Obama Administration bans use of antibiotics in healthy livestock

Article excerpt from Organic Consumers site/

Good news. Fantastic that Obama is dealing with so many of these kinds of every day issues that you know the Bush Administration would have NEVER even have considered. Of course it makes no sense to administer antibiotics to healthy livestock. Do you think his staffers and colleagues are reading articles like this one by Michael Pollan?

Our Decrepit Food Factories/

I'm careful, when dealing with local butchers and farmers, to ensure that I am dealing with people who do NOT administer antibiotics to the chickens, rabbits, turkey and cornish hens that I buy for my cats' food. I certainly don't want them being exposed to unnecessary antibiotics as part of their daily menu. All the more reason to ask questions and build a good relationship with your local farmer through your local farmers' market so you are familiar with their farming practices.

New Canadian pet food policy?

Well, two years after the Menu Foods pet food recalls, the Canadian government is finally getting around to doing something in the way of regulating imports. Since that time we have seen continous recalls of food products -- both pet food and human food -- for various kinds of contaminants and toxins.

We have seen a flurry of press releases and announcements from PM Harper but no detailed concrete legislative action around insuring the safety of our food supply system in a world of globalized trade. Hmm...Harper's "action plan" -- how will this be enforced?

Will the government actually respond to public complaints about ingredients in pet food? Where is there mention of any kind of database tracking system for documenting problems with these products?

Are they even asking the right questions when there are so many issues with processed food products for pets and humans? What role did the lobbyists and industry play in this process?

Harper's spin on food safety

The new policies, which came into effect July 1, 2009 are not actually available for public scrutiny at the moment. Keep checking this link -- when the policy is finally released this is where it can be downloaded.
AHPD-DSAE-IE-2001-9-6
Pet Food

Chemnutra pleads guilty to melamine in pet food

Chemnutra was identified as the source of melamine for the 2007 pet food recalls. The recalls occurred because all the major multinational food companies were using the same supplier. The Millers, a married couple who are the CEOs of ChemNutra, are getting fined and may be going to prison. So that lets the big multinationals off the hook -- the ones who were clamouring for a cheaper price on gluten. Never mind that glutens are not an advisable source of protein for cat.... or that many people have developed gluten sensitivities.

So now the CEOs of the multinationals can say, well see, it wasn't us. Just like Royal Canin is claiming that they were "victims" of fraud themselves. I don't think this argument will stand up well as a legal defense.

Here's the PDF of their guilty plea:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/06/miller_plea.pdf

What's even more troubling is how pervasive melamine is in our food supply system -- not only wheat and corn gluten in pet food, but biscuits, infant formula, chocolate bars, Canadian cocoa, coffee...the list goes on. And when the FDA thought people weren't looking (yes it was true everyone was watching the US presidential race at the time) they quietly APPROVED melamine for the food supply system? Hello? Poison in our food and our kitties' food is okay?

I'm not joking. You can read the FDA report here.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2008/ucm116960.htm

Makena in June

Okay cat gallery fans....you keep asking me for more pictures. Yes this kitty is something special. Makena's diet serves as a positive counterpoint to the globalized multinational pet food industry menu. Many people say they don't have the time to invest in feeding their cats a more natural diet but do you have the time to deal with a sick kitty and thousands of dollars in vet bills when your cat becomes ill from species-inappropriate commercial pet food formulations?

I find I'm spending the same amount feeding a raw diet as I did feeding species inappropriate multinational veterinarian kibble. The price points are not the same as the 69 cents a tin people are used too, but once you do the math, you'll see you are getting better value for money feeding your obligate carnivore correctly.

And as you can see, feeding a raw diet gets you a beautiful kitty like this. Who could argue with this picture of feline health and happiness and contentment?

Cat treats with a difference -- another alternative menu recipe for cats

Makena and Manu get homemade cat treats every day...in fact, they've come to expect these. Makena pokes her head into the fridge every night and points to the container I keep these jerky treats in. Her favorite is chicken hearts, which are loaded with nutrients that every kitty needs.

Dried meat treats are easy to make for your cats. All you need is a dehydrator. Here, I've tossed organic chicken hearts on one of the trays. You can load up multiple trays at once with different things if you wish or just dehydrate a single tray. I plug in the dehydrator, let it dehydrate for about 7 hours and then store in a container in the fridge.

It's best to do small amounts since there are no preservatives or added to these treats and they will only last a few days. Watch out for any potential mould that may develop and if that happens, just toss them.

You can experiment to see what your cat likes. Fish skins are popular here (and those will keep outside the fridge for more than a few days) as are chicken thighs, salmon, bits of lamb or goat pieces. Of course I get pieces of meat without the bone for dehydrating purposes.

FDA suspends temporary emergency permit of pet food company

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm166265.htm

Interesting. Maybe in the age of Obama the FDA's two staffers in the Centre for Veterinary Medicine (yes there are only two people working in that department) feel emboldened enough to start holding pet food companies to account.

That's doesn't change the fact that there are many regulatory changes and legal changes needed to reign the industry in. Governments in Canada and the US need the power to issue product recalls. Shockingly there is nothing in the law in either country that allows either government to do this.

Tainted pet food supplier to plead guilty

Two stories I got in my google alerts this morning. Note that the importers were an American firm doing business with China, a critical fact often unreported or under-reported in the many stories about this case.

Tainted pet food suppliers to plead guilty/

Suppliers knowlingly imported tainted pet food/