Pets

What Goes in

One of the greatest areas of environmental impact comes from feeding pets. The first dry dog food was made available in the 1860s, and its promotion mirrors what we find today—free samples, sponsorships of animal shows, and advertising. This was the forerunner of the giant pet food industry, which was soon joined by marketing of other items such as collars, leashes, crates, furniture, dishes, and toys. Purchasing food specifically for pets, versus feeding them leftovers of human diets, ebbed and flowed with economic circumstances, but by the 1950s, keeping a pet became a mainstay of the family. In 1959, the Pet Food Institute was created, which today represents 97 percent of pet food manufacturers. The pet food industry, which often mimics trends in human food production and composition, has become a specialty industry, with products marketed as “all natural;” that is, free of chemicals and fragrances. Since the 1970s, the pet-related industry has grown exponentially, reflecting increased economic prosperity, the changing role of pets in people's lives, increased longevity of animals, and the changing psychological nature of the human–animal bond. As the United States became an increasingly consumer-oriented society, driven by needs and desires and purchasing power, practices once associated with the elite such as pet keeping became democratized, and all the items deemed necessary to have a happy and healthy pet also grew. This “humanization” of dogs and cats in particular has resulted in increased spending, as well as time and attention paid to the nutritional needs of companion animals.

According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Americans spent $26.5 billion on nonfood pet supplies and services in 2008. They spent $15 billion on food—kibble, biscuits, and treats. The companies that sell pet food spent nearly $300 [Page 343]million advertising it. A recall during spring 2008 of 60 million packages of pet food contaminated with melamine from China brought to light the complexities of pet food—ingredients, manufacture, distribution, and quality. Consumers are increasingly aware of inhumane conditions experienced by the animals they eat; these are the same sources for what goes into pet foods. Given that cats rely almost entirely on protein and that a considerable part of the canine diet is meat-based as well, even the highest-quality pet food comes from high-volume, factory-farmed conditions. For example, nearly three tons of fish go into the making of cat food annually. Experimentation on animals to gauge the effects and qualities of pet food is a behind-the-scenes source of controversy. Companies such as Purina and Procter & Gamble hire outside researchers to conduct experiments on live animals to gauge the physiological impact and waste production of their foods. An additional area of impact is the cost of packaging, shipping, storing, and distributing those sacks and cans of pet food, much in nonrecyclable plastic pouches and metal cans.

...