Is it only me who is horrified by the variety and standard of pet food that's been developed and sold to us? No, its not that it is bad. It is that it is absurdly grandiose. I mean, there really is such a thing as 'too good'.
Apparently animals, suddenly now, need a very high level of nutrition to survive being cared for by humans. Cats need salmon that tastes 'restaurant-style' that according to the advertisements should ideally be served up in a crystal goblet. Dogs need meats that have been processed till nothing is left in them except the artificial 'nutrients' that apparently is 'good' for them. Fool them with Beggin Strips, another add suggests. Just give them what we think is good for business!
Your dog needs vegetables?? Which self-respecting dog worth his salt is ever going to gnaw on a carrot? I find it shocking that dog food had carrots and peas for 'good health'. But its even more shocking, that this dog food has been developed as a result of years of research. How much money are we pouring into this ludicrous industry when soup kitchens are running on close to nothing, and people are without water and basic necessities in large parts of the world. How callous and STUPID can we get? Special diets for puppies, gourmet food for cats. Nutritional vitamin logs for rabbits that should anyway be hopping free in woods and living off the land. Food that does not taste like it's 'out of a can'. Really?
The worst part is that we are NOT doing it for the pets. We are doing it to stroke our egos, for own despicable arrogance. Again, man is at his selfish best. If we really cared for any other living being- isn't it much more worthwhile to care for the abused or abandoned animals? Would it not be better to ensure that they have regular food and shelter? But sadly, we have been conned into spending money on over-pampering the pets that entertain our children. It makes me wonder if love and caring have any part in the reasons for holding an animal under our roofs. Could it be the plain old need to control another life? Or is it to decorate our home, or is it simply the crutch to start off an interesting party conversation? How else would one explain the need to keep a tiger in such unnatural surroundings? Or a snake living its life in a glass box? Or lovely birds in a cage? So we assuage our guilt by getting them bizarre toys and ridiculously extravagant food. Where do we get the gall to declare love for any species, let alone our choice of pets, if we can justify such hedonistic, excessive largess for one (or two) of a kind, while so many others suffer? How can we presume to be caring when we let those of our own species live on so much worse than 'the taste of out-of-a-can'.
A lot of this idiocy boils down to unadulterated commercialization. And probably that is why the almost 20-billion-dollars pet food industry is based only in the developed countries. I assure you pets in India do very well too - without the expensive pet products. Those products are not for the pets- they are for us, because we are the ones with the wallet!
We get animals to share our homes. We care for them, love them, and expect a little bit of love in return. That is understandable. But why do we make such a fuss that they become annoying to everyone else. By spending insane amounts of money on them why do we make them a pest for everyone else it the world?
Oh - and please do not get me wrong. I am not ranting against pets. I really do love animals. I respect them enough to hate zoos. I have grown up with dogs, and have cherished having them around. I am certainly not saying that pets are pests. I am saying we are.
Apparently animals, suddenly now, need a very high level of nutrition to survive being cared for by humans. Cats need salmon that tastes 'restaurant-style' that according to the advertisements should ideally be served up in a crystal goblet. Dogs need meats that have been processed till nothing is left in them except the artificial 'nutrients' that apparently is 'good' for them. Fool them with Beggin Strips, another add suggests. Just give them what we think is good for business!
Your dog needs vegetables?? Which self-respecting dog worth his salt is ever going to gnaw on a carrot? I find it shocking that dog food had carrots and peas for 'good health'. But its even more shocking, that this dog food has been developed as a result of years of research. How much money are we pouring into this ludicrous industry when soup kitchens are running on close to nothing, and people are without water and basic necessities in large parts of the world. How callous and STUPID can we get? Special diets for puppies, gourmet food for cats. Nutritional vitamin logs for rabbits that should anyway be hopping free in woods and living off the land. Food that does not taste like it's 'out of a can'. Really?
The worst part is that we are NOT doing it for the pets. We are doing it to stroke our egos, for own despicable arrogance. Again, man is at his selfish best. If we really cared for any other living being- isn't it much more worthwhile to care for the abused or abandoned animals? Would it not be better to ensure that they have regular food and shelter? But sadly, we have been conned into spending money on over-pampering the pets that entertain our children. It makes me wonder if love and caring have any part in the reasons for holding an animal under our roofs. Could it be the plain old need to control another life? Or is it to decorate our home, or is it simply the crutch to start off an interesting party conversation? How else would one explain the need to keep a tiger in such unnatural surroundings? Or a snake living its life in a glass box? Or lovely birds in a cage? So we assuage our guilt by getting them bizarre toys and ridiculously extravagant food. Where do we get the gall to declare love for any species, let alone our choice of pets, if we can justify such hedonistic, excessive largess for one (or two) of a kind, while so many others suffer? How can we presume to be caring when we let those of our own species live on so much worse than 'the taste of out-of-a-can'.
A lot of this idiocy boils down to unadulterated commercialization. And probably that is why the almost 20-billion-dollars pet food industry is based only in the developed countries. I assure you pets in India do very well too - without the expensive pet products. Those products are not for the pets- they are for us, because we are the ones with the wallet!
We get animals to share our homes. We care for them, love them, and expect a little bit of love in return. That is understandable. But why do we make such a fuss that they become annoying to everyone else. By spending insane amounts of money on them why do we make them a pest for everyone else it the world?
Oh - and please do not get me wrong. I am not ranting against pets. I really do love animals. I respect them enough to hate zoos. I have grown up with dogs, and have cherished having them around. I am certainly not saying that pets are pests. I am saying we are.
Agree totally!
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