Now that the dust has settled a bit and my total state of shock has lessened to a mild numbness, it's time to talk about the acquisition of Natura Pet Products, the makers of Innova, Evo, California Naturals, Healthwise and Mother Nature brands of pet food and treats... by Proctor and Freekin' Gamble.
Yep, if you haven't heard the news yet, it's sad but true. But the good news is that P&G has made an agreement not to change the high standards that Natura has set, at least not "for the foreseeable future." OK... and I'm supposed to BELIEVE what P&G says? Truth is... they probably won't change it in any way that you can determine from the packaging, ie ingredient panel, guaranteed analysis, etc. But it WILL change because small, Independent retailers have been the only folks allowed to sell this quality brand of products for a number of reasons... mainly because Independents have more passion and principals regarding what they sell, and choose product for good reason: to set themselves apart from the mass marketers with no real knowledge of or passion for the products that they sell. I've heard quite a few Independents state that they too will no longer be carrying the line.
Now, you may or may not know that P&G bought Iams and Eukaneuba a number of years ago and managed to ruin a decent brand in short order by cheapening the ingredients and cutting prices a bit and slamming them into every venue they could. "WOW!" says the grocery store shopper. "LOOK! Iams is now in my grocery store so it's now affordable AND convenient!" (hehehe) Gotcha!... grocery shopper. Slowly but surely the Independents began pulling the wool out of the eyes of grocery and big box shoppers and once those bright eyed pet owners started feeding a better quality food, they realized how they had been taken by slick advertising. I mean... P&G never made a commercial that said, "We compromised the quality of these fine brands to bring you an affordable food that you THINK is a good one."
Well... now I personally think P&G is sorry that they ruined the good name of those brands and figures they have reached the point of no return regarding the damage they've already done, so they're ready to try again because they HAVE to have a bigger share hold of the ever growing holistic pet food segment. On the flip side... from what I've gathered, Natura's sales have flattened and I'm guessing that the plethora of "holistic" and "all natural" foods that have flooded the market in recent years has something to do with that.
Can you tell me how I'm supposed to continue to sell and support a brand owned by a company that has been notorious for their horrific animal testing? Even if they maintain the quality of the food and no longer test their soaps and chemicals in the eyes of poor lab animals or surgically remove muscle segments to see how their food is performing for the dog, the history is there and they can't be trusted.
So, even though I thought the world might end when I heard the news of the acquisition, eventually I came back to earth and decided that this might be my perfect opportunity to convert more pet owners to a more natural diet... specifically, a raw meat diet.
I raised my foster kittens on raw and their health was stellar even though I got them at 3 weeks old and they never had an ounce of western medicine. They were really pleasant to have around because you could pet them without getting a handful of fur and their litter box didn't smell even though it was in the small, closed off kitty room, aka my bedroom.
Many customers have already made the switch, or partially switched and are clearly seeing a difference in their animals. Skin & coat, grungy ears, energy level (up AND down), stool volume, teeth & gums and even disposition are all changed for the better on this biologically appropriate way of feeding, as nature intended.
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I'll chat more later about this, but I have
to go help somebody clean litter boxes.
There's my glamorous life again!
yummy green beef tripe
stinkalicious
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OK! It's a new day and I'm ready to chat it up some more! You're quite excited, I can see.
So about 5 years ago or so, I got a solicitation from the ASPCA for a donation. I wasn't sure if that donation would actually benefit animals in my area so I went to their website to do a little investigating and found IAMS ads plastered all over their home page. I found this rather curious since I knew that P&G had always been on PETA's naughty list for animal cruelty. So I went to PETA to see what was up with them and found a recent undercover investigation. More info here. Well, I didn't need to look any further and figured that the ASPCA was actually guilty of prostitution by taking P&G's money to advertise on their site. Needless to say, I didn't make that donation and continue to keep my donations local, for the most part.
About a year later, I thought once again about the ASPCA site and went there to see if Iams was still their main sponser. To my surprise, there was a statement there regarding P&G's animal testing and the ASPCA said that they were "working with them" to get some of their policies changed. Hmmmmm... guess I wasn't the only one that took issue with this confusing partnership! So YEA PETA and everyone else that takes a stand for the animals!
