Recall Alert Update 05/21/09: Ooops, they did it again...

Please check the Recall Alert for important updates posted today as Nutro Products once again Announces Voluntary Recall of Limited Range of Dry Cat Food Products

Novel protein kangaroo on eco menu and yet another novel protein source to arrive on the market soon: Camel

In my recent comment “Pets with food allergies? Try another Novel Protein: Kangaroo, also a great source of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)” I talked about the possibility, advantages and availability of kangaroo as a novel protein source to help pets with food allergies. Just the other day and related to kangaroo MSN reported on kangaroos in an article by the French press agency Agence France Presse as well, however with a little different twist: “Saving the planet by eating kangaroos and wild camels may seem like pie in the sky, but the offbeat menu comes with a scientific stamp of approval in Australia. The aim in both cases is to reduce damage to the environment, but the reasoning behind the push to put the animals on the menu is sharply different. In the case of kangaroos, environmentalists say the national animal should become a dietary staple in place of cattle and sheep as part of the fight against global warming. The farm animals make a major contribution to Australia's greenhouse gas emissions simply by belching and farting, while kangaroos emit negligible amounts of dangerous methane gas.
In other words, there should be more kangaroos and fewer farm animals. "For most of Australia's human history -- around 60,000 years -- kangaroo was the main source of meat," the government's top climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut noted in a major report on global warming recently. "It could again become important."
In the case of camels, scientists say eating the imported animals would be one way of reducing the million-strong feral herd -- one of the largest on earth -- running amok in the fragile ecosystems of the outback. "Eat a camel today, I've done it," says Professor Murray McGregor, co-author of a three-year study on the humpbacked pests presented to the government last month. In each case, the scientists admit they face a struggle to change Australia's eating habits, but believe strongly in the need to somehow cut the numbers of sheep, cattle and camels. Garnaut's study concluded that by 2020, beef cattle and sheep numbers could be reduced by seven million and 36 million respectively, allowing for an increase in kangaroo numbers to 240 million by 2020, from 34 million now. He acknowledged, however, that there were some problems in this plan, including livestock and farm management issues, consumer resistance and the gradual nature of change in food tastes. The idea of farming kangaroos -- which appear on the Australian coat of arms, for human consumption is distasteful to some, but many health-conscious Australians already eat kangaroo meat. "It's low in fat, it's got high protein levels, it's very clean in the sense that basically it's the ultimate free range animal," says Peter Ampt of the University of New South Wales's institute of environmental studies. A similar argument was put forward last month in an attempt to whet Australian appetities for camel meat.
A three-year study found that Australia's population of more than a million feral camels is out of control and damaging fragile desert ecosystems, water sources, rare plants and animals. The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, which produced the report presented to the federal government, said a good way to bring down the number of camels is to eat them. "It's beautiful meat. It's a bit like beef. It's as lean as lean, it's an excellent health food," said McGregor. Unlike the native kangaroo, camels were introduced into Australia as pack animals for the vast outback in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but were released into the wild as rail and road travel became more widespread. With few natural predators and vast sparsely-populated areas in which to roam, the population has soared to around a million and is now doubling about every nine years, the centre's Glenn Edwards told AFP. While putting camels on the menu could help reduce their numbers, and is one of the proposals in the report, Edwards admits it is unlikely that Australia can eat its way out of the problem. Hundreds of thousands of camels will have to be removed to bring the numbers down to a point where they cause minimal damage, he said.
"I think (eating them) is an option that may work in some areas but it won't be the panacea," he said. The local market for camel meat would be limited and even given the fact that there is a large demand from some countries overseas it would be difficult to harvest and process the animals. "To commercially use camels in that way you need to have access to them, so you need roads and, depending on how you are processing them, electricity and water.
"Parts of the range have the infrastructure but other places are simply too remote, nobody lives out there." The only way to deal with the populations in those areas if they did not become commercially viable would be to shoot them from helicopters, he said, and leave them to rot. Switching from cattle and sheep to kangaroos also faces problems, said beef farmer Kelvin Brown. "In theory farming kangaroos is probably good because they are selective grazers, don't tend to overgraze country and have a good conversion rate of feed into meat," he said from his farm Ykicamoocow. But the practicalities would keep farmers on the hop. "You would need ten-feet high fencing similar to the deer industry," Brown said. Transporting kangaroos to the abattoir would also be fraught with difficulties. "You are dealing with an animal that isn't used to being touched or herded and apparently they do have quite high rates of heart attacks from fright and also tend to damage themselves quite easily, break legs, things like that. "So although this idea of farming kangaroos is good, probably the only way you could do it would be to shoot the kangaroos on the farm and have some system of butchering on site."
Given the difficulties, it seems that kangaroos and camels will not become a staple of the Australian diet any time soon and environmentalists will have to look elsewhere for solutions to the planet's problems.”
Quite interesting. My initial reaction is that pets could possibly help the cause quite a bit. During the initial months since we started carrying pet food based on kangaroo as a protein source we have seen a growing following. Comments made by pet owners and now repeat purchases lead us to believe we got something what seems to work well and also is well received by pets. Plus I also see the possibility that there is another novel protein source appearing on the horizon: Camel. And with the rate the number of pets with pet food allergies is increasing, we need all the help we can get. After all camel meat seems to grow in popularity in Australia. As an Australian food publication said: “They say that camel meat actually tastes like beef, so much so that even experienced cattlemen can't tell the difference. Not only that, but the meat is also low in cholesterol.” And if it’s fit for human consumption then I don’t see a reason why it may not work for our cats and dogs. PetFoodIndustry.com in its e-newsletter last year in June reported: “The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service of Australia is pushing for feral camels to become the new pet meat. Spokesman Glenn Edwards says kangaroos are commonly used for animal food but a recent drought in the country has caused a population decrease and an increase in ingredient prices.
Pastoral farmers are also concerned about the booming camel numbers, as more than a million currently roam across Central Australia. Edwards says there is certainly enough demand for camels to become a viable option. "Processers are looking for cheap protein to go into petfood. Obviously they're looking at camels and there are small operations already happening where camels are used for petfood." “I guess the question is not if it is going to happen but when is it happening. After all, in our store we already have the opportunity to occasionally get and sell Llama, a close relative of the camel family.

Nutrition for Puppies & Kittens: Common dietary requirements

I always say and you have to admit, puppies and kittens are just like human babies in many ways. They can get cold very easily, they can get sick easily, and they require frequent meals. They rely on their mother for care and food in the initial weeks after they are born. In most cases, puppies or kittens go home with someone new between 6 and 8 weeks of age. This is where we come in as new puppy or kitten owners. It can be very difficult to choose the right puppy food or kitten food, but with some knowledge of the importance of diet to your new puppy or kitten’s health, you can easily make the right decision. When feeding dry or canned food, a good quality growth formula is very important for your rapidly growing puppy. New advances in pet nutrition allow you to provide your puppy with optimal nutrition for optimal health. Small and medium breed puppies should be fed differently than large or giant breed puppies. The primary difference is the fat and calorie content of the foods that are appropriate for the different sized breeds. Small and medium breed puppies benefit from higher fat levels or formulas with greater energy density. Because these tiny puppies do not eat a large volume of food, they should be fed a diet that contains at least 15% fat to achieve optimal growth and development. Large and giant breed puppies should be fed diets that are lower in fat and calories to help them grow more slowly so that they are less likely to develop bone and joint abnormalities. While genetics is the most important factor affecting the health of the bones and joints of these puppies, diet can play a role by promoting too rapid of a growth rate. Keeping puppies in lean body condition is something that will help keep them healthier throughout their lives. For more information regarding developmental abnormalities of the skeletal system, please read our companion articles: Developmental Orthopedic Disease or Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy and Panosteitis. Kittens benefit from kitten foods that are high in protein and high in fat. This type of formula is lower in carbohydrates than diets that are lower in protein or fat. Cats are carnivores, designed to consume high protein diets with very little, if any, carbohydrate content. Dry pet foods must contain carbohydrates, this is just a requirement of the manufacturing process. However, feeding your kitten a kitten food that is greater than 30% protein and greater than 18% fat will help provide your kitten with optimal nutrition for growth, development, and health. Antioxidants are important additions to any puppy food or kitten food. Vitamin E and selenium are recognized as two of the most critically important antioxidants for the health of your pet. Look on the Guaranteed Analysis for nutrient guarantees of these two important antioxidants. As food is digested and metabolized, one of the by-products of this process is a particle called a free radical. The formation of free radicals is just part of everyday living. Because young animals take in such a large number of calories, their bodies produce free radicals at a higher rate. Young animals have more natural mechanisms to rid themselves of these pesky particles, but benefit from a diet that includes some additional help in neutralizing these charged oxygen molecules. Free radicals damage healthy cells by injuring the membrane, or covering, around the cell. Neutralizing the free radicals with antioxidants will help minimize this effect. Your puppy’s health and your kitten’s health can be positively influenced with fatty acids. Fatty acids are components of fat sources within the puppy food or kitten food that you select for you new pet. There are two primary groups of fatty acids that we are interested in: Omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are required nutrients and are present in all puppy foods and kitten foods. Omega-6 fatty acids keep the skin hydrated so that it does not become dry and flaky. However, if omega-6 fatty acids are not balanced with omega-3 fatty acids, they may promote inflammation within the body. There are cells that respond to different insults or attacks within the body. These cells are inflammatory cells. Sometimes though, these cells respond to a non existent threat and cause irritation or damage in otherwise healthy parts of the body. Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent this indiscriminate inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids are not always added to puppy foods or kitten foods. Ingredients such as flaxseed, fish meal, and fish oil include omega-3 fatty acids. Look on the guaranteed analysis for omega-3 fatty acids. They should be present in a 5:1 to 10:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids for optimal health effects. Let’s talk just briefly about ingredients. Ingredients are only as important as the nutrients that they provide to the formula. Fresh meats are appealing to your puppy or kitten because they improve the flavor of the food. However, these fresh meats should be followed with a protein meal that is animal sourced, such as chicken meal, chicken by-product meal, or lamb meal, to name a few. Fresh meats are great, but they are very high in water. So, when the food is cooked, the water is removed and much less of the fresh meat is left behind. This is why dry protein meals are critical to providing adequate protein levels for your rapidly growing puppy or your carnivorous kitten. Natural preservatives include among others mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and rosemary extract. The technology behind natural preservation has come a long way. We now can safely and effectively preserve pet foods for many months using only natural ingredients. Many puppy foods and kitten foods now include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These ingredients may help promote a healthier metabolism and also provide natural sources of vitamins and minerals. Your puppy’s health or your kitten’s health does not rely solely on ingredients such as these and some pets do better on diets that are simpler, more basic and do not contain so many varied ingredients, especially when these foods contain the nutrients that were mentioned above. Feeding your puppy or kitten for his optimal health is not difficult with so many choices of high quality puppy foods and kitten foods. All puppies and all kittens cannot eat the same food with the same results and some trial and error may be necessary to find just the right food, but with the right choice, your puppy or kitten will grow and thrive and become a happy and healthy adult.