A big, inside look at the shocking lack of regulation within the pet food industry, and how readers can dramatically improve the quality of their dogs’ lives through diet. What’s really going into commercial dog food? The answer is horrifying. Big Kibble is big business: $75 billion globally. A handful of multi-national corporations dominate the industry and together own as many as 80% of all … own as many as 80% of all brands. This comes as a surprise to most people, but what’s even more shocking is how lax the regulations and guidelines are around these products. The guidelines–or lack thereof–for pet food allow producers to include ever-cheaper ingredients, and create ever-larger earnings. For example, “legal” ingredients in kibble include poultry feces, saw dust, expired food, and diseased meat, among other horrors. Many vets still don’t know that kibble is not the best food for dogs because Big Kibble funds the nutrition research. So far, these corporations have been able to cut corners and still market and promote feed-grade food as if it were healthful and beneficial–until now.
Just as you are what you eat, so is your dog. Once you stop feeding your dog the junk that’s in kibble or cans, you have taken the first steps to improving your dog’s health, behavior and happiness.
You know the unsavory side of Big Tobacco and Big Pharma. Now Shawn Buckley, Dr. Oscar Chavez, and Wendy Paris explain all you need to know about unsavory Big Kibble–and offer a brighter path forward for you and your pet.
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Sure wish I had seen this book years ago. I think it could have extended my sweet Honey dog’s life. Some of the things brought to light in this book I already knew,but many I did not. This explains why there are so many dog “feed” recalls and unnecessary deaths of our beloved pets.
I did not realize that the standards for dog feed is not anything near standards for human food. It is classified as animal feed, like livestock destined for slaughter or short term uses like laying eggs. So many pets in this book had remarkable restorations and longevity of life once taken off the dried poison most of them were fed. I used to work in a grain elevator so I know what animal grain vs. people grades of grain.
There are so many people and even vets who believe grain free diets are the way to go. Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem is with grains and vegetables that do not pass human food standards but can be fed to animals. Large livestock can handle small amounts of toxins in grain, but has devastating results for small animals such as dogs and cats.
This book is very detailed about the process a handful of people made their “job” to expose. Although this group tried and tested several types of fresh foods for dogs, I liked that they also share the recipes.
One of the few books I have read cover to cover everything except the links for their proofs and research.
I received an ARC through Net-Galley and the publisher.
in return I am posting my unbiased review. I do review everything I read just wish I had finished this sooner. There is a lot to absorb and well worth your time to read it front to back as well.
Would make a great gift for any dog lover.
This book is an eye opener into the dog food industry, what are kibbles and how it’s made, the process of testing & FDA regulations, and unfortunately the lengths some companies did to pass their tests. It’s disheartening to read, but overall the authors provides an unbiased, well researched book. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and the authors for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.
If you have a dog or cat, please read this book! If my rescue dogs were still alive, I would not be feeding them any brand of dry or wet dog food. Most dog food is made by four big companies and it should be against the law what they are allowed to put in dog food. The quality is not as suggested on the packaging and not even close to being nutritious!
There is a trend of people moving away from manufactured dog food and making their own. There are also a couple companies that make homemade fresh nutritious food. My daughter feeds her rescue dog fresh food from The Farmers Dog. There is also Ollie, Nom Nom and Just Food for dogs to name a few. The authors also include recipes so you can make your own dog food. Is it more expensive, yes. But so are Vet bills for sick dogs.
Thank you St Martin’s Press, the authors and netgalley for a copy of this eye opening book. This is my honest review.
This was a well written informative book. Parts were interesting and other parts not so much.
I had a bit of a hard time getting through this book as it’s not something I would normally read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy
I received a free electronic ARC of this awesome animal lovers self-help book from authors Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez, Netgalley, and publisher St. Martin’s Press – Health, Mind, and Body. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Big Nibble is especially welcome to my family’s research shelf and an eye-opening look at how we manage our household and maintain the health and nutrition of our animal members.
My daughter started making a nutritious mix including meat or fish, legumes, spinach, or kale, and assorted grains about 6 months ago, supplementing their Purina brand dried foods. We have found some things out by experience – our critters have all suffered from food anxiety in their younger years – our ten-year-old track rescued greyhound can manipulate that lovely long nose around getting everything in the bowl but the brown lintels and carrot shavings. The eight-year-old rescued feral cats will eat almost anything as long as there is kibble in the kibble bowl, though they seldom eat much of that dry food. All of the critters are grateful for the interesting additional recipes that can add variety to their meals.
We have stuck with Purina brand foods supplemented with table scraps for the last 50 years without any problems, but this bunch are getting older and were noticeably slowing down, and stuck home through this pandemic without daily bark park runs and leisurely walks through the local hardware stores our greyhound Marie was doing noticeably less running and playing in the yard as the days passed. And the cats are, according to their vet, getting fat. We honestly didn’t notice until we saw them on the scales. And after that awakening, we got on our own scales and realized our clothes were not shrinking in the new washer. Protein-pushing became a way of life around here. Reading Big Kibble has moved that method of feeding into the fast lane.
And feeding aside, there are so many hints and tips on keeping your animals healthy and happy! This is a lifestyle change that can only improve and extend the days of our fur buddies. It is a book I will refer to often, and one I will gift to my animal-loving sisters. You can’t go wrong, following the advice of Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez. Your critters will thank you for reading it.
As a dog (and cat) lover since birth and a pet parent most of my adult life I was glad to find out details of the pet food industry. I recall years ago how rare it was to find a people grade cat kibble and having to carve out a chunk of my budget to pay for it. I loved my cats and went the extra mile for them. I did it medically, too. The dogs and cats went to specialists more than once. We do this for our furrbabies. As the authors point out, these days our pets take the place of family for many.
Learning about advances in veterinary medicine and the incredible cost of various treatments was an eye opener. Then there are the details of what can go into the food we give our beloved dogs (and cats) – practices that depend upon the difference between a food rating (people grade) and a feed rating. To make sure the health of our dogs is protected from allergies and illnesses do we, as responsible pet parents, go the extra mile and cook their food as we would do for our human family members? Or do we read the labels/fine print and cross our fingers that we are doing all that we can for them? I learned that all pet foods have additives such as vitamins and that those can come from overseas without any real oversight in their manufacturing. Reading this book educated me but also showed me that there is a whole world out there of people who have a whole lot of money that they can lavish on their dog’s diet. That’s out of the price range for the majority of us. Doing the math, to keep the dog in my life fed the food the authors sell would be almost doubling our food budget per month. Add to that their information on the medical costs of treatment (hope you can get affordable pet insurance) and this book shows the chasm between those who can and do feed their dogs the “good food” and the rest of us who may be able to cook as often as possible for our dogs but have to rely on the big name pet food companies. I have to wonder how long it will take for those mega companies to buy the dog food company JustFoodForDogs they own and start cutting corners. Until then, while I would love to be able to feed such food to my dog, I will take the knowledge I have gained from this book and do my very best to feed the best food I can afford.
Overall it was very educational and I’m glad I read it. It was well written, easy going style and aimed at the layman. Written for the health of dogs but, as a pet parent of many cats, too, I can encourage reading this to give our cats a better diet, too.
My thanks to the publisher St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Okay, so this is not an easy book to read. Some of the info is scary and disturbing, but so very important for us all to be made aware of so we can ultimately make the best choices for our beloved pets. What I mean by scary is that people are the architects of some truly heinous behavior in the name of the almighty dollar at the expense of our furry family members. I think of myself a a responsible caring dog mom and try to make sure my sweet girl eats well. Most of the time I am more concerned with what I feed her than I feed myself and yet some of this information was new and horrifying to me. I does seem at times slightly biased, but is still a wealth of very illuminating information. Every pet family should read this to avail themselves of this information and make choices that are best for our pets and lifestyles. Laws and regulations really need to change. Pets should never be considered and treated as property. NEVER. It allows this heinous behavior. As pet families we need to do better and this is a great place to start.
Whether you have a pet or just love animals, Big Kibble by Shawn Buckley and Oscar Chavez is a book for you. The authors present a thorough examination of the pet “food” industry that is as eye opening as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.
I enjoyed learning about the history of manufactured pet food, which is really pet “feed”. Whether it is canned or dry kibble, the stuff in your dog’s bowl is considered feed that is loosely monitored and regulated. The byproduct, junk (like plastic) and random body parts that can be found in your pet’s meals is absolutely disgusting!
None of these “ingredients” is specifically called out in labeling. Additionally, many popular brands add misleading information on their packaging so that consumers believe the pet feed is manufactured in the USA. Authors Buckley and Chavez maintain that the ingredients come from overseas (primarily China) and are just combined into kibble form in the USA. Further, the authors state that overseas factories are notorious for amping up protein content by including plastics in their dog feed product. The examples of how this has sickened pets is heartbreaking.
Big Kibble turns from the history of the industry in general to the history of the fresh dog food trend. It focuses on the Just Food For Dogs company, which the authors have a financial interest in. While the content is good, the author’s arguments would be more convincing if they had given equal focus to other companies producing fresh dog food. That said, I greatly appreciated the inclusion of recipes for readers to make meals for their dogs in their own kitchens. The recipes include common food found at the local grocery store, and you can be assured that what your beloved pet is consuming is food not feed.
3.5 -4 stars
As more people become vigilant about what they eat and where it comes from, most do not stop to think about what their pets eat. Everyone knows that processed food is not healthy, how healthy is it for pets? As pet owners, we expect what we feed our dogs to have passed inspections; much like, foods for human consumption. This book is an eye opener about how kibble is transported, made and ends up in the bags sold in grocery stores.
There is a detailed history of how dog food began, where the labels tell us beef, chicken, so it must be real meat. Are you aware that meat used can be from dead, destroyed or diseased animals and made into kibble? If humans wouldn’t eat meat from a dead or diseased animal, should dogs? Is premium dog food better?
Shawn Buckley, noticed something when he went to purchase his dog’s food. His dog’s regular lamb and rice dry food was out, so he picked up the chicken dry food and noticed they were the same price. Everyone knows that lamb costs more than chicken, so it’d make sense that dog food made of lamb would cost more, but they were the exact same price. This lead Shawn to investigate, and start to make homemade food for his dog, Simon. They noted that Simon looked better and acted better.
I learned a great deal reading this book, and how companies who manufacturer food overseas aren’t checking for quality control, and these corporations who make millions don’t dole out very much for an injured animal that has consumed tainted food. These companies pour a lot of money into vet schools, so often vets recommend their brands without really knowing what goes into the product.
If you have a pet, this is a great book to read. Not only does it give information, but it includes tackles myths, and provides recipes. Our companions can’t speak for themselves, and they count on us, to make better decisions for them.
I received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin’s Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.
BIG KIBBLE by Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez is a non-fiction book that explores the pet food industry and offers their recommendations for improvements that should be made. Do you know what is in your pet’s food? How is it made? What does “premium” really mean?
This was a thought-provoking book that talks about the history of the pet food industry, the process used for making that food, what goes in that food, the lack of proper regulations, and seems to posit that much of the commercial pet food on the market is not adequate for a healthy pet.
The book is focused on dogs and recommends food for them that is made from human grade ingredients like they sell through their company JustFoodForDogs. There are also a few other niche suppliers that use these ingredients. They even provide some recipes at the end of the book to make your own dog food.
One thing that was an important distinction in pet food that the authors emphasized is that pet food is regulated as “feed” not “food”. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) shapes feed laws and regulations. While states set their own rules, they need consistency since this trade crosses state boundaries. Dog feed has been classified as feed versus food since its origins. The FDA has a memorandum of understanding with the AAFCO which is not a governmental agency.
I found that the book was somewhat repetitive with some of the early text repeated near the end. However, there were also stories that were heart-wrenching, heart-warming and gave this reader insights into many of the medical challenges dogs can face. The authors also give recommendations for improvements within the pet food industry. The book is easy to read for a lay person and doesn’t require one to be a veterinarian to understand it.
Overall, it was a book that I am glad I read. It seemed one-sided to me, but perhaps for a good reason. If you are a dog parent, this will be a thought-provoking and potentially shocking read.
St. Martin’s Press and the authors provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for December 1, 2020.
From stupidly added plastics (your grandma’s Melamine plates) to fillers causing kidney disease to an additive that causes heart failure to known allergens (serious mold) the conglomerates that make big money off of you and me are not helping your pets. This book lays it all out for pet parents to feel sick about.
Think it’s only the cheap brands?
No.
Think it doesn’t include canned food?
No.
Think about all the discarded parts of animals that get stewed and ground up for the pet food. Then think about the incredibly vile smell it creates. Stick your nose in the bag and you get only what it smells like after they add flavor enhancers.
We all need to understand that this is big business and some of those businesses are only concerned with their own bottom line. And there is no government agency to protect the consumer or its pet parent.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Thank you.
One reference is https://www.poisonedpets.com/
What goes in our dogs kibble is gross, unhealthy and should be illegal , but it’s not this kibble is all okay in the eyes of the law. I knew it was scraps, left over parts and ugly veggies, I had no idea it went so far beyond that. From the items used to the transportation, the tainted products, over processing, dangerous materials, misleading to outright lying on the labels, and a total lack of accountability, it’s disgusting. I am shocked, horrified and ashamed that America has not stepped up it’s standards.
The authors cover the history of pet food, before, the beginning and now. They cover the process from suppliers, to bag. The tests, responsibilities and legal requirements (and lack of) are covered. There is a great deal of information on byproducts, molds, chemicals, and more found in kibble. Vitamins are covered as well as minerals and starches. Then the big grain controversy, covered. Some information on canine heart disease known as Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). There is so much more, most of the book is education for us the readers to take and use before we make choices
The authors are in the dog food business. A small portion of the story talks about a fresh food product they have developed and sell. I expected the book to be a sales pitch, it’s really not they don’t push it at all they even have a couple recipes for you to make your own. They want you to have the knowledge that has taken them years to find so you can help you dog and others.
If you own a dog, you need to read this book.
I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher for an honest review
Thought-provoking call to action from the founders of JustFoodForDogs, engagingly if somewhat repetitively written. The thesis is that regardless of cost, brand, or market niche, commercial dog food is undifferentiated, poorly regulated, potentially dangerous, and insufficient for a healthy, happy dog. Instead, the authors recommend fresh food made from human-grade ingredients, such as that sold by the authors’ JustFoodForDogs and a few other suppliers. The authors also provide recipes and suggestions if you want to make your own food for your dog, and they debunk common myths about what dogs should and should not eat.
I found this book interesting, compelling, and frustrating. I started the book in agreement with the authors’ overall premise but without understanding the background behind it. I just figured that when you know what goes into your dog’s food, you will know what goes into your dog. From this book, I learned a lot about the pet food industry and how and why dog food is regulated as animal “feed,” not food – a critical distinction. I learned that no matter what the picture on the bag or the box, the source of “meat” in commercial dry dog food is overwhelmingly likely to be meat “meal.” I learned more than I really wanted to about how that meal is made, with warnings that are particularly stark in light of current concerns about animal-human transmission of disease. I learned about canine nutritional needs and how they differ from humans’. The tone is personal and engaging, and the stories about dogs are warm, funny, and touching.
This book seems padded in spots. The long introduction is cogent and detailed, almost like a stand-alone article. But significant parts of the introduction are repeated in the book. After what seemed like a long discussion on pet food company consolidation, the punchline was that the size of the company didn’t make a difference when it came to the safety or sufficiency of the dog food they produced. Big was bad; small was just as bad. It seemed like a long journey to get there.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and recommend it to any dog lover. The recipes are meat-focused and sound dog-friendly. As the authors put it, food plays such a large role in our dogs’ lives: “Food is one reliable source of joy, a highpoint of every single day.”
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.