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History of Pet Food
"When profit is the motor of society, destruction is considered as progress." -Annonymous
Before commercial dog food was invented, dogs ate mostly meat, leftovers, scraps, and animal parts, and bones from the butcher.
In 1860, James Spratt, an electrician and lightning rod salesman from Ohio, was the first to manufacture a dried dog food. Spratt arrived in the UK by boat and observed stray dogs running around eating biscuits at the dock, and the idea was born. His company began operations in America in the 1870s. Spratt was a relentless advertiser, convincing Americans to purchase his product by targeting participants and spectators at dog shows. In the 1950s, General Mills acquired Spratt’s US business.
In 1907, F.H. Bennett Biscuits Co. introduced bone shaped ‘Milk-Bone’ dog biscuits. His biscuits were advertised as “whole nutrition” made with meats, cereals, milk, liver oil, and vitamins. They then hired 3,000 salesmen with the goal of getting Milk Bones into grocery stores. Dog biscuits became a regular grocery trip item after.
In the 1930’s, a dry dog meat-meal was produced by Gaines Food Company. Clarence Gaines marketed his “100% complete and balanced nutrition” by exhibiting his pointer at a well-known dog show. General Foods purchased Gaines in 1943.
After WWI and the invention of cars, horsemeat became very cheap. The Chappel brothers, Illinois horse dealers, started canning horsemeat under the brand name of Ken-L Ration. The brothers were said to have gone up and down Chicago streets with cans of horsemeat trying to persuade owners of pet shops to display and use it. Ken-L-Ration was purchased by Quaker Oats, and the brand was sold to the H.J. Heinz Co. in 1995.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAourInlHY (Ken-L Ration)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOvMD01Nlg (Chuck Wagon)
Consumers began to demand more convenient food and the commercial dog food industry took off.
During WWII, the metal used for canned dog food was set aside for the war effort. This nearly ruined the canned pet food industry. Dog food manufacturers later experienced difficulties in maintaining high-quality products under the conditions of wartime shortages.
Commercial dog foods in the early 1940’s could not maintain an Army dog in good working condition. So in November 1942, the Quartermaster Corps authorized the procurement of both commercial dog food and additional meat to supplement the diet. During March 1944, the Army Veterinary Service developed a canned dog food by combining ground horsemeat and herring.
After WWII, the pet food industry capitalized on the meat by-products industry as an economical and convenient way to feed dogs. By then, sales had reached $200 million. The number one benefit of commercial pet food was the convenience, and with the economy booming, people could now afford the luxury of pet food.
Canned pet food was the primary type of food sold, but in 1956, the first dry kibble pet foods were being produced via a process called extrusion, which forms foods into dry kibble.
Success continued throughout the 1960’s, and 1970’s as companies began to diversify flavors and refined the extrusion technology. The 1980’s saw the introduction of prescription diets such as those offered by Hill’s Pet Nutrition for kidney or liver failure. In the 1990’s, pet food was diversified and now included diets based on the activity level and breed of dog.
The current consumer trend in pet foods is toward a more natural or holistic diet, including both raw and homemade human-quality foods. Nutritional research continues to modify the diet recommendations for pets, and will continue to do so well into the future.
The pet food industry has grown to $15 billion in annual sales. Convenience and price are now falling second to fulfilling pet health and wellness.
What can we learn from pet food history? Before any commercial manufacturing, dogs typically ate what comes naturally to them: meat, animal parts that humans usually don't consume, and butcher bones.
Many of the commercial products developed back then contain many different ingredients than they do today. Some people choose to feed these products because of the fact that they have been around for so long.
Take, for example, milk bones:
Back then: meats, cereals, milk, liver oil, and vitamins
Now: Wheat Flour, Wheat Bran, Meat and Bone Meal, Milk, Wheat Germ, Beef Fat (Preserved with BHA), Salt, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Sodium Metabisulfite (Used as a Preservative), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), BHA (Used as a Preservative).
Take, for example, canned food:
Back then: horse meat and herring
Now (one of the top-selling canned foods): Water sufficient for processing, beef, liver, wheat gluten, chicken, rice, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, added color, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate, salt, Vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin A supplement, folic acid, potassium iodide, Vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin, and sodium selenite
I am not writing this to promote commercial foods in anyway; it was simply an observation. Even though I would not recommend either of the above foods, they contained much higher nutrient content back then. In 1956, when kibble was developed, everything changed - much higher processing, fewer species-appropriate ingredients for binding, more convenience for pet owners.
Has the health of our dogs and cats today suffered for the past 60 years because of it? I believe so. What can we do moving forward? Learn, educate, and feed our pets what comes natural to them, which is what pet owners used to feed in the first place. Raw feeding by no means is a "fad." If it is, it's one of the longest running fads of all time. It's what our dogs and cats originally ate and what they are still designed to eat.
Before commercial dog food was invented, dogs ate mostly meat, leftovers, scraps, and animal parts, and bones from the butcher.
In 1860, James Spratt, an electrician and lightning rod salesman from Ohio, was the first to manufacture a dried dog food. Spratt arrived in the UK by boat and observed stray dogs running around eating biscuits at the dock, and the idea was born. His company began operations in America in the 1870s. Spratt was a relentless advertiser, convincing Americans to purchase his product by targeting participants and spectators at dog shows. In the 1950s, General Mills acquired Spratt’s US business.
In 1907, F.H. Bennett Biscuits Co. introduced bone shaped ‘Milk-Bone’ dog biscuits. His biscuits were advertised as “whole nutrition” made with meats, cereals, milk, liver oil, and vitamins. They then hired 3,000 salesmen with the goal of getting Milk Bones into grocery stores. Dog biscuits became a regular grocery trip item after.
In the 1930’s, a dry dog meat-meal was produced by Gaines Food Company. Clarence Gaines marketed his “100% complete and balanced nutrition” by exhibiting his pointer at a well-known dog show. General Foods purchased Gaines in 1943.
After WWI and the invention of cars, horsemeat became very cheap. The Chappel brothers, Illinois horse dealers, started canning horsemeat under the brand name of Ken-L Ration. The brothers were said to have gone up and down Chicago streets with cans of horsemeat trying to persuade owners of pet shops to display and use it. Ken-L-Ration was purchased by Quaker Oats, and the brand was sold to the H.J. Heinz Co. in 1995.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAourInlHY (Ken-L Ration)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOvMD01Nlg (Chuck Wagon)
Consumers began to demand more convenient food and the commercial dog food industry took off.
During WWII, the metal used for canned dog food was set aside for the war effort. This nearly ruined the canned pet food industry. Dog food manufacturers later experienced difficulties in maintaining high-quality products under the conditions of wartime shortages.
Commercial dog foods in the early 1940’s could not maintain an Army dog in good working condition. So in November 1942, the Quartermaster Corps authorized the procurement of both commercial dog food and additional meat to supplement the diet. During March 1944, the Army Veterinary Service developed a canned dog food by combining ground horsemeat and herring.
After WWII, the pet food industry capitalized on the meat by-products industry as an economical and convenient way to feed dogs. By then, sales had reached $200 million. The number one benefit of commercial pet food was the convenience, and with the economy booming, people could now afford the luxury of pet food.
Canned pet food was the primary type of food sold, but in 1956, the first dry kibble pet foods were being produced via a process called extrusion, which forms foods into dry kibble.
Success continued throughout the 1960’s, and 1970’s as companies began to diversify flavors and refined the extrusion technology. The 1980’s saw the introduction of prescription diets such as those offered by Hill’s Pet Nutrition for kidney or liver failure. In the 1990’s, pet food was diversified and now included diets based on the activity level and breed of dog.
The current consumer trend in pet foods is toward a more natural or holistic diet, including both raw and homemade human-quality foods. Nutritional research continues to modify the diet recommendations for pets, and will continue to do so well into the future.
The pet food industry has grown to $15 billion in annual sales. Convenience and price are now falling second to fulfilling pet health and wellness.
What can we learn from pet food history? Before any commercial manufacturing, dogs typically ate what comes naturally to them: meat, animal parts that humans usually don't consume, and butcher bones.
Many of the commercial products developed back then contain many different ingredients than they do today. Some people choose to feed these products because of the fact that they have been around for so long.
Take, for example, milk bones:
Back then: meats, cereals, milk, liver oil, and vitamins
Now: Wheat Flour, Wheat Bran, Meat and Bone Meal, Milk, Wheat Germ, Beef Fat (Preserved with BHA), Salt, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Sodium Metabisulfite (Used as a Preservative), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), BHA (Used as a Preservative).
Take, for example, canned food:
Back then: horse meat and herring
Now (one of the top-selling canned foods): Water sufficient for processing, beef, liver, wheat gluten, chicken, rice, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, added color, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate, salt, Vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin A supplement, folic acid, potassium iodide, Vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin, and sodium selenite
I am not writing this to promote commercial foods in anyway; it was simply an observation. Even though I would not recommend either of the above foods, they contained much higher nutrient content back then. In 1956, when kibble was developed, everything changed - much higher processing, fewer species-appropriate ingredients for binding, more convenience for pet owners.
Has the health of our dogs and cats today suffered for the past 60 years because of it? I believe so. What can we do moving forward? Learn, educate, and feed our pets what comes natural to them, which is what pet owners used to feed in the first place. Raw feeding by no means is a "fad." If it is, it's one of the longest running fads of all time. It's what our dogs and cats originally ate and what they are still designed to eat.
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