The Pet Food Manufacturer

I while ago I mentioned writing a blog about how most of your household brands come from the same handful of companies. A good example of it is all over the news right now. That being the massive pet food recall. Menu Foods makes wet pet food for 98 different brands (and brand varieties). Yes, 98 brands. These "competing" brands, with their familiar packaging and recognizable logos, all come from the same garbage factory. This includes Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, Science Diet, Breeder's Choice (Is it really?), Ol' Roy (Wal-Mart), and a bunch of other store brands. It is a shame the general public doesn't know about this corporate pyramid. Try to buy food, human food and pet food, that is not included in this mass manufacturing of your diet. It could save your life!

Speaking of Iams, I just discovered that they (along with all the other big pet food brands) do some pretty terrible testing on animals. Here is a look inside their lab, starting off with the slicing away of doggie muscle tissue. (from IamsCruelty.com)



Scene 1: The Iams dogs in this scene have just had large chunks of muscle cut from their thighs and have been placed on the laboratory floor to recover from the effects of the anesthetics. Some of the dogs are unconscious, while others are awake and trying to right themselves. The federal Animal Welfare Act requires that this type of surgery be conducted in "aseptic" conditions.

Scene 2: This scene provides a closeup of the Iams dogs and their wound sites.

Scene 3: A bloodied beagle is strapped down to an x-ray machine so that her muscle, fat, and bone density can be recorded.

Scene 4: One of the laboratory's employees tells our investigator to hit the dogs on the chest if they stop breathing.

Scene 5: The Iams dog on the x-ray machine is placed back in the pile of dogs on the floor.

Scene 6: Anesthetics are administered to an Iams dog left unattended on the laboratory floor.

Scene 7: Iams dogs, some awake and some unconscious, lie on the paint-chipped laboratory floor.

Scene 8: A laboratory worker holding a dead Iams dog in a black plastic bag tells our investigator that the dog "bled out its mouth." The dog, who was found dead in his cage, was subjected to a muscle biopsy earlier in the week.

Scene 9: Iams dog Mae-Mae exhibits stereotypical behavior (i.e., pacing and circling) associated with life in a cage.