Howling Mad

This is a piece I wrote a couple of years back that is as valid today as it was then:

Hi, Cocopuff here again.  As you may have gathered, I'm howling mad about what they're doing to our dog food!  By "they" I mean specifically, but not exclusively, Chinese manufacturers.  Lately we've been hearing about recall after recall and, while it's good that they are recalling defective, dangerous products, this is usually after incidents of sickness or death have been reported.  This is scary and entirely unnecessary.  I have nothing against the Chinese people, but I think that as the Chinese nation struggles to advance its stature in the world community it is bypassing some key elements that would normally prevent greed and avarice from becoming major influences in their commercial enterprises.  The latest debacle of poisoned infant formula (for their own consumption) really underscores the extent of the problem.  If the formula manufacturers and milk producers are not above adding the toxic compound Melamine to artificially enhance the apparent protein content of their product, I would tend to suspect that they have a problem with integrity as well as the necessary oversight and regulation to ensure that integrity prevails.  I really don't trust them to make my dog food while they're poisoning their own babies in order to increase their cash flow! ( note: since this was first written, the Chinese government has recalled all of the melamine-containing products.  Unfortunately, they did not themselves perform this recall or even bother to oversee it.  A year later, these products are right back on the shelves.)

What can you do?  Well, the first thing is to know what you're buying.  I know Dad's first reaction was to stop buying me any food, chewies or treats that were made in China but, unfortunately, it gets more complicated than that.  A number of manufacturers that produce food for distribution under a whole range of brands and prices use ingredients imported from China, so just going out and finding the priciest dog food and checking the label provides little or no protection.  With a little work and a little Googling, its easy enough to research a particular brand and get a sense how it is manufactured and from what.  There's way too much information to include here and we will refrain from endorsing any specific product or manufacturer here but you owe it to yourself and your beloved pet to come up to speed in how safe your pet's food is.

Secondly, the only way things are ever going to change is to stop buying these substandard, potentially lethal products and put manufacturers and retailers on notice that this is what you are doing and encouraging others to do.  As long as we keep buying it, they'll keep making it and poisoning our pets while they line their pockets at the expense of our tears.  Dad helped me compose an open letter (it's supposed to be written from a human's perspective) that you can sign and distribute to anyone in the pet food supply chain to express your concern and intentions.  Please feel free to print some out for yourself and/or your friends and co-workers.

Another step you can take to help protect your pet is to stay abreast of food safety issues as they are identified.  Rather than waiting to hear it on the news, we would recommend going to www.fda.gov and signing up for e-mail notification of pending and current recalls.  This will, at least, give you as much advance warning as is currently possible.

Lastly, if we will ever be able to buy a bag of dog (or cat) food without wondering if it's the last one we'll need, we need to be true to our ideals.  Times are tough and money is tight but ask yourself if you are willing to jeopardize your pet's health and safety to maybe save a couple of dollars.  If these inferior products start collecting dust on store shelves, the industry will have to change and once again get to the business of supplying us with safe, trustworthy pet supplies.  Good luck!

Unfortunately, the original letter was reformatted to fit into this space but you get the drift:

AN OPEN LETTER TO PET FOOD MANUFACTURERS, WHOLESALERS AND
RETAILERS

DATE:
TO: ________________________________
FROM: ________________________________

The intent of this letter is to advise you that I intend to avoid your pet food products (including
chew toys, rawhide strips etc.) that come from China as well as those that rely on China to supply
ingredients for their manufacture. Additionally, I will strongly advise my friends, family and
colleagues to do likewise in an effort to spare them the grief of losing a beloved companion as the
result of greed and lack of integrity. We are shopping smarter these days, reading labels more closely
and researching the manufacturing processes of those who would supply us with food for our
companion animals. It is my hope that this trend will continue and grow as more and more people
become educated to the fact that they are paying good money to these purveyors of toxic
contaminants and extenders to diminish the quality and length of their pet’s life. Be advised that I
(we) will be buying only products that have a reasonable assurance of purity and safety even if they
cost a bit more or cause us to change how and where we shop for them.

Unfortunately, we have, over the years, gotten used to cheap, shoddy merchandise from China as
well as other countries. We can probably tolerate this (at least for now) when it affects only noncritical
items like kiddie pools, lawn furniture and the like but we want you to understand that we are
not willing to cut corners with regard to our pets health and well-being by supplying them with
substandard food. Other cultures may view things a bit differently but, to us, our pets are as dear to
us as our children and we are devastated by their loss, particularly when it is unexpected and
unnecessary. We are not willing to allow a nation of manufacturers who are not above using toxic
melamine to artificially enhance the apparent protein content of their infant formula to play any role
in the process of supplying our pet’s nutritional needs. We are not willing to allow a nation of
manufacturers who offer and accept bribes and kick-backs to overlook shoddy manufacturing
methods and negligent quality control practices to supply raw materials or finished products for our
pet’s food. We are not willing to allow a nation of manufacturers who place their profit margin
above the integrity of their product and thus above the value of our companion’s life to be enriched
while we tearfully bury our beloved pets.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter