What do candy and kibble have in common? They are both owned by MARs Inc, which monopolizes the vet business.
A monopoly occurs when one company and its products dominate an entire industry and there is little to no competition. Consumers must purchase specific products or services from the one company. In the case of MARs Inc., they own the kibble, the vets, the hospitals, the vaccines, the medication, the labs and the diagnostic testing and keep acquiring more and more. Candy and kibble have way more in common than they should.
MARs Inc., the same company that manufactures M&M's, Twix, Skittles, 3 Musketeers, Orbit Gum, Dove chocolate, Juicy fruit, Lifesavers, Snickers and Starbursts, to name a few, is the same company that makes the most popular brands of kibble including Eukanuba, Greenies, Iams, Orijen, Pedigree, Royal Canin and many, many more. Candy and kibble have way more in common than they should.
This company, and companies like it including Purina and Hill's also sponsor vet schools. The Pet Food Program from UC Davis, which allows members, residents, faculty and students receive pet food from brands like Hill and Royal Canin at heavily discounted prices. Purina also funded the Nutrition Centers at Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals, Michigan State University, Colorado State University (Read more on that here). This makes attaining an unbiased education very difficult, if not impossible.
Some big-name veterinary hospitals, clinics and diagnostics they own in the United States include Anicure, Amtech Diagnostics / Sound, Banfield, Blue Pearl, Mount Pleasant Veterinary Group and the VCA Animal Hospitals.
They recently acquired Heska, a veterinary diagnostic group for $1.3 billion. You can read the press release here. And now, they are about acquire SYNLab Vet, a European Veterinary Reference Laboratory. You can read more on this acquisition here.
So let's get this straight: The company that manufactures candy, also manufactures most of the popular kibble brands, owns most of the popular animal hospitals and local vets), sponsors many vet schools and owns diagnostic testing too. They also use the left over by-products of candy to manufacture kibble. Some examples of these ingredients include sugar beets and dried bakery products. Again, candy and kibble have way more in common than they should.
This is unethical, but anything goes in the vet biz. This is because businesses are about profit, and not keeping animals alive or well. Monopolies like MARs Inc. are the dog food guys that fund vet schools and work with the vaccine guys to make laws on what is legal and approved. The dog food guy is also besties with the vet board guy because that guy is also funded by the vaccine guy. This is the equivalent to fast-food owning the nutritional information your doctor gets. Oh wait, this happens too!
So who cares? What is the big deal?
The big deal is that our animals are getting sicker and fatter. It is estimated that 65% of the dogs in the UK and USA are overweight or obese. Obesity and disease rates are skyrocketing and is accepted as normal, when it is anything but. Dog genetics haven't changed, but their environments have. The food they eat, the vaccines they get and the medical care that they receive are the culprits.
And companies like the constantly expanding MARs Inc., the keeper of all things animal care, actually do not care about your animal, despite genius marketing. The more businesses they acquire within the animal sector is a loss for the rest of us trying to keep our animals alive and thriving, not fat and sick.
If you want to get your dog off of the merry-go-round of sickness and disease start by feeding a high quality diet made of protein, veggies and fruit that most closely resembles what they would eat in the wild. Please click here to learn more about what to feed your dog. If your dog is sick and you need some guidance on helping them feel better, please visit Bobzilla's Happy, Healthy Life Made Simple.
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The veterinary business is business which is not in the business of curing your animal, but Bobzilla's business is. Bobzilla is committed to one hundred percent transparency in all of its scientific research into animal wellness and prevention of disease and one… read moreDonate to Bobzilla.org
