Party Line on Raw Food? Bye.
I’m still amazed by the reports I hear of Dr. WhiteCoat’s reaction to your real world Vital Animals. He’s not alone, of course. You’ve also told me people in the dog park are first amazed and then scared off when they hear you are feeding a raw food diet, no longer vaccinating, not using pesticides for fleas, ticks or heartworms.
Here’s a recent example from Jeri, who regularly inspires me with how much she’s learned about the Natural Path, and how adamant she is to see that her animals are kept from medical harm.
…our vet knew we fed raw. Occasionally a “relief vet” would be in the clinic taking that day’s work. I remember a time we went in for blood work and checkup, this vet ooohed and aaaahed about his teeth — how clean. Did he just have a dental? No. She kept on asking questions, and I knew I would have to “go there”, so I laughed and said lightly “He’s raw fed.” She looked at me in shock. Just ‘Oh….Oh…Oh…um…Well, there’s been a recall recently.’ Me: ‘Yes, I know. It doesn’t affect us.’ That was it. Education for her? No idea. But clearly I had disturbed her world view. Later she saw my husband and wanted to give him the AVMA article resolution on raw….as if I weren’t already WELL acquainted with that little hypocritical ‘goose egg’ they laid. I told him about it and he laughed. Nothing like horse blinders on a vet.”
Raw Food Denial? Dangerous? Dismissed!!
Seeing the gorgeous outcome and then being taken aback about how this dog got to be so vital – what’s wrong with this picture?
I’ve seen many raw fed dogs and cats in my practice, and they are amazingly healthy. In fact, they rarely need my services! Shiny coats, gleaming white teeth, sweet breath, sound joints, and freedom from disease.
You’ve likely seen these guys, if you don’t already have one in your care.
But, if you have a preconceived notion (“Raw food is full of salmonella!”), and you haven’t seen the amazing results raw feeding brings, well, you might let your mind color what you are seeing and feeling right in front of you.
Denying your senses in favor of a fixed mindset? How’s that for living a life apart from reality?
Vets in The Box
The AVMA, with their strong ties to the pet food industry, passed a resolution against raw feeding of pets in 2012. To no one’s surprise, of course.
If you’re a vet who’s not thinking outside the box, here’s your fall back:
Raw food is edgy, weird, and crawling with salmonella.
The AVMA tells me so. So does main stream media.
And, when you’re busy making a living selling bags of kibble, [and repeatedly vaccinating animals (against all logic and science) and dispensing toxic pesticides against fleas and heartworm], your livelihood is at stake if you look at raw feeding as the true enhancement to health that it is.
“We don’t sell raw food here. We sell Science Diet! And Hill’s Prescription Diets!”
Hill’s. Same folks who donate their food to all the vet schools. Who actually “trained” us vets in nutrition. (Ha!)
Hill’s, who actually gives vet students free food for their pets while in vet school.
Now, lest you think dry kibble is somehow safer than raw food, you’ll want to know this next bit.
Kibble Quietly Recalled
Even though it’s apparent that the FDA is out to make life tough for the raw pet food manufacturers, don’t assume dry food-like particles (aka kibble) are somehow magically untainted.
Here’s a CDC final report on the damages from a salmonella outbreak associated with kibble, that involved multiple states. 49 cases, across 20 states.
Deaths? Zero.
How many dogs got sick? None were reported.
Here’s another kibble recall a year later, for widely recognized brands IAMS and Eukanuba.
Again: how many sickened? None reported.
How Many Die as a Result of These Horrible Pet Foods?
Great question, and Aspen Anderson, from Steve’s Real Food [a raw food I recommend] had a great analysis on relative risk recently, in Dogs Naturally Magazine.
You might assume with a monster government institution like the FDA seemingly very concerned with food borne illness in pet products, that people were dropping like flies across the country.
That assumption would actually be wildly wrong.
This CDC report revealed that, in 2009–10, in all the food borne illness in the U.S. (no pet foods listed) the following number of people died, from food borne bacteria that included salmonella, E. coli, and listeria:
23.
Never mind the comparison with war casualties, automobile fatalities, or just plain deaths at the doorstep of conventional medicine, all of which are far, far greater.
This number was, coincidentally, the same number of deaths reported in 2013 from (drum roll, please)…
lightning strike.
Ahem.
Get On Board or Get Out of My Way!
So, if your vet isn’t yet understanding all this, or worse yet, actually has the clinic staff glove up to handle your raw fed animal (yes, this actually happens), your mission is clear:
Fire Your Vet!
Remember: vote with your pocketbook at every opportunity. How long do you want to financially support someone still living in the dark, by choice?
Tell us in the comments of your experiences of raw feeding and Dr. WhiteCoat’s response.
