Here's Dr. Greg Aldrich's email address.  Maybe we could let him know how we feel.

aldrich4@cox.net.


Dear Dr. Aldrich,
What's wrong with you people?


5CatMom
₌^..^₌

Look at this!!  Susan Thixton on Dr. Greg Aldrich's idea to use ethanol waste in pet food.
  ROFL! 


"Allow me to interpret…The production of ethanol has raised the cost of otherwise cheap grains commonly used as protein in pet food. Ah, but I discovered something that we might have overlooked…and it´s even cheaper! After they process grain for ethanol, the left over garbage still analyzes as protein – goodie for us! Jump on this gang, before the price goes up!"

and...

"Interpretation: There is one problem, and it´s big… DDGS (left-overs from ethanol production) are extremely prone to a deadly mold that is known to be a killer of pets. Extensive research has shown it´s very risky. But remember, it´s cheap so it´s probably worth the risk.

As if the above isn´t bad enough…Dr. Aldrich feels petsumers will welcome this change: "Considering consumers generally have a favorable view of "green" ethanol…" Well Dr. Aldrich, we might not all have a PhD behind our name, but we certainly are not stupid! ´Green´ pet food is NOT huge piles left in the backyard or litter box!"

and...

"...AAFCO will graciously accommodate The Pet Food Industry with a nice, safe sounding ingredient name. Something like "Protein-rich Solubles" – after all…"left-over @#$% from the processing of ethanol" on a pet food label probably won´t sell much pet food."

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/76284

I guess she feels the same way we do.  Well done, Susan!  A lot of us will write to him.

WTF are they thinking, excuse me, they think now? Two lines from the link:

Currently on a 'few' of the value brands of petfood are BRAVE (or stupid IMO) enough to incorporate DDGS in their formulas.

Requires a fine grind to prevent the kibble from having a FUZZY surface - like in hairy? YEWWWWWW

Article said this DDGS is not in wet food - only kibble.

What are those companies that put this in their products? This guy Aldrich is one sandwich short of a picnic IMO when he states that the consumers will like this as if to say we should be glad to do our part by feeding this cwap to our pets?

When will the pet food places wake up and smell the coffee - WE DO NOT WANT ANY ADULTERATED TOXINS, CWAP, LEFT OVER SLOP, IRRIADATION, UNFIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION JUNK IN OUR PETS FOOD - GET IT?

I was going to give Dr. Aldrich's email address but 5cat beat me to it......thanks 5cat.  I just sent this to him:

Dr. Aldrich:

I am a responsible pet parent who just read your article & I am beyond angry.  What is wrong with you & the rest of the pet food industry?  You are supposed to be responsible people making & selling healthy, nutritious pet food to sustain those little furry creatures that we happen to love.

Have you not learned anything from the horror of pet recall '07?  I knew absolutely nothing about pet food prior to the happenings of last year but I sure learned fast.  I researched day after day & there was nothing that I learned that pleased me or gave me confidence in the crap I've been feeding my beloved dog her whole life.  Instead, it made me sick, disgusted & angry, not to mention guilty that I'd been filling my dog full of chemicals & other crap that should never be in any food.

I know a note from one or two pet lovers won't do anything to change your mind but I had to say what's in my heart.  When are you going to make & sell a pet food that is actually good for my dog?  Or is money the only thing that matters to you & the rest of your buddies?

I'm sure you can find a use for DDGS that will fill your coffers with money & leave it out of pet food.

I hate to tell you this but the majority of pet parents DO NOT trust commercial pet food after all we found out last year, not to mention all the pet parents with sick or dead animals.  Many of them are still trying to nurse them back to health a year later.  Doesn't that bother you?  If it doesn't, I think you should find another line of work where it doesn't involve feeding innocent little furry creatures.

3cat,

I was thinking that coming home last nite... to thank him for letting us know.

My gut says some pfc has probably already done it and that's his way of bringing it out into the open.. Somebody asked, maybe after the fact, and that's the result of it... in the open.

It reinforces the "no grains no glutens" pet food purchases that many of us try to follow as way of keeping as much distance as possible between our pets & grain pesticides, grain toxins, etc...and the greedy pfc/pfi using scraps, brewers rice, gmos, etc with a continued lack of concern for the animal health. 

Since the FDA didn't mention MARC (including cyanuric acid) levels in the pet foods with their recent announcements, I can't help but worry again about pets and crystals... and once more the article respresents another example of the depraved mentality of the industry & their lobbyists...

I would not be surprised to find that there are more grain garbage offals from processing similar to the article (like soy, rice, barley, oats) which are already being used in the pet foods...

.. and I say a silent prayer daily that the next day is the day that EWG releases the results of their pet food tests.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/10/6/105517/371/

Gristmill October 7, 2008

Ethanol waste: Good for Rover?

"Should the mush left over after the ethanol process -- known as distillers grains -- be fed to farm animals?

"There's been little real debate around that question, even though a) heavy use of distillers grains as cow feed has been linked to deadly E. Coli 0157H7 outbreaks; and b), the mush has been shown to contain all manner of residues from the ethanol process, including industrial chemicals and antibiotics.

"While questions surrounding distillers grains as animal feed hang around, the pet-food industry is seriously considering adding the stuff to cat and dog food; indeed, a few producers already are. According to a pet-food industry consultant:

"Currently, only a few of the "value brands" of petfood are brave enough to incorporate DDGS [a common type of distillers grains] in their formulas."

And if you check back to the original story, you'll see that it is already being done by some PFC's.

http://www.petfoodindustry.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=22862%20

"Currently, only a few of the "value brands" of petfood are brave enough to incorporate DDGS in their formulas."

Let's see if we can compile a list of those "value brands" who use DDGS here.

WE need to do the investigating to find out who's using them.  I just got some more information on DDGS in PF and need to go through it before posting it.  I did find a supplement who's using them and I'll post all of what I have as soon as I go through it and organize it.