Courageous and Determined Pet Owner

Although this took place in Australia, this courageous and determined pet owner speaks for many of us here in the U.S. too -- those of us who have done due diligence in researching pet foods any way. And for those of you who have not done any serious research on the foods (and treats) you buy and feed your pets, I know that if you had (or do), you would (or will) have come to the same conclusions and be standing there right beside this woman!

In 2016 I wrote about some of the problems with prescription pet foods, and another article about a class action lawsuit against the major makers of prescription pet foods. Also in 2016, a movie came out about pet food called Pet Fooled, which is now available to see here.

Not to mention, just this year two new documentaries came out -- The Dog Cancer Series: Rethinking the Canine Epidemic, and The Truth About Pet Cancer, both of which have dozens of experts discussing the role that food has on a pet's health.

I applaud Maria in Australia for being brave and determined to bring attention to the problems with prescription pet foods. One person CAN make a difference.

Read Maria's story here: https://truthaboutpetfood.com/one-determined-pet-owner/

Top 3 Pet Food Manufacturers

When only three companies own most of the pet foods, and then one of them buys up the majority of veterinary clinics and diagnostic labs...this is very scary.

Though these big companies want to own and control everything, we have to remember that We the People have the power! We are the ones who really have the power. We can send a clear message with every dollar we spend. We can become more educated and informed about the products we buy, especially when it comes to ours and our pets' foods. We can more carefully and consciously choose what to spend our money on and support those companies and products who are of higher quality, integrity and purpose. This will create more of what we want.

There are many smaller companies out there now and new ones starting up all the time that are offering healthier and better quality products, both for us and our pets. People just like you and I are creating these companies and products because there is a real need for it. It's time to look outside the box! (The organic food industry is growing by leaps and bounds!)

We are the ones we have been waiting for. It's time to remember your power and flex those spending muscles! 

Prescription Pet Food Lawsuit

As I have mentioned many times, including in two recent posts (May 2016 and June 2016), there are many problems with prescription pet foods that are finally coming to the surface.

I'm sure you have noticed that people are fed up with a lot of things these days, and this includes the pet food industry, including prescription pet foods. And now finally, a couple of law firms have teamed up and are representing consumers in a class action lawsuit against the four main manufacturers of prescription pet foods -- Hill's, Purina, Royal Canin and Iams.

Have you purchased a prescription pet food in the last four years? Have you been told that your pet needed a pet food available by prescription only? Were you referred to an on-site veterinarian (Banfield, BluePearl, for example) to write the prescription, with or without the need to examine your pet?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, please call and speak with one of the lawyers at the number provided in this article, which also explains more about it.

It's up to us to speak up and speak out for the animals!

I haven't given any of our pets prescription foods in over two decades and would never consider giving them, but a lot of my clients do and have.

To read more about the class action lawsuit and how to join it, go to:

http://www.walkuplawoffice.com/Pet-Food-Fraud-Landing-Page_ppc_lp.shtml

To read Susan Thixton's (TruthAboutPetFood.com) article about the lawsuit, go here:

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/another-pet-food-lawsuit/

Please help support pet food advocacy work by going here:

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/help-support-the-truth-2/

(Update 1/9/17): To read Dr. Karen Becker's article about this lawsuit go here:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2017/01/09/prescription-pet-foods-lawsuit.aspx

SUPPORT THE TRUTH

Prescription Pet Foods - Ignored Ethics

As I recently mentioned in a previous article, prescription pet foods have a list of problems, including never being proven to be safe or effective at what they claim the foods to be for, which caused the FDA to recently put in place a new compliance policy guidance stating that veterinarians are now responsible for the prescription foods. (I wonder how many veterinarians are even aware of this?)

Another issue that Susan Thixton, owner of TruthAboutPetFood.com, founding partner of AssociationforTruthinPetFood.com, and author of Buyer Beware, points out in a recent article is that one of the AVMA's  Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics (PVME), is being ignored when it comes to prescription pet foods. She's absolutely right. Read her article by clicking here.

This should be a wake up call for pet food consumers who feed their pets prescription foods. Do you really want to be giving your pets foods that have never been proven safe or effective -- according to the FDA themselves -- who, for this reason, recently gave all responsibility for these foods to vets? Foods that vets are selling and profiting from while ignoring the very ethical conduct they are expected to adhere to, which is “Veterinarians shall not promote, sell, prescribe, dispense, or use secret remedies or any other product for which they do not know the ingredients.”?  Foods that contain the very ingredients that you want to be avoiding? Ingredients that violate federal law? As Susan Thixton states, "Do you think many veterinarians prescribing Rx pet foods know what poultry by products or animal fat is? Have they read the science on carrageenan? It’s simple…most do not know." 

Other questions I have are: Do you think they (vets) know what GMOs are? And that the Rx foods contain them? If they did, do you think they would still prescribe them, especially considering they are now the responsible party for Rx foods?

Check out this excellent article listing the Top Ten Myths About Pet Food and Nutrition by Dr. Jean Hofve, Holistic Veterinarian, and see what she has to say about prescription foods, which is the first on her list.

Here is a very informative (13 min.) video explaining GMOs and some of the studies done on them, by one of my favorite health researchers Mike Adams, The Health Ranger.





And another (9 min.) short video from Anthony Samsel of the Glyphosate paper by Samsel and Seneff, sharing results of a study as well:

Prescription Pet Foods

You know how the FDA has strictly enforced the idea that drugs are the only cure or treatment of illness and that no one in the food industry is allowed to make any wellness or health claims when it comes to food products? 

But did you know that the FDA allows the pet food industry the same privilege as a drug? The FDA allows prescription pet foods to claim they cure or treat diseases AND they can do so without any of the requirements of a drug -- such as having to prove the effectiveness or safety! Doesn't that sound crazy? It's true!

And because these "food drugs" have not been proven for effectiveness or safety, (which the FDA themselves state) the FDA has a new Compliance Policy Guidance  which states that prescription pet foods are now the responsibility of the veterinarians! Not the FDA, not the pet food companies, but the veterinarians are responsible for the efficacy and safety of prescription pet foods. 

Whoa, that's pretty heavy. 

This puts vets in the position that they must learn about the ingredients in these foods, and as Susan Thixton of Truth About Pet Food puts it:

"And should a veterinarian not invest the time to learn the risks of many ingredients used in prescription pet foods – because the FDA dumped responsibility of the safety and efficacy of these pet foods into the lap of veterinarians, it appears the the FDA just set them up for consumer lawsuits (should the prescription pet food cause additional illness to the pet)."

"...should the prescription pet food cause additional illness to the pet."  How can they not, when these foods are full of GMO ingredients, carcinogens and other ingredients I would never want to feed my animals? The problem is, how would you prove it? 

Is it worth the risk of giving your pets foods that have not even been proven to be safe, let alone actually be effective at what they claim?

The last time I gave one of our pets a prescription food was almost two decades ago. It definitely had an adverse affect on our pet, (a dog who had never been on a prescription food before) of which the symptoms disappeared immediately upon removing the prescription food. She had never experienced the problem before the food either. I told our vet about it but they didn't or couldn't believe it was the food and dismissed it, though it was very obvious to us. It was the food and I didn't even know much at all about pet foods then. After researching pet foods and the ingredients in them for many years now, it's easy to understand. 

Still today, when I read the ingredient list of the prescription foods that I see people feeding their pets, I just cringe. Now that the FDA has created this new Compliance Policy Guidance (CPG) on prescription pet foods and given all the responsibility to vets, maybe now they will re-evaluate being in the pet food business altogether. I certainly hope so.

For more details on this subject including the ingredients of prescription foods and the new FDA CPG, please click here.