CNBC Documentary Exposes Ethics of Pet Food Industry

UPDATE:  This documentary is no longer scheduled to air, but can be viewed at Viddler.com by clicking here.

An hour-long documentary called "Pet Food: A Dog's Breakfast" will premiere on CNBC on February 10, 2011 at 10pm, and will air again on February 11, 2011 at 1am and February 13, 2011 at 10pm.  This exposé  of the pet food industry originally aired in Canada in 2008, but this will be the first time it has been shown on U.S. television.

Filmed shortly after the pet food recalls of 2007, "Pet Food: A Dog's Breakfast" sheds light on many of the unethical practices in pet food production.  It exposes the fact that one-third of the pet food sold in North America is actually made by a single company and then sold under different brand names, and reveals that certain pet food ingredients are imported from China with little regulation or quality control.  One of those ingredients, wheat gluten, was the culprit that prompted the largest pet food recall in history when it was contaminated with melamine, a poison that caused thousands of pets to succumb to kidney failure in 2006 and 2007.  On the recall list were mainstream pet food brands such as Alpo, Eukanuba, Hill's Prescription Diet, Nutro and Science Diet.

"A Dog's Breakfast" goes beyond documenting the tragedy of the melamine contamination and draws attention to the poor quality of ingredients used in pet food and the unethical marketing that pet food companies use to deceive consumers.  But the documentary is not one-sided; animal nutritionists who support commercial pet food are interviewed and sensitive issues such as the ethics of animal testing are also explored.

This documentary can help educate consumers about the quality of the pet food they purchase, and it is definitely worth a watch on February 10th or 13th.  Although this documentary does discuss premium pet foods, organic or holistic brands such as Avoderm, Canidae/Felidae, Newman's Own and Wellness are never mentioned.  While the documentary claims that the ingredients in premium food do not differ from regular commercial pet food, the ingredients on a Newman's Own dog food label certainly differ from the ingredients on a Purina dog food label.  Purina, like many mainstream pet food brands, contains grain fillers such as ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal and wheat flour, as well as artificial dyes and preservatives.  Newman's Own pet foods contain no wheat or corn, two ingredients that add little nutritional value to pet food and may cause allergic reaction in many pets.  Newman's Own also contains organic ingredients that must pass the same standards as human organic food, and the meat used in Newman's Own pet foods comes from free range and vegetarian fed animals.

"Pet Food: A Dog's Breakfast" might leave the viewer feeling like there are no good options for pet food, but companies such as Newman's Own do provide healthier, safer options.  Organic or holistic pet food is currently a small part of the pet food market, but industry research indicates that organic and holistic pet food sales are expected to increase over the next five years.  Perhaps with documentaries such as "A Dog's Breakfast" shining light on the pet food industry, more consumers will choose organic options and the mainstream pet food industry will be pressured to change its ways.

Photo Credit:  MShades