By definition, a drug dealer is a person that sells drugs, typically illegal ones. You pay them in exchange for their services and products.
I would argue that if you take your dog to the vet and they don't ask about your dog's lifestyle including nutrition, exercise, sleep, access to the outdoors and fresh water, exposure to toxins before prescribing you whatever medication, they are no different than drug dealers.
Read on for why many well-intended vets just don't know any better.
Vet schools teach aspiring vets how to treat symptoms, not actually heal the underlying issue and restore balance in the body. They are armed with an arsenal of antibiotics, steroids, flea meds, vaccines and kibble and are not taught how dangerous these products can be.
These products are not designed to help your dog thrive, they are designed to keep them alive. Unfortunately, the industry is corrupt. Vet schools are funded by the dog food guy, the dog food guy is also owned by the vaccine guy and the vaccine guy makes the laws on what makes what legal and what is approved. The dog food guy is also friends with the vet board guy because the vet board guy is funded by the vaccine guy.
According to Dr. Karen Becker, DVM, “one of the interesting things that’s different between veterinary medicine and between human medicine (a lot of people don’t realize this) is that with human medicine, of course, there’s Big Pharma that’s funding millions, billions of dollars into research to promote a certain product. But in veterinary medicine, we’ve got major dog food companies and major pharmaceutical and vaccine companies that are funding research" (Read more on that here).
Since vet schools are funded by kibble companies, attaining an unbiased education is really tough. For example, MARs Inc., the maker of Royal Canin sponsors the Pet Food Program at UC Davis, which allows residents, faculty and students to buy their kibble at discounted prices. Additionally, Nestle Purina funds the Purina funds the Nutrition Centers at Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals, Michigan State University, Colorado State University (Read more on that here). There is no way for aspiring vets, particularly in these programs to receive objective nutrition information.
Although some nutrition knowledge is required to pass vet licensing exams in the US, they are not provided with a robust nutrition education. What our dogs eat determine how certain genes are expressed. Highly processed kibble, high in refined carbohydrates, candy by-products, genetically modified corn, refined seed oils and other toxic ingredients will likely turn on genes for diabetes and cardiovascular disease whereas an ancestrally appropriate diet of protein and vegetables most likely won't. This is how epigenetics works.
Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.
According to the Morris Animal Foundation, "Epigenetics affect how, when and whether genes are read by cells. By altering the physical structure of a DNA strand, for instance, genes can be turned on (expressed) or off (ignored by the cell). Countless environmental factors can affect specific gene expression.
Dr. Mehmet Oz stated, "Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger." Dogs are predisposed to whatever their genetic makeup is, but what they eat, the medication consumed, vaccines administered, their homes, sleeping habits, exercise routines, hydration, sun exposure, and age all influence what genes are expressed and when (Read more here).
It makes perfect sense that most vets will push a pill as the cure all for every ailment because that is how they have been taught, trained and educated. Modern medication is important and should absolutely be used in life-saving situations, but not before all other options have been exhausted.
Is your vet a drug dealer?