FEEDBACK Are you feeding your companion animal(s) a vegetarian or vegan diet? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Please drop us a line at chad@forthevoiceless.org and let us know all about your animals and what they eat. |
Picture yourself, wherever it is that you buy your companion animal's food. Is it the grocery store? Major retailer, a la Wal-Mart or Target? Is it a pet superstore like Petsmart or Petco? Regardless, the truth is that you likely find yourself overwhelmed with choices. Brands, "special diet", puppy, breed specific, senior, high-energy...the choices seem never-ending. Life is, however, about choices. Most individuals are as concerned with the health and longevity of their beloved companion animals as they are (or would be) with their children, siblings and parents. Diet is so very important when it comes to the building and maintenance of a healthy mind and body. Bearing this in mind, let's go back to that picture of you amongst the aisles of bags and cans and boxes of food choices for Fido or Tiger. Ask yourself, "would I feed myself the rendered brains, bone and blood of some nondescript farm animal?" "Would I feed my child the meat of a diseased cow that was so sick he couldn't even make it to the marketplace?" Of course not. Why feed those very meat industry by-products to your faithful and loving companion? Hate to say it, but if you're feeding your pal with one of the major commercially available dog/cat foods, that's probably just what you're doing. Sadly, in conjunction with these harmful, diseased renderings comes another deadly ingredient: pentobarbital. This is the drug commonly used by the agricultural industry, as well as the animal sheltering industry to euthanize sick, unhealthy and surplus animals. The Center for Veterinary Medicine, part of the US Food and Drug Administration, has found that not only does it survive the rendering process, but it has been found, in quantity, in the commercially available dog food that you are standing in front of in your mind's picture. You can read their findings here: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/efoi/DFreport.doc Because of the aforementioned information, and because dogs, like people are omnivores, VOCAL promotes a vegetarian/vegan diet. Our fosters thrive on a combination of vegetarian kibble and raw veggies. One of our dogs, a 120 pound great dane mix, would sooner trample you for a carrot as he would for a meat based treat. VOCAL also believes that cruelty shouldn't beget additional cruelty. Whereas most of our fosters come from ugly backgrounds of neglect, abuse and ill-treatment, we can't very well justify rehabilitating any of them with the blood of another tortured creature. There are those folks that find the idea of a vegetarian dog "unnatural" and deviating from their appropriate ancestry. Accusations of forcing "our beliefs" upon the companion animals in our care are relatively uncommon, but they do exist. Most of these people are simply relying on age-old beliefs and a lack of an open mind (much akin to the theory that you can't neuter a dog before he's at least a year old). Most attacks come from proponents of the BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food, as some call it, incorrectly). While we appreciate that these people believe that they're doing the best thing for their animals, we also could never see giving animals we care for products laden with bovine growth hormone, salmonella, e.coli, etc. VOCAL feeds and recommends Nature's Recipe Vegetarian (an allergy formula, found at most major pet supply stores, such as Petsmart or Pet Supermarket). We also like Wow-Bow, found only online. VOCAL also can't, in good conscience, support companies like IAMS, Eukanuba or Ralston Purina, who still engage in cruel and inhumane animal tests in their very own laboratories. IAMS and Eukanuba, being owned by Proctor and Gamble, one of the largest of the vivisectors, and Ralston-Purina, with their very own USDA licensed testing and research lab. They purport to love doggies and kitties, yet torture individual companion animals to test their latest kibble. For those that think those animals are "just" mice and rats, well, it's not. It's beagles and other "cute 'n cuddly" animals. For more info on vivisection in the name of pet food, please see: For another great, in-depth article on pet food, what's in it, and what you need to know about it, please see the Animal Protection Institute's page here. Think we're lying? Twelve huskies, 12 poodles and 12 labradors were regularly given chest wounds to see if diet could affect fur regrowth. This was justified in the study on the grounds that "dogs are enjoyable to touch and look at... Dogs with coat problems are simply not handled as much." --Research project by Iams/Proctor and Gamble One cruel experiment to study the effect of extreme weight fluctuations on the liver forced 24 cats to become obese by feeding them a high-calorie diet immediately after being spayed. Once obese, these cats were then starved for 7 to 8 weeks on a diet containing only 25% of the calories needed for maintenance, in order to induce drastic weight loss. The rapid, extreme weight loss forced 3 of the cats to develop hepatic lipidosis, a devastating disease that is difficult to treat and often fatal. No mention is made about the ultimate fate of the surviving cats. Shame on you IAMS! Any Great Dane lovers out there? A 1998 experiment sponsored by Iams killed 18 young Great Danes to study the effect of diet on bone density. The dogs had been placed on diets with varying amounts of calcium and phosphorus and were later killed so that their bones could be removed and analyzed. Vegetarian Companion Animal Links: |
The Petstore |
Breeders |
Puppy Mills |
Animal Shelters |
Breed Rescue |
Dock/crop/declaw |
Contact Us |
Pet Food |
Support Vocal |
Be a whisper or be a scream...just be a voice. Be vocal. |
Picture yourself, wherever it is that you buy your companion animal's food. Is it the grocery store? Major retailer, a la Wal-Mart or Target? Is it a pet superstore like Petsmart or Petco? Regardless, the truth is that you likely find yourself overwhelmed with choices. Brands, "special diet", puppy, breed specific, senior, high-energy...the choices seem never-ending. Life is, however, about choices. Most individuals are as concerned with the health and longevity of their beloved companion animals as they are (or would be) with their children, siblings and parents. Diet is so very important when it comes to the building and maintenance of a healthy mind and body. Bearing this in mind, let's go back to that picture of you amongst the aisles of bags and cans and boxes of food choices for Fido or Tiger. Ask yourself, "would I feed myself the rendered brains, bone and blood of some nondescript farm animal?" "Would I feed my child the meat of a diseased cow that was so sick he couldn't even make it to the marketplace?" Of course not. Why feed those very meat industry by-products to your faithful and loving companion? Hate to say it, but if you're feeding your pal with one of the major commercially available dog/cat foods, that's probably just what you're doing. Sadly, in conjunction with these harmful, diseased renderings comes another deadly ingredient: pentobarbital. This is the drug commonly used by the agricultural industry, as well as the animal sheltering industry to euthanize sick, unhealthy and surplus animals. The Center for Veterinary Medicine, part of the US Food and Drug Administration, has found that not only does it survive the rendering process, but it has been found, in quantity, in the commercially available dog food that you are standing in front of in your mind's picture. You can read their findings here: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/efoi/DFreport.doc Because of the aforementioned information, and because dogs, like people are omnivores, VOCAL promotes a vegetarian/vegan diet. Our fosters thrive on a combination of vegetarian kibble and raw veggies. One of our dogs, a 120 pound great dane mix, would sooner trample you for a carrot as he would for a meat based treat. VOCAL also believes that cruelty shouldn't beget additional cruelty. Whereas most of our fosters come from ugly backgrounds of neglect, abuse and ill-treatment, we can't very well justify rehabilitating any of them with the blood of another tortured creature. There are those folks that find the idea of a vegetarian dog "unnatural" and deviating from their appropriate ancestry. Accusations of forcing "our beliefs" upon the companion animals in our care are relatively uncommon, but they do exist. Most of these people are simply relying on age-old beliefs and a lack of an open mind (much akin to the theory that you can't neuter a dog before he's at least a year old). Most attacks come from proponents of the BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food, as some call it, incorrectly). While we appreciate that these people believe that they're doing the best thing for their animals, we also could never see giving animals we care for products laden with bovine growth hormone, salmonella, e.coli, etc. VOCAL feeds and recommends Nature's Recipe Vegetarian (an allergy formula, found at most major pet supply stores, such as Petsmart or Pet Supermarket). We also like Wow-Bow, found only online. VOCAL also can't, in good conscience, support companies like IAMS, Eukanuba or Ralston Purina, who still engage in cruel and inhumane animal tests in their very own laboratories. IAMS and Eukanuba, being owned by Proctor and Gamble, one of the largest of the vivisectors, and Ralston-Purina, with their very own USDA licensed testing and research lab. They purport to love doggies and kitties, yet torture individual companion animals to test their latest kibble. For those that think those animals are "just" mice and rats, well, it's not. It's beagles and other "cute 'n cuddly" animals. For more info on vivisection in the name of pet food, please see: For another great, in-depth article on pet food, what's in it, and what you need to know about it, please see the Animal Protection Institute's page here. Think we're lying? Twelve huskies, 12 poodles and 12 labradors were regularly given chest wounds to see if diet could affect fur regrowth. This was justified in the study on the grounds that "dogs are enjoyable to touch and look at... Dogs with coat problems are simply not handled as much." --Research project by Iams/Proctor and Gamble One cruel experiment to study the effect of extreme weight fluctuations on the liver forced 24 cats to become obese by feeding them a high-calorie diet immediately after being spayed. Once obese, these cats were then starved for 7 to 8 weeks on a diet containing only 25% of the calories needed for maintenance, in order to induce drastic weight loss. The rapid, extreme weight loss forced 3 of the cats to develop hepatic lipidosis, a devastating disease that is difficult to treat and often fatal. No mention is made about the ultimate fate of the surviving cats. Shame on you IAMS! Any Great Dane lovers out there? A 1998 experiment sponsored by Iams killed 18 young Great Danes to study the effect of diet on bone density. The dogs had been placed on diets with varying amounts of calcium and phosphorus and were later killed so that their bones could be removed and analyzed. Vegetarian Companion Animal Links: |
Starfish Sanctuary |
FEEDBACK Are you feeding your companion animal(s) a vegetarian or vegan diet? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Please drop us a line at chad@forthevoiceless.org and let us know all about your animals and what they eat. |
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Sassy is an 11-year old lab mix, currently fostered by VOCAL. She is thriving on a vegetarian diet. Formerly a lethargic, overweight and uninspired gal, she is now commonly found running, bouncing and playing with our 1 1/2 year old boxer mix. Sassy says, "Go Veg!" |
Patience was a neglected and abused little sharpei mix puppy when she arrived here. Mangy and unhappy, she had seen the rough life. Patience went vegetarian and recovered completely. She's now in a happy Forever Home with her new family. Patience says, "Meat is no treat for me!". |
