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GREEN GUIDE

Green Matters™
by Crissy Trask

Welcome to my blog where I share almost anything I think will help make greener living undeniable and simple. News, tips, insight and resources served up weekly. I also share my perspectives on others' perspectives and actions. Agree or disagree, I hope you will find them thought-provoking and a starting point for conversation.

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OCTOBER 22, 2009

Hey foodies...what are you feeding your pet?

Most pet owners that are careful to include healthy, organic foods in their own diet, look the other way when it comes to feeding their pet. It's not that we don't want our pets to have the very best; it's more a factor of cost. A high-end pet food that is both organic and stays away from by-products, unhealthy amounts of cheap starchy fillers and chemical preservatives can cost up to three times as much as the most popular selling name brand. If you have a large breed dog or several pets to feed, paying over $3 a pound for pet food could blow the budget.

So what are our options for following our food ethic when it comes to our pet's diet? Without breaking the bank, how can we avoid pet foods that are made up of ingredients we carefully avoid in our own diets, including factory-farmed meat products, pesticide-tainted plant products, GMOs, excessive carbohydrates and chemical additives? As mentioned before, organic, boutique brands are just too expensive for most people to afford on a long term basis. If you want to follow your food ethic and give your pet or pets the same access to ingredients that are healthful for them and the environment--at a reasonable cost--you'll most likely have to make your own pet food. If you think you have the time--and extra freezer space--to do this, there are lots of good books on the subject, and I'd recommend reading more than one. You'll notice right away that different books will make different and sometimes conflicting recommendations, so in addition to doing your own research, have recipes checked by a veterinarian or nutritionist to ensure that they will provide your pet with the nutrients and calories it will need long-term.

Here are some tips for keeping the cost of natural ingredients down:
-Buy fruits and vegetables in bulk when they are in season and the cheapest. Then blanch and freeze them for later use.
-Purchase meat or poultry parts. The company Primal Pet Foods makes "grinds" consisting of hormone, antibiotic and steroid free ground meats, meaty bones and organ meats.

If you want to learn more about conventional pet food ingredients, read the Animal Protection Institute's article, "What's Really in Pet Food."