The development of artificial additives

During the middle of the twentieth century, great advances were being made in the science of chemistry. This knowledge was used to develop artificial additives which could then be used to fortify poor quality raw materials in order to make foods for animals. This is the equivalent of giving a child junk food and vitamins pills and then expecting it to be in good health.

From a farm animal production point of view this was an efficient use of by-products, which meant cheaper food for the population. However, little attention was paid to the longer-term effects of this approach to nutrition, but that was because production animals simply did not live long enough for related problems to become apparent.

Common sense and traditional feeding goes out of the window

Expertise in modern chemistry rapidly advanced and drug companies produced sophisticated products, such as vitamins, flavour enhancers and preservatives, which also began to be used in dog foods. As the drug and food companies became more powerful they persuaded the consumer that their ways of feeding were now outdated. The animal nutritionist became the new “scientific” expert who very effectively cast doubts over the wisdom of countless generations. Consequently decisions about the origin and nature of the raw materials being fed to dogs (and other companion animals) were removed from the owners and taken over by an industry, which could disguise the raw materials used, for commercial expediency. No longer would be acceptable to feed your dog as your predecessors had done, the animal nutritionist was on hand to provide over-scienced modern foods for modern owners.

The market for dog foods

Today there exists a vast array of foods for dogs and it is increasingly difficult to separate one product from the next as manufacturers struggle to find another angle. The stakes are high as this is a market worth £1.4 billion per year and giant corporations with huge advertising budgets can control the market. These diets are over-scienced to an alarming degree; the basic principles of good nutrition have been lost in marketing hype. As a result modern diets are sub-optimal in that contain too many of the wrong ingredients and not enough of the right ingredients.