Sugar companies like Mars Inc., and Nestle Purina are perhaps the most business savvy companies in the world.  

Let's think about this for a moment.  The same companies who are producing snickers and M&M's are the same companies producing most of the major kibble brands including Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Purina and Pedigree. 

I do think in light of the ongoing and seemingly never-ending COVID saga, people have become more aware of their health, which includes an awareness of nutrition, food intake and the importance of limiting sugar.  I also believe these same people apply the same knowledge or intuition into the care of their animals, which also suggests that people are willing to spend more money on their pets' diet to keep them healthy too.

With that said, I think we can all agree that when we are hungry, grabbing a snickers or any other type of candy is NOT the healthiest choice.  In fact, in December 2022, Mars Inc., announced there is a brand new "hi protein" snickers bar with 20 grams of protein.  There are 20grams of carbs in it, with only 3 added grams of sugar which really isn't horrific.  However, the ingredients are absolutely atrocious and include palm oil, high oleic sunflower oil, natural flavors (which are actually anything but natural) and will undoubtedly create inflammation in the body. 

So essentially, more protein, less sugar and most of the same other garbage ingredients. You can read more on the nutrition info here. 

What does this have to do with dog food? 

Remember, that same company that is manufacturing sugar is the same company manufacturing the most popular dog food.  Please note they are a business and their number 1 priority is profit.  Period.  So with this excess sugar that is not being used as much in their candy products, what do they do with it? 

The sugar has to go somewhere for them to profit. 

Enter candy industry by-products and kibble ingredients. 

An example of this candy industry by-product is dried beet pulp, which is  sometimes used as a fiber filler in pet foods and is a by-product of sugar beet processing. Sugar beets are generally used to make sugar, which are all genetically modified.  Less sugar in candy bars means more sugar in kibble.  Mars Inc., is a brilliant money-making machine. 

"Dried beet pulp is indeed high in fiber. Additionally, it’s low in sugar. Processing extracts the sugar from the sugar beets. This is a product that once would have gone to waste, but is now used by pet food and livestock manufacturers" (Read more on that here).

Unsurprisingly, IAMS, a popular kibble food company owned by the one and only Mars Inc., uses dried beet pulp to "keep your dog's digestive system healthy" (Source: IAMS.com).  Since Mars Inc., is interested in making money and not interested in the health of your animal, they will make whatever claim necessary to keep their customers buying more.  

Dogs don't need any extra sugar in their diets period.  Dogs have 42 teeth intended to cut meat and bone, just like wolves.  They are genetically designed to survive and eat prey, not donuts, pizza or anything else highly processed, like kibble and the dried beet pulp used, amongst other unhealthy ingredients to make it. 

Remember, the veterinary industry, which is basically owned by sugar companies and is in the business of making money by selling products.  They are not in the business of keeping animals thriving or healthy, alive is good enough.  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.

If you want to keep your dog healthy, feed raw.  A raw food diet mimics an ancestral eating pattern, which is based on the dogs’ instinctive  and built-in desire to capture or find and eat another animal, meat, bones, organs and all (Source: DogFoodAdvisor).  Notice, this type of diet is high in protein, fat and low in carbohydrates, and does not contain any candy by-products, as nature intended.