Barf advocates - what are your opinions on

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ChesnutsRoasting

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the welfare of the animals involved in food production i.e intensive farming? I'm sure a lot of people who go down the Barf route purchase the value ranges from supermarkets to feed their dogs - cripes, I can barely afford an organic, free range chicken for myself!

Please be gentle, its my first post and merely interested in your opinions.
 
This question could be viable for commercial foods too. What do people think about the welfare of the animals involved in food production that go in to the commercial stuff. At least the value ranges are "human grade" - imagine the grade of meat in commercial dog/ cat food, that is not good enough for human consumption - doesn't bear thinking about?

I'll feed mine what I would eat myself. Free range. We have our own chickens for eggs, and I feed my dogs Orijen, where the chicken is human grade barn free-run, who are fed only grain and are not fed any animal by-products.
 
Ditto lizzie

I would have thought the standard/care of animals in the commercial cheapo dog foods would be worse than that of human meat. Not human flesh but you know what I mean
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I think our cows go into pet food when they've finished milking, or they used to.

You couldn't eat anything over 30 months not long ago, so older ex--dairy cows would find their way into the pet food chain. They'd had a good life, but obviously could have been as old as 13 or so by the time they needed to be "sent off".

There would be no health issues with them, although I'm not sure how medication withdrawal periods stand for pet food grade meat. However, not intensively farmed. Not all pet food meat has to come from that avenue.

That said, I would hazard a guess that most pet food meat and meat products is imported from countries that have less strict controls on what bits of meat are allowed to go into the mix. Spinal cords etc are a huge no no after BSE.
 
Stella's food contains organic turkey, and I'm doing the switch over to wild salmon soon. With meats for me and my husband, I only buy organic or free-range from the farmers' markets, and it's easy peasy in NYC to buy dog food/treats with this in mind as well.
 
When i buy from the butcher i try and buy cruelty free meat but i am not ashamed to say i also buy the value stuff from the grocery store now and then.

At-least most of it comes from this country and is human grade which you can not say for commercial dog foods.

Most of it is crap that is left at the end of processing and most has traveled a number of countries and doesn't meet the standards we have here and in england.
 
Most of my diet comes from the Butcher so it is free range or humane and quality, in that respect their food is as good but consistently a better quality than mine, I can't afford the butcher every meal! Not only that but I am saving it going to waste or being cooked, so mine is a low carbon no carb diet!!! I am also supporting my local economy and most of the animals are produced locally to so feeling really eco friendly!

I do buy cheap at supermarkets now and again and reduced stuff, but it's not going to waste!

I don't think there are many restrictions at all on the grade of meat in commercial feed and since they are legally able to hide origin and certain ingredients by buying processed bits in I guess we won't know.

In the EU unlilke most states in the US, there are some restrictions and I believe no euthanased pets are allowed in, but in the USA they do find their way into dog food hence the book Food Your Pets Die For when author Ann Martin found that dead pets, plastic bags, flea and tick collars and barbituates find their way into dog food.

There was a piece on the National news last year that involved Crown Pet Foods, makers of Royal Canin, they had complaints about the smell from their processing plant in the West Country, so that stuff would not have been very fresh!!!!
 
Most sausages are made of headmeat. Fact. I have no problem eating what is essentially the scrapings from inside the head, maybe once or twice a month, because it tastes nice.

If you don't like your meat sources or you don't like the idea of it, do your research and buy accordingly.......
 
I personally prefer to source straight from the large caterers. We pick the chicken carcasses up the same day the caterers strip the bird for human grade food. Costs us £5 for a huge tray of carcasses.

I would never use any of the products that come out of the frozen bags specifically sold as "dog food"............. if I wouldn`t eat it then I`m def. not giving it to my dogs. My dogs are athletes and deserve to be fed as such

k rgds

Liz
 
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