Is Purina, pure evil? Perhaps. Purina is owned by Nestle, a company that dominates both the dog food and human life industry. In terms of dog food they own:
- Alpo
- Beggin
- Bella
- Beneful
- Beyond
- Dentalife
- Everroot
- Just Right
- Moist & Meaty
- Purina Dog Chow
- Purina One
- Purina Pro Plan
- Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets
- Purina Puppy Chow.
Popular brands for humans they own include:
- Buitoni
- Carnation
- Cheerios
- Chef-Mate
- Coffee-Mate
- Dreyer's
- Gerber
- Haagen-Dazs
- Hot Pockets
- Lean Cuisine
- Milky Bar
- Nescafe
- Nespresso
- Nesquick
- Nestea
- Nestle Ice Cream
- Perrier
- Pellegrino
- Smarties
- Stouffer's
- Tollhouse
Just like their products for humans, their products for dogs are highly processed, full of inflammatory ingredients and definitely don't contribute to optimal health. I used to think it was simply about a behemoth business selling products to make money at the expense of animals and their companions.
But what if it is way more evil than that?
What if they know exactly what they are doing on purpose to make our animals sicker and sell you another useless and harmful product to sort of improve (not heal) the sickness they caused in the first place?
The answer is, yes to both questions. They know exactly what they are doing and they are way more evil than I originally thought. Here's why:
According to the Purina Institute, "In 1999, Purina partnered with Cornell University to develop the Canine Reference Family DNA Distribution Center, a common platform for worldwide genetic data exchange. This canine reference family DNA helped researchers place hundreds of markers near specific genes and chromosomes, improving studies of how diseases – such as familial cancers – develop in both dogs and people. Purina also supports DNA sequencing research, which contributed to the completion of the international, multi-institutional collaboration leading to the first whole canine genome sequence. With more accurate knowledge of the canine genome, scientists can better compare DNA among dogs and other species to understand how genetic changes can affect health"
So, they understand how disease works, like cancer.
They also know that "DNA contains the chemical codes that provide the instructions for every cell function. By tracking which genes are turned on or off under different conditions, researchers can identify how gene expression changes between healthy and unhealthy dogs and cats and then evaluate the impact of nutrients on gene activity"
They also understand that certain genes are turned on and off with nutrition.
And, "Purina was one of the first pet food companies to apply omics to better understand the connections between nutrition and genetics. This molecular-level focus continually reveals new mechanisms by which nutrients can improve pet health."
They use omics, which are fancy technologies that are used to measure and characterize biomolecules in cells or tissues designed to study genes (genomics), RNA's (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics), and metabolites (metabolomics).
This technology helps them understand what nutrients improve health.
So if they know what nutrients improve health, they understand that certain genes are turned on an off with nutrition, and they understand how disease works, then why are all of their products, including kibble made with highly-inflammatory, disease-causing ingredients?
Below are the ingredients in Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet Gastroenteric Canine Formula, a diet that claims to promote digestibility and nutrient absorption and support the immune system for dogs that have digestive issues.
Unfortunately, there is a zero percent chance this particular blend of kibble will do what it is marketed to do. Here's why:
- Brewer's Rice: This ingredient is listed first, which means that Brewer's Rice makes up a lot of the food. Brewer's rice is small milled fragments of rice kernels. Rice is a refined grain. Rice is high in carbohydrates and will spike glucose if fed regularly. These regular glucose spikes lead to inflammation and disease because dogs are not meant to digest them. Unfortunately, Brewer's rice is highly processed and like most grains, is sprayed in glyphosate, a herbicide linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage and reproductive and developmental issues.
- Corn Gluten Meal: This is a by-product of corn, which means all of the ideal nutrients have been stripped away and the rest is fed to animals. Also sprayed in glyphosate.
- Whole Grain Corn: This is yet another highly refined grain that is high in carbohydrates. Also sprayed in glyphosate.
- Chicken Meal: Chicken meal is a by-product of chicken. Meaning the ideal parts of the chicken are stripped away and used in human products and the remains are used in kibble.
- Wheat Bran: Wheat bran is made of the outer layers of what kernel and is a starch with some protein in it and is used to promote digestion. Also sprayed in glyphosate.
- Natural Flavor: These are basically mystery ingredients that the government define as those that come from chemicals and manipulated in a lab for color or flavor. These are not ideal ingredients, especially if your dog is sick.
- Soybean oil: This is a highly refined seed oil that is high in omega 6, which has been linked to increased inflammation, which leads to disease.
- Remaining Vitamins and Chemicals: If the food was so healthy in the first place, there wouldn't be a need to add in vitamins or chemicals.
So if they know what nutrients improve health, they understand that certain genes are turned on an off with nutrition, and they understand how disease works, then why are all of their products, including kibble made with highly-inflammatory, disease-causing ingredients?
If your dog has is sick you are much better off figuring out why your dog sick in the first place. If your dog is having issues, it is because his or her immune system is weak. Then we must ask, why is their immune system weak? What caused it? Did we unknowingly give them something to make their immune system weak?
The major culprits are unhealthy foods the dog isn't designed to process, vaccinations that overwhelmed the dog and overuse of medication. You can learn more about this here.
If your dog is sick and you need some help figuring out what to do, please check out Bobzilla's Healthy, Happy Life Made Simple.