When a friend’s dog had to be put down at a young age because of an incurable cancer, I began to wonder why. A few days later, I read an article about the importance of looking at the ingredients in the pet food we buy for our pets. I have several friends and relatives who buy expensive pet food from the veterinarian. Why?

The article that I read from the veterinarian told me not to buy pet food that contains corn, wheat or a couple of other grains used as filler or for adding some nutrition (protein, carbohydrates, or fiber), because he noticed that a pet whose food contained those ingredients had a much higher chance of dying from cancer. I then noticed that those grains have a very high chance of being sprayed with a chemical that can leave a residue in the grain that has been linked to cancer or other infections causing itching of ears or other places.

All farm animals and milk production are controlled by COP (cost of production of meat, milk, eggs, etc.). A farmer with too high a COP on his farm doesn’t stay in business very long. Consumers are constantly looking for cheaper food and the most efficient farms will deliver it. Any animal will be happier and produce most efficiently if all stress is removed from their life. This includes the best-balanced diet delivered to the animal, a little more than required, ideal temperature, readily available fresh water, non-slip floors, clean soft beds to lie on and more beds than animals, no shouting or loud noises, a calm atmosphere with no abuse by either humans or other animals, protection from rain, wind, and snow, and good time management so animals have time to eat, drink, get milked, socialize, and rest or sleep.

Whether the farmer is searching for the most eggs per day for his hens, highest rate of gain for beef or hogs, or pounds of milk per day for dairy cows, the rations must be balanced for protein, energy, digestible fiber, 14 essential amino acids, and minerals like Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Phos, K, Na, etc – all balanced according to body condition score, stage of gestation, temperature, and weight gain required. Moisture, smell, and taste of the ration is very important. The amount of feed, and when each ingredient needed along the digestive tract, change constantly and must be delivered at exactly the right moment to complement each other. An animal can only eat so much each day and cannot eat more until it digests the food from the previous feeding and then expels the undigestible portion. To attain maximum throughput of feed, each ingredient must be selected by food density because if any food takes too long to digest, or is too bulky and takes up too much room in the stomach, then the amount that the animal can consume daily is not sufficient to achieve the maximum production required for the farm to remain competitive.

For all ruminants (cows, sheep, and goats), the bugs in the digestive tract must be supplied with all their nutritional needs too because those little bugs can supply up to one half of the ruminant’s nutritional needs. Roughage that is too woody or cut too mature (hay or corn) will not digest quickly enough and slow down digestion. Grains that are not dense enough in protein or energy will take up too much space in the animal’s stomach, and that animal may lack enough effective fibre to keep the bug population healthy. Farmers must not allow animals to eat anything that contains residual chemicals that could kill or reduce the efficiency of those little bugs in the digestive tract. Those little bugs not only help digest the food going through the digestive tract, but also repair any scratches or small damage in the gut wall.

I have also heard that sometimes the food that our elderly or even sick people receive is barely up to standard. Neither sick animals nor sick people are as hungry as what their bodies require to maintain and improve their health. Just like cows, people need food that is very appetizing, smells great, looks great, and is very tasty or they will reject their meal. We have even added fructose or pure cane sugar to cow rations to improve smell and taste so milk cows will eat more. Most dairymen now add a few extra cents worth of manganese to their mineral, because the percentage of early embryonic death increases if not enough manganese is available in the ration of a pregnant cow. A soil test from a certified soil lab may show no shortage of most minerals required for good crop growth, but even a small residual amount of some chemical used for weed control can chelate minerals (Mn, Fe, Ca, Al, Mg, and others), making them partially or fully unavailable to crops and hence the grains from those crops. A very small amount of bactericide left in the ground or crop from some herbicides can sicken or kill those little bugs in the digestive tract. It can also kill some of the little bugs in the soil that turn compost and minerals into plant food (free fertilizer). Some of those bactericides are measured in PPM (parts per million).

With health care (hospitals, CLSCs, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ambulances, retirement homes and all the secretaries, cleaning staff and other support staff) now being the largest employer in our county (used to be forestry and agriculture), I wonder if our food and junk food is well enough monitored. Our next round of “wanna-be” politicians must be able to answer your questions regarding safe food.