Many cat owners assume they know what their beloved cats are supposed to eat by reading the nutrition label on the cat food bags and comparing to what they know about basic human nutrition. But is that really what they should be doing? The nutrients that cats need is different from what humans need, and by imposing a cat owner’s nutritional views on their cat may be unfair to the cat’s health. What cats eat has a huge effect on the quality of the cat’s life. A cat’s diet is affected by commercial cat food makers and cat owners. A bad decision on their behalf can lead to deadly consequences for the cat.
Most domestic cats are fed generic cat food from the local grocery or pet stores. Others are fed the usually more expensive food from the veterinarian’s office. According to Richard Malik, that food was “typically based on kangaroo meat or other meat or meat by-products unsuitable for human consumption” (Malik). The other meats used are most often beef, chicken, and fish in countries where kangaroo is uncommon. He also mentions that the kangaroo meat is widely used where he lives (Australia) and is not used as commonly in other countries such as Europe. In the United States the only place most kangaroo food is bought for cats is at the veterinarian’s office because it is considered a special food for cats with allergies. It is mentioned in Malik’s article that cat food today is much more nutritious than it once was. According to an article on Scientific American’s website, cat food is so nutritional today that they are even able to get every amino acid that cats need into a vegetarian cat food (Veggie Cat Food). Feeding cats food meant for cats is important because it has the correct amount of nutritious value for a cat to be he...
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Fat Content Of The Diet Upon The Riboflavin Requirement Of The Cat.” Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Department of Pathology and Biochemistry, Harvard Medical School, Boston. 8 Nov. 1958. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Malik, Richard. “Controversies In Feeding Cats.” Veterinary Ireland Journa. 3.5 (2013): 253-254. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Vebrugghe, A., G. P. J. Janssens, and M. Hesta. “Palatabilily Of Different Concentrations Of A Liquid Nutritional Supplement In Healthy Cats And Dogs Of Different Ages And Breeds.” Veterinární Medicína 57.6 (2012): 300-307. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
“Veggie Cat Food? Why Not All Cats Need Meat.” Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American. Web. 3 Apr. 2014
Michael Pollan, an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (Michael Pollan), writes in his book In Defense of Food, the dangers of nutritionism and how to escape the Western diet and subsequently most of the chronic diseases the diet imparts. In the chapter “Nutritionism Defined” Pollan defines the term nutritionism. Pollan’s main assertion being how the ideology of nutritionism defines food as the sum of its nutrients, and from this viewpoint Pollan goes on to write how nutritionism divides food into two categories, with each macronutrient divided against each other as either bad or good nutrients, in a bid for focus of our food fears and enthusiasms. Finally, Pollan concludes that with the relentless focus nutritionism places on nutrients and their interplay distinctions between foods become irrelevant and abandoned.
Pollen seeks out to inform not just the misinformed or the health conscious folks, but just anyone who is willing to listen. He is not trying to tell his readers to stop eating fast food, nor is he telling his vegetarian readers to start eating meat. Pollen attempts to inform all his readers about the things that go beyond an ordinary double cheeseburger or the pain one must go through for fresh abalone. He covers all the dilemmas regarding the consumption of an omnivore as far as buying the “food” that was also used in feedlots, to the organic, freshly grown and gathered fungi and fava beans. I’ve been well informed and can no claim I am less ignorant to the topic of food. I may now think twice before I take a bite out of anything, such as where it came from or how it got to be. As for now, I am really craving some chicken nuggets from McDonalds.
Hribar, Carrie, MA. Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Their Impact on Communities. Ed. Mark Schultz, MEd. Http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf. National Association of Local Boards of Health, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2013. .
The Hebrew University Animal Care and Use Committee approved the protocol (MD-07-10924-2), and each study was supervised by a veterinary surgeon. Each trial was conducted following a week of acclimation under veterinary care.
Kellems, Richard O., and D. C. Church. Livestock Feeds and Feeding. 6th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
... horses with EMS found that feeding grass hay that was restricted to 1.25% of the animals’ body weights in combination with soaking the feed in cold water and feeding a vitamin and mineral regimen managed to improve the condition of the effected horses. In a period of six weeks, these animals lost an average %BM of about 7% as well as improving in the circumference of their belly and body condition score. Also, the horses showed higher insulin sensitivity by the end of the study.
Eating is an instinctual habit; however, what we decide to put in our body is a choice that will affect our way of living. In “The American Paradox,” Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism at University of California, Berkeley, disapproves of the way Americans have been eating. The term “American paradox” describes the inverse correlation where we spend more of our time on nutrition, but it would only lead to our overall health deteriorating. According to Pollan, our way of eating that had been governed with culture, or our mother, was changed by the entities of food marketers and scientists, who set up nutritional guidelines that changed the way we think about food. Nutritional advice is inaccurate as it is never proven, and it is not beneficial
I have always thought it never mattered what kind of food animals got. Once I read Cat and Dog Food Differences Explained, I learned many things about the nutrients and foods that cats and dogs need. According to the article, cats will not eat food off the floor. A cat will paw and sniff at the food on the floor before rejecting it (Viegas). Dr. Allan Paul states, cats have higher protein needs than dogs do. He also states, cats use protein for an energy source. Cat food contains more than 30 percent of protein. They need extra protein to satisfy their requirements for energy. Vitamin A is a key ingredient for a cat to have in their food. Watson says, meat is the only source cats can get their acids. Cats like food that has a texture to it (Viegas). From what I gathered, dogs are very different when it comes to food. Dogs will eat off the floor and right out of your hand. Dr. Allan Paul says dog food contains 20 to 25 percent of protein. Dogs can get their acids two ways. They can get their source through meats and vegetable oil. Watson states, dogs can convert beta-carotene for their vitamin A
Colb, Sherry. "A Response to the Claim That Eating Animals Is Natural." Free From Harm. N.p., 25 July 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
For years, I have been eating what I want. Food choices are a significant factor that affects our health. What we like or crave, often, is the determining variable in what we eat. Finding the right balance of food choices is the key factor in improving our health benefits. Choosing nutrient-dense foods will provide more nutritional value than foods that are found to be low in nutrient density. Making the right choices in foods, however, is extremely difficult. Often, I find myself enthralled in the latest fad, not considering the subtext of the foods I am eating, such as nutrients, vitamins, healthy fats and unhealthy fats, cholesterol and minerals. The diet project underlined a three-day food entry intake that provided a dietary analysis report
Since Michael Pollan received his Master’s Degree in English (“Michael Pollan: Biography”), he has written top shelf extraordinary books, some of which are New York Times Best Sellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A History of Four Meals, and many others (“About Michael Pollan”). Michael’s writing has won awards such as the World Conservation Union Global Award and the Genesis Award from the American Humane Association for his writing on animal agriculture (“About Michael Pollan”); therefor is credible enough to be writing about food and animals because he has been awarded in this subject. Moreover, Pollan is named one of Time’...
Nutrition is a basic necessity of life. Without a proper and well-balanced diet, it is difficult for any being, regardless of species, to survive. Unlike that of primates such as the great apes, the human diet is more full of calories and nutrients. Humans have a great understanding of what types of food are necessary to maintain good health. It is difficult to tell when the eating habits of Homo sapiens split apart from the eating habits of these other primates. Yet, one fact is certain. As human evolution continues to progress, the human diet also continues to evolve.
The only problem with Michael Pollan’s outlook on nutritionism is the fact that he is completely against scientific research on the subject because history in this matter has not been reliable. With any good, there is also bad that follows. This relates to scientific research on nutrients which have provided many useful things to society, yet brought some evils such as processed foods which have plagued the American Diet for many years. Amongst all the countries in the world the United States of America has a population in which two-thirds of their people are obese. When it comes to processed foods, people should take this chemically engineered food with a grain of salt, take a more traditional approach and use current knowledge to promote a healthy
"The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program: The Health Benefits of Pets." NIH Consensus Development Program. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Preyss, Jennifer. "Con: Meat Is Necessary in Diet." Victoria Advocate. 12 Mar. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues