Eco-Friendly Pet Food

Is anybody else out there wondering what the heck is wrong with the picture when it comes to the growing popularity of "healthy" pet food products on the market...?

The gourmet pet food industry is booming these days, especially since the recent scares with melamine and other food contaminants in cheaper popular pet food brands.

Wysong, Solid Gold, Nutra, Wellness, and other brands are capitalizing big time on consumer interest in "organic", "natural", and "healthy" products...

So what's the problem? ...Well, has anyone noticed the inclusion, and supposed required criteria for these products of "human-grade" food? Are pets human? ...NO! Do they need "human-grade" food? ...NO! Absolutely not! Is it better for them? ...Without a doubt NO! If anything, it is worse.

You see, the important distinction between a "quality" pet food and a "cheap" food is actually the nutritional value and the lack of harmful additional products, hormones, pesticides, etc. as well as the quality control over manufacture of the product.

The first, and simplest problem with a lot of these so called "better" foods that include "human-grade" meats and grains, is that it is not what the animal prefers or requires... Both dogs and cats prefer the highly nutritional "byproducts" such as entrails, brain, spinal cord, bones, etc... What they do not need in the byproducts is the teeth and hair, but the food that should be used for human consumption is completely wasted on our pets.

What is worse is that it is completely unsustainable to use these high grade products for our animals. We simply do not have enough arable farm land to support the production of meats and grains for pets AND humans. With starving people all around the world, and with the rapid loss of natural habitat for wasteful farming practices it is unconscionable that we continue to purchase these products for our pets.

We are in desperate need of a healthy, byproduct-line of food for cats and dogs. What we should be demanding from the industry is that entrails and other "byproducts" of organic and sustainably produced meats and grains be used for the food. And... that the food is high quality and nutritionally complete. But please, everybody, stop trying to buy whole-chicken, whole-duck, beef, and other human-grade foods for your pets. you are only doing the rest of the world, AND your pets a huge disservice.

Sorry to my readers for being so preachy with this post, but wow, I simply cannot stand to sit by and watch the self-righteous, over-consumptive, or strangely misinformed argue for the need for "human-grade" for animals anymore. Stop the insanity!

Please do post to this if you are aware of any "good" pet foods out there that use quality by-products for their line of pet food. We could all use this information.

Ireland "Bags" the prize!

This time around, Ireland's practical lack of something that the rest of us have plenty of, may well be cause to celebrate...

Ireland is leading the world in the plastic bag-free shopping experience. With a simple 33 cent cost/per bag (the Plas Tax) imposed throughout the country in 2002, it is now hard to find a single bag littering the street, and most shoppers carry their own or go without.

What are we waiting for...? Our presidential candidates are clamoring for votes, ...anythings possible!? Why not push for a bag free US..?

Heads-up to IHT

Green Living, USA

Aptly named Greensburg, Kansas, flattened by a tornado in May of 2007, is in the process of rebuilding itself as a model town for future green developments in the U.S.

What's amazing about this radical identity reinvention, is not just the level of commitment, nor the tenacity of the locals to even rebuild in the first place, but more, its in Kansas! A state not generally considered the most forward thinking, or the most likely spot for the green revolution, Kansas, it seems, turns out to be the ideal location for a project of this scope. In rethinking the future of their town, Greensburgers have come to the unique discovery that green is not just a fad of the rich and famous, nor of the granola crunching backwoodies... Green, in fact, is a truly blue-collar, common sense, practical, and plain-and-simply American contribution to the global future.

With more LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings in the pipeline than anywhere in the US, Greensburg is firmly on its way to achieving the goal of leeding our way. In fact, as of December 17th, Greensburg officially adopted a resolution requiring all new City buildings to be built to the LEED platinum level - the highest standard of Green building recognized under this certification scheme.

Even Mother Earth Magazine has seen the value this town may hold for the country and is building a home in Greensburg - to be set up as an educational center. This home (not yet built) is being touted as the future "greenest" home in America. While this may be a bit of a stretch of the truth (given the huge number of great green homes built by committed individuals and not listed anywhere), it, no doubt, will become a fundamental resource and contribution to Greensburg's Model Home Project.

Among the other green plans for this town is included the use of alternative fuel vehicles. In fact, the town is hoping to develop a rental fleet of vehicles consisting entirely of alternative fuel cars, and has taken a big step in this direction by setting up a natural gas fueling station, and accepting the donation of a natural gas-fueled Honda Civic GX

Green living, while a dream of many, has so far eluded most folks in this country due primarily to the associated costs. The most impressive thing about this town is that it truly is a working class dream. From the dust and destruction left in the wake of a a devastating tornado, Greensburgers are not only standing up, rebuilding and strengthening their community, they are providing a major burst of interest and leadership for this nation in one of the biggest challenges we face.

To help out with this greenovation please follow this link. All donations to Greensburg, Greentown are wholly tax deductible. Greensburg, Greentown is a non-profit organization founded shortly after the devastating events of May, 2007, with the goals of enabling Greensburgers to achieve their dream of leading the green revolution in America and the world from the heartland of this country.