Hello, and welcome to my new series: Pet Food Confidential. I've been doing lots of research on pet food, and over the next several weeks I'll be filling you in on who controls pet food, what the ingredient labels mean, and what the other options are. If you've got questions, leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them later in the series!

Okay, so, think back to the last pet food commercial you saw. Dog food commercials are all about good buddies, and cat food commercials are about treating feline friends to the very best. Watch those commercials and you'd think, "gee, they're really looking out for us!"

That's what I thought, right up until last year's widespread pet food recalls. Obviously whoever was supposed to be looking out for us then had fallen asleep at the wheel. So who was it? Whose responsibility is it to make sure our food is safe a healthy?

There are three different organizations who split some responsibility for pet food: the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), and the Pet Food Institute (PFI).

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine
The Center for Veterinary Medicine is the branch of the FDA the deals with all things animal. Well, not all things; actually, they only control drugs, devices and food additives for livestock and companion animals like you and me. That means they're in charge of approving pet food preservatives, coloring and flavorings. They don't have any regulatory control over the source of pet food ingredients, which means that pet food companies can include gross animal "by-products" (like feathers and fur, brains, and other bits that have no nutritional value and may even be bad for us) without fearing interference from the CVM.

CVM investigates pet food in cases of widespread pet illness or death. They also investigate health claims on pet food -- for example, if kitty food says it's good for kitty bladders, CVM has to make sure it's true. The CVM doesn't regularly test pet food to make sure it's safe and healthy. That means that the government's only pet food authority is really no authority at all.

American Association of Feed Control Officials
So if the government isn't regulating pet food, who is? CVM relies on AAFCO, an organization made up of representatives from government, pet food companies, the Pet Food Institute and the rendering industries. AAFCO has no regulatory authority, but state governments rely on them to set model standards which the states can adopt. AAFCO also defines food ingredients; they're the ones who decide what counts as "by-products" in your pet food. AAFCO's definitions are considered standard, but they're not enforced.

Unlike CVM, AAFCO does run some tests on pet food. They analyze new foods to make sure they contain the ratio of protein, fat, fiber and minerals that they state on the label. Like CVM, though, AAFCO doesn't care where that protein, fat, or fiber comes from, or if it's digestible and safe, as long as it's there. They also do feed trials, where new pet foods are fed to animals to make sure they keep the animal healthy--but feed trials are only done for foods labeled as "complete and balanced." And the trials only have to include 8 animals minimum, 25% of them can be removed from the test, and the remaining animals can lose up to 15% of their starting body weight. Boy, I sure am glad they're being so thorough.

Pet Food Institute
The Pet Food Institute is the pet food industry's trade group. They represent the interests of 98 percent of all pet food manufacturers. Their whole job is to represent the pet food industry to the public and the media and lobby Congress on the Industry's behalf. They, along with pet food manufacturers, play a major role in setting AAFCO's standards. They exist to protect the pet food industry, not pets -- talk about the fox guarding the hen house!

State standards
States are the only ones who have any real control over pet food standards, and since they base their standards on AAFCO's recommendations, they're minimal to say the least. The amount of regular testing done on pet food varies from state to state, but state standards are written in such a way that tests are likely to miss major pet food problems -- like, say, the presence of toxic amounts of melamine.

So, who's protecting pets?
Are you seeing the loopholes here? There are almost no pet food regulations, and the regulations that do exist are hardly enforced. Right now, it's up to our people to look out for us -- and considering how little information about pet food is widely available, that's not easy. What we really need are strong government standards for pet food that address everything from raw ingredients to pet food preservatives, and a transparent labeling system to allow our people to choose what's best for us without guessing!

Photo by macb3th. Read full post.

What did FDA have to say about our poo bag delivery, you ask? Not a whole heck of a lot. Film at 11 right now!

Friday afternoon was pretty busy for your furry crusader, especially considering that's usually when I do my best napping. After a quick meeting with Richard Wiles, one of the humans in charge of the Environmental Working Group, I headed out -- with tons of schwag and 70 poo-bagged messages for the FDA.

The first stop on my outing was at the Washington Animal Rescue League. They were the first animal shelter in Washington D.C. all the way back in 1914. They've moved and grown and renovated since then, and their building is now what my human friends called "innovative" and "state-of-the-art." Everything is made of glass and some kind of fancy stone, there's tons of light going into the doggie dens and kitty condos, the pets get out to play three times a day, and the puppies get their own pad with specialized attention. If I'd been placed in a shelter like that, I wouldn't have wanted to leave!

They've also got an animal hospital right on the premises, where animals on their way to their forever homes are spayed and neutered. Vets there also see pets of people who don't have much money, and many animals from other shelters who need medical attention. I got to hang out with some of the nurses there, and I can assure you they have excellent bedside manner.

After leaving our boxes of donations with WARL Executive Director Dr. Gary Weitzman, we headed out to the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. I couldn't go in -- believe it or not, animals aren't allowed in the building. Luckily there was a nice shady tree for us to meet under. After a quick drink of water, I stood by looking imposing while my dog-human interpreter read my statement to Executive Secretariat Tracy Forfa, Office of Management Deputy Directory Gary Claywell, and Director of Communications Laura Bradbard. We had already submitted our statement and all your comments to the docket electronically, but we handed them a paper copy for their own files, and of course the 70 poop bags, stuffed with your messages. I'll have video of that coming up pretty soon.

We've taken the first step by speaking out. Now we just have to keep on barking and cawing and squeaking and meowing until we know they've heard us!

I'm on my way out the door for two very important meetings.

First, I'm stopping by the Washington Animal Rescue League to get a tour of their state-of-the-art facilities and to drop off a whole bunch of stuff that my new friends and other people who love pets have donated. Keys Pet Care donated shampoo and lotion and insect repellent, and Organic and Nature chipped in some pretty smelling air fresheners and all-purpose cleaners. The Leash We Can Do sent a whole bunch of kitty toys (including some with catnip! I bet the shelter cats will love that). They also sent bonito flakes and these super smokin' bandanas -- I hope no one will mind if I snag one of those for myself! Poopbags.com donated 2,000 biodegradable poo-bags, and my buds at EWG collected towels to deliver to the shelter. I'm a lucky dog to get to be the bearer of such good stuff! A trillion thanks to everyone who chipped in.

Then, when I'm done at the shelter, I'm headed over to the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, where I'll be delivering your messages in poo bags! I can't wait to talk to them about all the things I've learned about what makes safe pet food, and how they can help protect us. Rumor has it we'll have to meet outside, in front of the building, because -- get this -- animals aren't allowed in. At the Center for Veterinary Medicine! Isn't that something? Humans. What're you gonna do.

Many thanks to Truth About Pet Food for pulling this project together, and to Poopbags.com for donating the poo bag envelopes! The poo bag campaign raised us $700, which will go towards my pet food testing program. I'll have an update for you about how the meeting went on Monday. Wish me luck!

Hey guys! Here's some video footage from yesterday's field trip to the FDA pet food standards meeting. Don't forget, it's not too late to tell FDA how you feel. I'll deliver your messages in poo bags on June 13th.

Okay, so things today didn't go quite the way we planned. The way we hear it, the meeting was a bit of a sham:

There was not one media question. A $26 Billion dollar a year industry - representing the concerns of 64% of U.S. households - and not one television network or major newspaper was there to ask questions for pet owners. Not one.

There was no representative from the Humane Society nor the ASPCA. The two largest pet o rganizations in the nation - that should be voicing the concerns of all the pet owners that send them donations - they were conspicuously absent. Read full post.

Well I got here, and everyone was leaving! Was it something I barked? Too many days since my last bath? Read full post.

Okay, crew, today's the big day: I'm going to the FDA's public meeting on pet food standards. You can read more about the meeting here. Read full post.

On Tuesday May 13th, the FDA is holding a hearing on pet food standards -- and yours truly will be there, taking lots of video and liveblogging the event for all of you to follow!

I'll also be making a, ah... special delivery, of sorts. We want to send a message to FDA that we're sick of the crap in our pet food. But what's the best way to get the message across?

How about in biodegradable poo bags?!

That's right: we're taking the poop-scoop to the FDA. It was our friends at Truth about Pet Food who came up with this brilliant idea, and the poo bags were donated by PoopBags.com.

Want in on the action? Got something to say to the FDA? Send us your message along with a $5 donation, and we'll deliver your message on Tuesday in a poo bag (sans poo, of course) along with many, many others.

We want to tell FDA that their current pet food safety regulations stink!

You've only got until noon on Monday to send us your message, so don't wait. And spread the word -- the more poop bags we deliver, the better!