Natural Pet Foods

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Dave Carter, co-founder of Pet Promise, has 30 years of experience in agriculture and is the former chair of the USDA National Organic Standards Board. Currently he’s the executive director of the National Bison Association. He says he never thought he would get involved with the pet food industry.

“I have been working to save the family farm,” Carter says. “I had become disenchanted with the food industry and looked into organic production and co-op development to try to break out of the industry chains. What will save the family farm is a reconnect between the consumer and the producer.”

That thought led Carter to natural pet foods. He was looking for a market for the ranchers he works with and noticed that consumers were demanding high-quality pet foods.

“When we started looking into pet food and really started digging into it, we realized that 4-D animals — dead, dying, diseased, disabled — were ending up in conventional pet foods. Consumers really don’t want these things in their pets’ food.”

The ingredients of Pet Promise products are simple, Carter says. From the beef, which comes from Coleman Natural Meats, the company uses the trim, hearts and liver. From the poultry, which comes from Petaluma Poultry and MBA Brand Smart Chicken, the company uses the meat, hearts and liver.

The Evolution of Natural Pet Food

Carter says the organic and natural pet food industries are logical extensions of the Real Food Revival: “When I got involved with organic producers, they were saying ‘buy our products to save the family farm.’ Then it was ‘buy from the family farm because it is healthier, it doesn’t have pesticides.’ Now people feeding organic and natural products to themselves and their kids have started asking ‘what about Fluffy?’”

As pet owners become more discerning and discriminating about what they buy, and as better products become more widely available, Brown says the future is bright.

“We’ve evolved from feeding our pets table scraps and generic diets, to premium and natural pet foods, and now to organic, which, to me, is the pinnacle of feeding pets properly,” he says. “Our animals now live longer and healthier lives because of better care and nutrition. It’s our charge to do the best for our pets.”

Simple Homemade Pet Chow

For Dogs

3 cups cooked oatmeal or cream of wheat
2 cups cooked ground beef
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 small apple, cut or sliced into small pieces

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