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It doesn’t appear that long ago that there were only one or two pet foods on the shelves that labelled themselves as ‘Holistic’… now there are many, and even one that implies you will find holistic pets!
So what do manufacturers mean by ‘Holistic’ or indeed ‘Natural’ and are there any regulations governing these products?
It is tough to know where to begin, other than looking at the dictionary definition of ‘Holistic’
‘…dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part’
‘…Emphasizing the significance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.’
‘…relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts (holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and also the body) ‘
Let’s take a look at how Pet Food brands attempt to explain what they mean by holistic.
Nutro have a holistic food, but omit to define what they mean, apart from stating that the food is ‘A unique formula promoting much better overall well being’
The Natural Dog Food Business offer what they say is ‘ THE First CERTIFIED HOLISTIC DOG FOOD OF ITS TYPE’ but don’t define ‘Holistic’ other than by associating it with all natural ingredients.
Eagle Pack Foods, we are told ‘pioneered holistic nutrition in the 1980′s, by engineering a way to make a meat meal based food, removing soy from the formulas and meat meals to replace corn as the initial ingredient’
Burns Pet Nutrition talk about ‘a holistic approach to well being and nutrition’ and their founder John Burns links his approach to Holistic Medicine, stating that ‘The objective of Holistic Medicine would be to follow a way of life which offers the conditions for the body to preserve a healthy, stable condition. The most essential and simplest way of promoting that procedure is via the choice of food.’
It would seem then that by ‘Holistic’ we’re talking about a food that’s created with great high quality, easily digested, hypo-allergenic and natural ingredients and has a positive effect on general wellbeing, even though individual businesses may argue their own specific emphasis. There would seem to be no discernible distinction between the use of the words ‘natural’ or ‘holistic’. The key point here I feel is the emphasis on well becoming, and the choice of ingredients is crucial; a food made with inexpensive cereal and animal by-products is unlikely to have the same well being benefits as one created from greater quality single source meat and cereal components.
The easy reality is that there appears to be no rules and regulations, as far as I am conscious as to how these foods are marketed, and this is perhaps why there appears confusion even amongst manufacturers as to what they mean by ‘Holistic’
AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) has suggested a pet food definition for ‘natural’ as ‘of or pertaining to a product wholly comprising ingredients completely devoid of artificial or manmade substances such as, but not limited to, synthetic flavors, colors, preservatives, vitamins, minerals, or other additives, whether added directly to the product or incidentally as a component of an additional ingredient.’
It has to be said that most so-called Holistic products within the UK use commercial and manufactured vitamin and mineral mixes to ensure that the food contains a consistent nutritional balance of these essential nutrients. Some nevertheless do include natural sources of vitamins and minerals, which would appear to be where AAFCO would like natural products to be.
You will find, nevertheless some who warn against this, based on inconsistencies in the natural alternatives. Burns pet Nutrition state ‘Natural ingredients, by definition, are extremely unlikely to contain consistent quantities of these nutrients (e.g. due to seasons, weather, soil type, etc) therefore, supplementation with exact quantities is essential in order to avoid chronic deficiencies or toxicities…For example, seaweed can contain high levels of magnesium which interferes with the uptake of zinc and copper from the diet. Also, to be able to meet the minimum levels of less prevalent nutrients such selenium; you’d have to add high quantities of seaweed, which could in turn lead to toxic levels of other nutrients, such as iodine.’
At the end of the day, it is up to the consumer to create the option of pet food that greatest fits in with their way of life and food ethic. Advertising managers are extremely good at targeting trends within the food industry and applying those to the pet food market!