AVMA May Vote Against Feeding Raw Meat Diets

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) will be meeting on the first week of August and one of their primary topics may include a vote against feeding raw meat diets. According to this source (www.truthaboutpetfoods.com/articles/very-bad-news-for-raw-feeders.html) the AVMA Council on Public Health and Veterinary Medicine will create a policy to “discourage the feeding to dogs and cats of any animal source protein that has not first been subjected to a process to eliminate pathogens because of the risk of illness to cats and dogs as well as humans.”

Not only will this impact those who choose to feed raw, but also their raw meat suppliers as well as the veterinarians who treat the pets on a raw meat diet. For those of you who don’t know, it’s not good practice for veterinarians in the U.S. to go against anything the AVMA recommends, even though the AVMA isn’t a true governing body. So this may encourage vets across the country to denounce the raw meat diets that have helped so many pets get healthy.

Cat Eating Raw Food
Cat Eating Raw Food – Chicken neck – Photo by Hotash (Flickr)
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

The truth is there’s danger any time we handle raw meat. Those who choose to feed the dog or cat a raw meat diet are educated in the dangers. Many choose to first freeze their raw meat for two weeks before feeding as freezing for this length of time kills most of the bacteria.

Handling is also a concern. This is true whether feeding a pet or preparing meat for the family dinner. Hopefully everyone knows to wash their hands after handling raw meat, as well as to sterilize any surfaces the meat has come in contact with for at least 10 minutes with a bleach solution. If you don’t believe in bleach, search the internet for a natural product that will do the same thing.

What the AVMA fails to mention is that dry kibble HAS been the cause of food poisoning, particularly in young children who pick the kibble off of the floor and eat it. Or from contamination from an adult who didn’t wash their hands after handling the dry food.

Should the AVMA make a change in policy discouraging the use of raw meat, the decision could easily snowball and affect those retailers whose business is to provide quality meat to their customers. It could literally put many out of business while skyrocketing the pet food sales of those pet food makers who support the AVMA.

I think this is a personal decision to be made by a pet owner. It’s something that must be studied to do it safely and that’s what raw meat feeders do. I ask whether this is the beginning of something political in which lawmakers will eventually be asked to vote knowing only one side of the story. The AVMA should not be discouraging raw meat diets while still promoting commercial foods which seem to be poisoning our pets. Every time I read the news I hear of another commercial pet food being pulled for salmonella or other bacteria.

The AVMA also promotes things that aren’t good for our pets such as declawing for cats and over vaccination. I guess undermining the competency of a raw feeder is just next on their list. We need to take a stand on this before it’s too late.

Here are the contacts for those who wish to contact the AVMA and express an opinion before the policy change is voted on in August.

AVMA Headquarters
1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100
Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360
Phone: 800-248-2862 Fax: 847-925-1329

Government Relations Division
1910 Sunderland Place, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036-1642
Phone: 800-321-11473 Fax: 202-842-4360

The general email address is avmainfo@avma.org. Type in AVMA Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine in the subject line.

Raw meat doesn’t contain a long list of unnecessary and harmful ingredients that I can’t even pronounce but may harm our pets over time. Raw is carnivore, which has sustained cats since cats were put on this earth. One ingredient-MEAT! Readers, is everything I’ve said here correct? Do any of you have anything to add to it? Personally, I think a pet owner should be respected for the right to feed raw.

Original picture on Flickr

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2 thoughts on “AVMA May Vote Against Feeding Raw Meat Diets”

  1. The truth of the matter is feline nutrtion is just “brushed on” in veterinary school. My vet got two hours of “Nutrition” education when she attended vet school. TWO HOURS?? One of the most important aspects of feline care??? TWO HOURS? Give me a break.. OH.. and it was taught by one of the manufacturers of a brand of cat food I wouldn’t even feed to ANY cat—- which contains lots of grain and carbs.

    When is the AVMA going to wake up and start training vets about excellent nutrition is what I want to know.

    Training to become a human nutritionist is an arduous process- http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_education_and_training_is_required_to_become_a_nutritionist

    And vets get two hours??

    If raw diets are handled properly, as you have indicated- they are safe and for some feline medical conditions it is a life-saver! While I am not into conspiracy theories for the most part- is it possible that this potential recommendation not to feed raw diets may be impacted by a few of the cat food manufacturer lobbyists? Just a thought. :::::Shrugs shoulders and scratches head:::::

    Reply
    • Absolutely Jo. I am a cynical old geezer but there is no doubt in my mind that the pet food manufacturers, in North America and in Europe, lobby vets and keep vets on the leash! I remember a vet I used to go to when I lived north of London. He tried to sell me Hills c/d (a dry kibble for weight loss). He said my cat could be on it full time. It was cheap relative to wet cat food. I rejected his sales talk but it was pretty clear he was on commission. The food was stacked high on the reception area shelves. This is still the case in vets in the UK. Vets don’t think about what is healthy. They tend to think money. Why should they be concerned in promoting health when they deal in illness?

      I wish there was a high quality professionally prepared vacuum packed raw cat food diet available to the average cat caretaker. You can buy it for captive wild cats but it is no doubt quite pricey. It is a kind of a conspiracy and cartel. Big business dictates what happens on the ground.

      Considering the amount of column inches given over to human diets I am surprised to hear that vets are barely trained at all on companion animal diets. It is a fundamental aspect of animal health. Or am I surprised? We just don’t give the cat enough respect.

      Reply

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