any part of the animal that is
not muscle
meat, such as the liver, intestine, and other organ
meat that can be very nutritious for your pet.
That means protein from actual
meat based sources,
not the animal
byproducts, low quality expired
meat from grocery stores or
meat that isn't fit for human consumption.
Moreover, the better quality puppy foods list the specific
meat and do
not use
byproducts such as beaks, feathers and bone meal.
But science actually says that
byproduct meals are a good source of minerals that may
not be present in whole
meats.
Animal
byproducts or
meat meals should
not be part of a pet's food.
What AAFCO doesn't mention is that
meat byproducts may also legally contain: «4D animals (dead, dying, diseased, down), road kill, euthanized cats and dogs, including their collars.
She is a vegan, eschewing
not only
meat, but all animal
byproducts, including dairy.
Note that the «
byproducts» you see in the list consist of processing leftovers and are
not primarily
meat.
While Wellness doesn't use
meat byproducts, it does incorporate
meat «meals» — dried,
meat - based, protein - dense additives that pack a lot more nutrition per pound than raw, fresh, moisture - rich muscle
meat.
There is a new generation of commercial cat and dog foods, from raw to freeze - dried, canned to dry, that contain organically certified, whole food ingredients * properly formulated and balanced, (i.e.
not loaded with cereal and
meat industry
byproducts), that are now appearing on grocery shelves, and being marketed by local and national supply networks.
What we are talking about here is
not exactly «waste» but
byproducts (from
meat as well as milled grains and other sources) left over from human food processing are found in many poor quality and even higher quality foods, especially when the pet food company is owned by one of the giant companies that also own plants for processing human foods.
The best part of the food is that it contains no gluten, grains, beef, wheat, soy or corn, and also does
not contains artificial preservatives, rendered
meats or their
byproducts.
These mystery
meat ingredients go by vague names like «
meat meal,» «
meat and bone meal,» or «
byproduct meal,» which we don't want to risk feeding to our puppy.
These are often listed simply as «
meat meal,» «
meat and bone meal,» or «
byproduct meal,» which doesn't exactly inspire confidence.