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Because you have a choice! An Insider's Guide to Choosing the Right Food for Your Pet

zenHolistic, Natural and Organic pet foods

Not so long ago there were only one or two pet foods on the shelves that labelled themselves as 'Holistic'... now there are many, and even one that implies there are holistic pets!

Is that a good thing? What do they mean by 'Holistic' or indeed 'Natural' and are there any regulations governing the claims/ingredients used in these products?

The first stop is maybe to look at the dictionary definition of 'Holistic'

'...dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part'

'...Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.'

'...relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts (holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body) '

 

How do we relate the definitions of Holistic to a pet food?

It probably depends who you are talking to!

Let's look at how Pet Food brands attempt to explain what they mean by holistic.

nutro holistic

Nutro have a holistic food, but omit to define what they mean, other than stating that the food is 'A unique formula promoting better overall well being'

Typical ingredients: Dried Chicken Meat, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Dried Lamb Meat, Sunflower Oil (min. 4.5%), Poultry Fat (min. 4%), Dried Salmon Meat, Flaxseed, Oatmeal, Dried Alfalfa, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Tomato, Cranberry Powder, Menhaden Fish Oil (min. 0.5%), Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Dried Bacillus Licheniformis fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract.

 

natural dogfood company

The Natural Dog Food Company offer what they say is ' THE FIRST CERTIFIED HOLISTIC DOG FOOD OF ITS TYPE' but don't define 'Holistic' other than by associating it with all natural ingredients - the food 'embraces the principles of Natural Feeding' . Natural feeding, they define as 'intending to mirror the diet of the un-domesticated dog, which is meat, carbohydrate and vegetables, all of which are obtained from its prey and by scavenging.'

Typical ingredients: Whole Cereals (Wheat free). Lamb. Vegetables. 100% Natural Vitamins and Minerals

 

Eagle holistic food

Eagle Pack Foods, we are told 'pioneered holistic nutrition in the 1980’s, by engineering a way to make a meat meal based food, removing soy from the formulas and meat meals to replace corn as the first ingredient'

Eagle Pack® diets contain Holistic-Natural ingredients with added Holistic Supplements, at effective levels, to promote the health of your pet.

Typical ingredients: Lamb Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Meal, Anchovy & Sardine Meals, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Wheat Germ Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Inositol, Kelp, Polysaccharide Complexes of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. subtilus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger

 

Burns Pet Nutrition

Burns Pet Nutrition talk about 'a holistic approach to health and nutrition' and their founder John Burns links his approach to Holistic Medicine, stating that 'The objective of Holistic Medicine is to follow a lifestyle which provides the conditions for the body to maintain a healthy, stable condition. The most important and simplest way of promoting that process is through the choice of food.'

Typical ingredients: Brown Rice (min 54%), Lamb (min 21%), Oats, Peas, Sunflower Oil, Seaweed, Minerals and Vitamins

 

luaths

Land of Holistic Pets would seem to broadly agree with this, and 'believe that a good dog diet is one that when fed in the correct proportions, it helps the body and mind function in a normal healthy way.' They also use this phrase in their description of their philosophy 'Do no harm' which could be construed as a negative, compared with 'Do some good!'

Typical ingredients: Brown rice, chicken, millet, oats, chicken fat/oil, peas, carrots, spinach, sunflower oil, spirulina, seaweed, oregano, green tea, parsley, vitamins and minerals

 

Looking at the range of 'Holistic' foods available both in the UK and US it would seem then that by 'Holistic' we're talking about a food that is made with good quality, easily digested and natural ingredients and has a positive effect on general wellbeing, although individual companies might argue their own particular emphasis. There would seem to be no discernable difference between the use of the words 'natural' or 'holistic' other than arguing whether mineral and vitamins should not be from an artificial source.


There are no rules and regulations, as far as I am aware as to how these foods are marketed, and this is maybe why there seems confusion even among manufacturers as to what they mean by 'Holistic'

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) has suggested a pet food definition for 'natural' as 'of or pertaining to a product wholly comprising ingredients completely devoid of artificial or manmade substances including, but not limited to, synthetic flavors, colors, preservatives, vitamins, minerals, or other additives, whether added directly to the product or incidentally as a component of another ingredient.'

It has to be said that most so-called Holistic products in the UK use commercial and manufactured vitamin and mineral mixes to ensure that the food contains a consistant nutritional balance of these essential nutrients. Some contain natural sources of vitamins and minerals, which would seem to be where AAFCO would like natural products to be.

There are, however some who warn against this, based on inconsistencies in the natural alternatives. Burns pet Nutrition state 'Natural ingredients, by definition, are very unlikely to contain consistent quantities of these nutrients (e.g. due to seasons, weather, soil type, etc) therefore, supplementation with exact quantities is necessary in order to avoid chronic deficiencies or toxicities...For example, seaweed can contain high levels of magnesium which interferes with the uptake of zinc and copper from the diet. Also, in order to meet the minimum levels of less prevalent nutrients such selenium; you would need to add high quantities of seaweed, which could in turn lead to toxic levels of other nutrients, such as iodine.'


Organic foods

There are also problems with foods calling themselves 'Organic' as there are no regulations in the EU relating to organic pet foods. As a result, organic pet foods vary considerably in the amount of organic materials in the recipe, and whether or not they are certified by the Soil Ossociation or similar.

A example would be Pero, with an ingredient list:

pero food
Organic Fresh Chicken (min 26%), Organic Rice (min 26%), Organic Oats, Organic Barley, Fish Meal, Organic Full Fat Soya, Organic Peas, Organic Skimmed Milk, Organic Herbs, Organic Honey, Vitamins, Minerals.

Anything not listed as organic (fish meal, vitamins and minerals) can be assumed not to be.

 

Another is Yarrah:

Whole wheat*, meat* (chicken*) and animal by-products* (chicken*), maize*, fat*, minerals. *=Verified (certified) organically produced, EKO, Skal 1301

 

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no legal definition for the terms 'natural' and 'organic' as they relate to food products. These terms mean different things to different people, but in general, the terms imply food products:

  • Without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives

  • Without synthetic nutrient additives such as amino acids, vitamins or minerals

  • With ingredients (meat and grains) produced without synthetic hormones, pesticides or fertilizers

The most important point is that the definition of natural or organic is left to individual interpretation.

 

If feeding as natural a product as possible is your preferred option, then look at the Holistic products on offer. If Organic is your choice then go there, but look carefully at the ingredients. Looking at the examples above, both Pero and Yarrah offer organic, but Yarrah also includes by-products and wheat in their recipe which might not be what you want!

 

 

 

 

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©2008Pet Food Choice - All information on this website is given in good faith, but decisions about the feeding requirements of your pets are entirely up to you, or if necessary should be taken with the help and advice of your veterinary surgeon... Site map