07/07/2022
A brilliant post Conor.
If you are a dog owner, PLEASE read to the very end.
💥KABOOM!!!💥
(You're going to need a cup of tea for this one...)
YET ANOTHER well constructed, case-controlled, randomised clinical study comparing kibble to whole food in dogs and YET ANOTHER glorious victory for real, biologically appropriate food (and common sense as a whole).
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.898056/abstract?fbclid=IwAR0H1DwqDpJ6mS4nQ-hQzzTsW6fYHYbJvQUmzsC__AVAZQVKDOgqSDcZcRM
This makes the score 3 - 0.
This first case-controlled comparative study was in 2015 - homocysteine (an inflammatory market) is TEN TIMES higher in dry-fed dogs than raw, a figure that drops by a factor of 5 when said dogs were moved to real food. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311321747_Investigation_of_Homocysteine_Levels_in_Healthy_Dogs
Then a couple of years later another found dry-fed dogs have far greater levels of gene expression for histamine production in the skin. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29680397/
All this inflammation is bad news for the pet. You can expect more infection, more cancer, more pancreatitis, more of everything. Of particular note here however is "atopic dermatitis", a.k.a. mystery skin itch. This is the most common reason dogs see the vet today and why so many dogs are on a bevvy of monthly immune-supressing meds and packets of magic, grossly overpriced "hypoallergenic" kibble (that doesn't work but they still NEED it and nothing else...) sold to you under the guise of "prescription" food even though it lacks any medicinal qualities whatsoever and hence it can be sold to you WITHOUT prescription by pet shops.
But here we have dry food being HIGHLY inflammatory (for whatever reason - highly processed and-thus-more-antigenic protein, poor quality fats, horrible chemicals that na**lm the gut flora, mycotoxins, lack of suitable nutrients and bioactive compounds, whatever...) AND causing itch in the skin!
Now, I don't want to jump the gun here and get all tinfoil hatty but might it be possible that dry food plays a MAJOR role in the #1 reason your dog will get ill and go to the vets?!
The University of Helsinki found it did. Their study revealed pups born to dry-fed mothers are more prone to canine atopic dermatitis.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225675
Whoops. Whoops. Whoops. Whoops.
Some of you may have noticed the "2015" figure above. That is correct. The first time a group of scientists thought to compare how well kibble performed when compared to the animal's biologically appropriate diet via a well constructed, case-controlled, clinical trial (where they swopped diet halfway through and measured what effect it has on the animal...) was in 2015.
Wouldn't you have thought there'd be many, many more of these head-to-heads out there? I mean, this crap has been around for 70 years! The entire evidenced-based veterinary industry wouldn't have simply jumped to an outwardly ridiculous Weetabix-with-cows-toenail George Jetson diet without seeing COPIOUS amount of ACTUAL EVIDENCE that this insanely inappropriate foodstuff (made by candy companies with truly woeful reputations for adequate nutrition in the human realm) was a BETTER way of feeding meat-eaters, would they?!!!
Ohh but they did.
Not a SINGLE study exists that demonstrates high carbohydrate kibble is better for a dog or cat, anytime, for any reason or health condition. All they have are "unfalsifiable comparisons" - where one group of dry fed dogs on the standard junk is compared to another group on the same junk but this time with some fish oil added, when the second group do better, and they will do better, this product is now scientifically proven to be better for skin and boom, you have magic DERMAL CARE food. These sorts of studies are industry garbage that enables them to get SCIENCE on the front of the packet so the disciples of SCIENCE, folk that should be reading and interpreting the studies but are not, then recommend it to the plebs, safe in the knowledge THE SCIENCE has their back.
In fact, asides no comparative studies in support, there is in fact a slew of evidence showing this high carb filth is fuelling the disgraceful canine obesity, cancer and pancreatitis epidemics plaguing cats and dogs today. But our vets don't read those studies either as the industry reps forgot to talk about them when giving our vets their handful of nutritional lessons in college.
Now, the temptation at this point is to blame the vet at the coal face for believing the nonsense, not doing their research, but remember most of us believed cloth masks kept viral aerosols out of our mouth, needing nothing by way of scientific evidence to reach that conclusion (and in the face of a vast preponderance of case-controlled studies going back more than 60 years showing zero effect). In fear, we believed what we heard, lacking the time/ability to decide otherwise. And just like your average, well-intentioned, animal-loving vet recommending high-carb diets for meat-eaters, few will be pushed off the idea today no matter how much evidence is laid in front of them.
Nor do I think we should waste much time hating on the filthy, greedy, soulless corporations that produce these crap products. After all, who are you hating there? The staff in the factory? The person formulating it? Marketing it? The accountants? The pet shop selling it? The shareholders (who could be your Granny if you look into how it all works)?
And yet, it's tempting. Mars, the world's second-largest cereal-based pet food producer (just behind that other darling of a candy company, Nestlé) is the world's biggest employer of vets. Isn't that strange?! More than 50,000 vets on the payroll. But they also own all the major vet hospitals (via their mutli-billion purchase of Banfield) and now all the vet diagnostics in the US (via their mutli-billion purchase of ANTECH). From kibble to clinic, they own the whole kit and kaboodle.
So, in a way, if dry food IS causing all the atopic dermatitis, you might see this as an excellent business set-up. Any accusation of “conspiracy theories” in this regard was somewhat dispelled when Bloomberg revealed how Mars wants its vets to deal with atopy when presenting in clinic:
“Banfield’s PetWare manual makes for interesting reading. In one example, explaining how the software is used to prescribe treatment, the book shows a checklist of therapies for a dog with atopic dermatitis or itchy skin. Doctors are encouraged to recommend a biopsy, analgesics, topical medications, antibiotics, a therapeutic dietary supplement, an allergy diet, and a flea control package. They’re required to recommend antihistamines, shampoos, serum allergy testing, lab work, a skin diagnostic package, and anti-inflammatories. It’s a treatment course that might run $900 for symptoms that, in a best-case scenario, indicate something as prosaic as fleas. In bold print, the manual reminds doctors: “You cannot change items that were initially marked Required. They MUST remain required.”"
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-01-05/when-big-business-happens-to-your-pet
Distasteful as this is to most warm-blooded humans, you need to remember that much like the pets they are poisoning, corporations are simply predators. They don't love you. They don't hate you. They consume without emotion and their diet is cash. And sadly, with financial control of the regulators and universities, in doting pet owners these corporations have found a near bottomless supply of food.
I feel your anger may better be pointed at the folk in the middle. The vet universities. The regulators. The folk whose job it is to know better, that DO KNOW better, but still take the filthy cash handouts and silence the debate.
Above all here, I detest the "whitecoats", the industry stooge, the fully paid up (though not publicly) vet scientists whose job it is to sow doubt in the population for as long as possible, and they are very good at it. After all, it's an age-old trick, invented by Big To***co to cover their lung cancer tracks for as long as possible (it worked for 4 decades), perfected by Big Oil with climate change (and using the same PR companies to do it) and now used with abandon by the food and drug companies to market any product they manage to get on the market today (and they will get them on the market as they own the route to it https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1538).
Instead of focusing on nutrition (how could they?!), vet whitecoats focus entirely on "safety" (despite real pet food having the significantly greater safety records, for them and us, and not to mention those colossal safety studies that came out...). They know Fear motivates the masses.
It is THESE FEW vets dragging the entire industry down into the mud.
If you listen to them, they will constantly decree that is they whom the Gods of Science favour. But like all good religions, to believe them (and part with your cash) you're going to need a bit of faith because actual EVIDENCE of benefit (or safety!) they will not be providing.
Instead, they will pull the now-classic switcheroo and protest that is in fact up to OUR SIDE to provide ENOUGH evidence (of the highest quality kind, needless to say) that what they are doing is wrong, that the usual way of doing things is best!
The trick is there will NEVER be enough science to convince these little weasels, not when both their mortgage AND reputation depend on holding the line.
In fact, to even engage with them is a complete waste of time and energy, of course...but it can be fun too.
So, please share this piece with any industry stooge you might know. Ask for their opinion publicly on the studies above. Ask them how their product of choice manages to avoid this inflammatory effect, with all the disease that is sure to follow.
Let them know you see them. Vampires don't like the daylight.
***
If you'd like to know more on the filthy dealings of these companies, the bad science they use and the vet industry they own, then check out the #1 book on canine nutrition (according to BookAuthority) "Feeding Dogs: Dry or Raw, The Science Behind The Debate" https://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Dogs-Science-Behind-Versus/dp/1916234003/ref=sr_1_3?crid=U7GT3WUA20R4&keywords=feeding+dogs&qid=1657186444&sprefix=feeding+dogs%2Caps%2C532&sr=8-3
