Veterinarians first noticed an increase in canine and feline kidney failure in 2007. It’s a terrible way to go, as anyone who has had to watch a pet suffer from this condition will attest. In pets, kidney failure results in a cascade of health problems. When otherwise content, happy dogs or cats will suddenly stop eating. As the illness worsens, they might lose the ability to control their urination or experience the agony of vomiting or diarrhea. They eventually become depressed and listless as the poison spreads throughout their bodies.
If a pet accidentally consumes something poisonous and develops kidney disease, it is tragic. But it’s much more upsetting when a pet owner purchases what they believed to be safe dog food from a reputable supplier only to learn that the food actually contained poison.
And that’s exactly what happened that year. Canadian pet food manufacturer Menu Foods began receiving reports of sick animals as early as December 2006. By March 2007, they realized there was a serious problem because up to 1 in 6 pets started to pass away after consuming their wheat-gluten-containing products. Over 8,500 pet deaths were reported to the FDA in the ensuing months, and many more likely occurred without being reported.
Veterinarians were stumped. Researchers looked into what might have caused the animals’ sudden kidney failure. They discovered that the wheat gluten and rice protein used to make these foods had a high concentration of melamine. And Menu Foods was just the tip of the iceberg.
Melamine is an industrial chemical used in the production of plastics or as fertilizer; it has no legitimate place in food. It’s likely that this was purposefully added to manipulate testing, allowing these suppliers to cut corners by reducing their legitimate and more expensive protein sources (horrifyingly, this was being done to domestic milk and infant formula for human consumption in China at the time). Because melamine is high in nitrogen, it does cause protein tests to be artificially high.
However, since melamine isn’t necessarily harmful on its own, it was unclear why pets were dying. A few months later, the International Herald Tribune revealed another method animal feed manufacturers in China used to obtain cynauric acid illegally. It turned out that adding this chemical would also make their food’s protein levels appear higher in tests.
Combining cynauric acid and melamine produced a lethal combination. The combination led to the formation of “extremely insoluble” crystals that clogged the animals’ urinary tract tubules, obstructed blood flow, and caused the kidney cells to die, resulting in organ failure.
In other words, Chinese businesses had no regard for morality or the welfare of the animals that consumed their ingredients. Being the lowest bidder to supply North American pet food companies was all that mattered to them, even if that meant lying and taking short cuts. And to their shame, even the top brands of pet food fell victim to the ruse. They assumed that these companies in China had scruples. But they didn’t. After 60 years of communist rule, their society was devoid of morality and any regard for life, whether it be animal or human.
Sadly, even customers who made a special effort to purchase pet food that was “made in the USA” weren’t safe. This is so that Menu Foods, who used contaminated wheat gluten from China, could claim that their dog food was made in the USA by using facilities in Kansas and New Jersey to produce it.
Upon learning of this, pet food manufacturers voluntarily recalled more than 150 brands of pet food, including well-known names like Hills, Purina, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, and many others. Although their public relations firms portrayed this as “an excess of caution,” the truth is that they were likely just engaging in major CYA; after all, if they voluntarily recalled their own pet food, they could avoid having their own shoddy sourcing methods scrutinized.
Naturally, throughout all of this, the Chinese Communist Party denied any wrongdoing on their part. They refused to allow the US Food and Drug Administration into the nation to inspect facilities even though reports of sick animals had been made public since February 2007 (does that sound familiar to anyone who remembers the first few months of 2020?) They essentially lied when they said they had not exported any wheat gluten to the US. They didn’t allow inspectors in until months later, thousands of animals had died, and American scientists had found the smoking gun that pointed to China.
I wish I could say that this led to significant changes in the way that ingredients for pet food are sourced. However, despite legislation mandating it, the FDA’s standards for pet food ingredients and labeling requirements have not changed in the past ten years, as this veterinarian noted in 2017.
The big pet food brands scrambled to improve–their public relations. But very few stopped sourcing from China. The majority of the world’s largest pet food producers, including Natural Balance, Hills, Mars Petcare, and Purina, still source their ingredients from China or claim to “source globally” (which means they source from China).
Purina posted a page to their website explaining that “99% of their food is made in the USA” and that they “source most of our ingredients in the USA too” as an illustration of how they “tap dance around the question.” But words like “most”, provide no details and no transparency. In fact, the one link on that page that promises more information currently leads to a broken page.
Why didn’t they decide to make a change and return their sources to nations other than China?
Very simply, executives at these businesses willfully wear blinders, just like the rest of corporate America. They hoped that businesses in China would reform themselves in a magical way while keeping their heads in the sand. They also hoped that American consumers would simply forget about 2007 if that didn’t happen.
Not only American businesses can use the public relations apparatus. The Chinese Communist Party now accuses pet food producers of being xenophobic and racist for vowing not to source ingredients from China in their official state propaganda. And Western investigative journalists are supporting and encouraging them. Ironically, independent pet food brands with a smaller market share might be able to maintain this, but major corporations will always give in.
The People’s Daily, China’s official Communist Party newspaper, launched an attack in 2018 as the most recent instance. When a family-run pet food business had the audacity to advertise that none of its ingredients came from China, they attacked it. Even more “offensively,” they demanded that China release Tibet.
It’s a situation we see playing out in other industries. You can read about how the Communist Youth League in China terrorized Gigabyte Technologies for daring to advertise that their made-in-Taiwan laptop was of higher quality than affordable laptops in China in my post about the best laptop not made in China. Social media shamed Gigabyte into not only removing their marketing materials but also into offering a contrite apology or risk having all of their products removed from China’s e-commerce sites.
Companies like Marriott and Mercedes Benz have been coerced over the years into issuing groveling apologies for even just “liking” Tweets and Instagram posts that the CCP disagreed with by the CCP propaganda machine. And of course, everyone is aware of the embarrassing performances made by John Cena and LeBron James, who will always be seen as sellouts.
This is how bullies operate, and no consumer should support it, especially since China has never been held accountable for the thousands of pets it killed in 2007 and the many more that most likely occurred after that once its public relations apparatus began to obscure new abuses.
Find pet food producers who source 0% of their supply chain from China as a way to combat it. And let the major companies know that 2007 will never be forgotten.
In order to compile this list, I looked for dog food manufacturers who were open about where their ingredients came from. The issue with most major dog food companies is that they often seem to believe that generalizations are preferable to specifics. As a result, you’ll see a lot of “made in the USA with ingredients from around the world” claims. But keep in mind that food that matched that description was to blame for the catastrophe in 2007.
In order to avoid products with Chinese ingredients, I first looked for companies that explicitly and proactively stated as much, or if not all, of their ingredients were sourced elsewhere. The companies I steered clear of are those that conceal the extent of their outsourcing to China through weasel words and PR gimmicks.
Please take note that I avoided “raw” and freeze-dried raw diets; I have some experience with pet nutrition, and the majority of the nutritionists I know agree that raw diets carry a risk of salmonella, listeria, or E. coli. coli, even if ingredients for raw diets are produced domestically. That said, there are many options for brands made and sourced in the USA if you don’t mind the risks of raw food or know a reliable supplier (ironically, the very characteristics that make raw food risky are the same characteristics that weed out China as a potential supplier). This is a great website that lists many US-made options, including raw and freeze-dried foods, and it keeps its list fairly up-to-date. I began compiling my list by looking for well-known companies that, at some point in the past, had publicly pledged not to purchase any ingredients from China. I contacted each to inquire about its position going into 2021. As one of their most frequently asked questions, the majority of their customer service representatives have prepared responses that have been approved by their legal departments. It’s this response that you need to read carefully. Great if they make it clear that still no ingredients come from China.
It’s good if they are clear about which ingredients come from China and why. But they didn’t make the list if they were vague and avoided specifics.
Here are some examples. Earlier in its history, NUTRO had appeared on numerous “best not made in China” lists. However, when I emailed them, they responded as follows:
In order to ensure the health and welfare of the pets we feed, Mars Petcare US sources its ingredients with care. When it’s feasible, we pledge to buy ingredients from vendors close to our US and Canadian manufacturing facilities. Similar to human foods, China is frequently the only country where these ingredients can be sourced globally, so many of our vitamins and minerals originate there.
No matter where they are located, you can rest assured that we are confident in the ingredient integrity of our suppliers because they consistently show that they are able to meet the high standards of our own Supplier Quality Assurance program. Our suppliers are subject to regular quality audits and visits from our own associates as a crucial component of this program.
Read between the lines here. Although they mention “vitamins and minerals,” they never provide specific information about the ingredients they import from China. Worse still, their response is replete with phrases designed to inspire confidence, such as “carefully,” “committed,” “confident,” “rigorous,” and so on. But again, there’s nothing backed up with specifics.
They frequently discuss “quality assurance,” but neglect to address other issues that actual pet owners like you and me have. Are they really “committed to sourcing ingredients near the US and Canada,” or are they just saying that to get us to shut up? What effects does a large company like Mars Petcare outsourcing to China have on the overall supply chain? What are the environmental and human rights records of the suppliers they use?
In a similar vein, I contacted Wellness, another company that after 2007 was frequently mentioned as one of the companies that meticulously avoided China. Here was their response.
We do import Green Tea Extract, Mixed Tocopherols, and possibly some of our vitamins and minerals from China in particular for Chinese ingredients. We believe that all of our vendor locations have the necessary quality programs in place, and we are confident in the safety and security of all the ingredients we procure, whether they are procured locally or internationally.
They’re a little bit better than Mars in that they give some details, but you can also tell when they say things like they “may source some of our vitamins and minerals from China” that they are becoming more ambiguous. Let’s put it this way: How would you feel if you read this in 2007?
Another company that used to try its best to avoid using ingredients from China is Taste of the Wild. But here’s the response I got from them.
There are ingredients that are critical to our formulations (i. e. only available in China, such as taurine and folic acid We can either manufacture our foods with these ingredients or without them, which we believe is not in your pet’s best interests. Despite the information I’ve provided above, some pet food manufacturers make “China-Free” claims. They accomplish this by utilizing a loophole in European law. European law permits the labeling of ingredients that were purchased outside of Europe and then processed there. We could also use that legal loophole to conceal our actions and tell you what you want to hear, but we decide against doing so for obvious reasons. Instead of telling you that our foods are China-free when they are not, I’d prefer that you avoid eating them.
They are making an effort to be transparent here, which I do appreciate, but once again they speak in generalities (“there are ingredients that are critical to our formulations that can only be sourced out of China”) and attempt to shift the blame by blaming other brands’ unethical practices to excuse their own.
Big manufacturers like Diamond, Purina, and Mars are the ones who create supply chains and have significant influence over them, so do you see the issue here? With their combined purchasing power, they could push for completely new and diversified supply chains anywhere in the world.
Instead, they continue returning like starving pigs to the endless trough of China suppliers. When questioned about it, they throw up their hands and act like the victim, claiming they have no choice but to use the supply chains that they themselves allowed China to dominate in the first place by encouraging and allowing them to do so. You would think that 2007 would have served as a reminder to all of these brands to never again put their trust in China. But you’d be wrong.
But fortunately, I did find a few companies that are still trying very hard to stay away from China. They must exercise tremendous bravery in doing this, not only because they are opening themselves up to the CCP attack machine but also because the hundreds of other brands that did sell to China will almost certainly undercut them on price by using lower-quality ingredients in their food. But you do get what you pay for. These businesses deserve our support as well as the support of anyone who cares about their pets and realizes that even if they spend a little bit more money, the benefit is worth much more knowing that their pet eats better food, that they are helping workers and communities outside of China, and that they are backing ethical businesses that are not endangering their pets by doing business with the People’s Republic of China.
What is the best dog food made in USA?
The Best Dog Foods That Are Made In The USA
Merrick Pet Care wet and dry products include:
After that, Merrick will continue to operate as an independent business. According to Purina, no changes are planned for Merrick’s management or operations.
Merrick’s foods are made in the USA. Most ingredients are grown by local farmers. And none are sourced from China.
Purina’s portfolio of pet food and snack brands includes:
Merrick Pet Care was founded in 1988. The business is a top manufacturer of organic and natural pet foods.
Is Merrick dog food high quality?
Merrick is generally regarded by Dog Food Advisor as a high-quality brand with nutritious ingredients that will work for most dogs. They’ve rated the Classic range 4. The Grain Free range received a score of 5, the Backcountry range received a score of 5, and the Limited Ingredient Diet range received a score of 4.
FAQ
Where does Merrick get their ingredients?
According to Merrick, their duck and rabbit are sourced in France, their lamb and venison are from New Zealand, and their vitamins and minerals premix are sourced from Germany and Canada. The rest of the ingredients in their recipes are all purchased in the United States, and none of them are imported. more.
What dog food has no ingredients from China?
Made in the USA, The Honest Kitchen makes cat and dog food that is 100% human-grade. No ingredients from China are used in The Honest Kitchen pet foods, which are also free of soy, GMOs, wheat, and corn.
What brands of dog food are made in China?
I called several producers and inquired about the presence of any Chinese ingredients in ANY of their pet food products. These Commercial Dog Foods Source From China. Triumph Pet Industries Inc.Evolve Hi-Tor NeoTriumphYesNestléPurina Pro Plan Purina ONE Purina Veterinary DietsYes ManufacturerLabel NamesSourced from China
Does Merrick dog food have carrageenan?
Merrick® Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Wet Dog Food – 12. 7 Oz. dog food in cans from PetSmart is free of corn and carrageenan. 10,310,715 lives saved.