2<\/p>\n
Researched Argument Essay<\/p>\n
English Rhetoric and Argument<\/p>\n
Lisa Slavo<\/p>\n
July 20, 2021<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of 560 individual dogs affected by canine dilated cardiomyopathy, 119 dogs died in the cases reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between January 1, 2014 and April 30th, 2019 (Wall, 2019).\u201d This means that based off of this study, 21.25% of dogs diagnosed with DCM actually died. Within the research that I have conducted, there have been links between grain-free dog foods being linked and having a correlation between causing canine dilated cardiomyopathy within dogs stated in an investigation involving the FDA in 2019 (Carroll, 2019). There are consumers on both sides of the dog food industry which include grain-free or non-grain-free options. With the above quote stated from Tim Wall, individuals should worry about what is in their dog\u2019s food bowls. Every dog is different with taste, health, and how they are taken care of. However, we need to worry about which choice is more beneficial for every dog regarding their choice of diet, taking many factors into consideration. Grain-free does seem like a healthy option to the many consumers who participate with this type of product, but all facts should be known before purchasing it. With many households striving to be healthier with their choices with themselves, they are also transferring this to their pets also. Because of the upward trend and increase of business with companies that produce grain-free foods, the fact that the FDA has had investigation of this type having a correlation with DCM needs to be considered. Consumers need to understand what the best choice and not blindly transition to grain-free because they feel it might be better. Consumers need to understand overall health benefits of each choice and that is what I will be explaining within this paper. Dog owners need to be informed on which choice is right for their dog specifically before adjusting their dog\u2019s diet, even with their best interest of their loved one in mind.<\/p>\n
Factors to take into consideration when choosing dog food include health conditions, nutritional benefits, and price. In a survey conducted within the academic journal Grains on the brain: A survey of dog owner purchasing habits related to grain-free dry dog foods, a survey was conducted electronically to document the consumer and purchase behaviors of individuals who buy grain-free and non-grain-free foods (Bantom, Baynham, Pezzali, Massow, & Shoveller, 2021). Within the survey, demographics including age, race, social class, and health are all taken into consideration. In conclusion, it was found that the elderly population in America is the biggest audience for the grain-free food choices. As referenced within this journal, the elderly people are buying more of these foods because they are trying to be the most health conscientious, regarding the amount and range of individuals surveyed (Bantom, Baynham, Pezzali, Massow, & Shoveller, 2021). Also, this is the first source that I had come across that mentions grain-free foods being investigated from the Food and Drug Administration. This raises the question, \u201cIs grain-free really the right choice for our dogs?\u201d <\/p>\n
According to Egan in, Blue Buffalo: The Whole Foods for pets, an extremely large company that many household names have probably heard of is put under the spotlight. Blue Buffalo came into the pet food industry immediately taking off with profits and creating their staple in multiple stores across the country. Another important factor to think of when purchasing dog food is the cost. Some foods are extremely expensive, and most people cannot afford it. However, there have been so many consumers who do afford to regularly feed their dogs this choice, and it raises the questions of the genuine value of the product. With Egan publishing this story in 2015, he states, \u201cBlue Buffalo sales have exploded from $190 million in 2012 to $918 million last year (Egan, 2015).\u201d Egan also goes on to explain that Blue Buffalo is playing on the ethos of humans placing human value onto their pets and states various explanations to support this with, \u201cHumanization = pricing power,\u201d and, \u201cThat means they are willing to pay up for premium products,\u201d and also, \u201cThat pricing power gives Blue Buffalo strong margins that other consumer packaged goods companies would kill for (Egan, 2015).\u201d This supports suspicions on if one of the grain-free companies such as Blue Buffalo is capitalizing on humanization of our dogs, is this valid? Also, if this is true for this one company, are all of the other grain-free companies like this as well? What is the real benefit of grain-free dog food?<\/p>\n
To find out what the ingredients are within grain-free and non-grain-free foods, I decided to go straight to a reliable and non-bias source. Purina pet food company does a great job with laying out exactly what the ingredients are in both types of pet foods. They also go on to interview experts in this area. They describe non-grain-free foods as more common in households and the more cost-effective option. According to a Veterinarian that they interviewed, Dr. Kurt Venator, \u201cAlthough seen by some as nonessential, grains are actually an excellent nutrient source (Purina, n.d.).\u201d Dr. Kurt also goes on to explain that grains assist with digestion, energy, provide proteins and specific fats that our dogs need (Purina, n.d.). With describing grain-free foods, the veterinarian experts at Purina says that they can be beneficial for some dogs, but there are essentials that they lack. There is not enough protein provided within some substitutions for the grains that are being replaced as well as energy produced by carbohydrates. All in all, grain-free foods can be beneficial to any animal who has allergies and needs to have an aspect of their diet replaced, such as grains. Since these components are missing and will be replaced with something else, some animals are experiencing obesity because of the effects of the different ingredients. They recommend speaking with a veterinarian when determining which diet is the healthiest for any dog to see if switching to a different diet is necessary (Purina, n.d.).<\/p>\n
After the research that I have conducted, I believe that non-grain-free foods are the healthiest choice for dogs, unless there is a health condition that requires them to be on a grain-free diet according to the dog\u2019s veterinarian. Natalie Troyer stated in Like human, like animal; Natural, healthy foods help pets slim down, that, \u201can estimated 25 percent of our nation\u2019s pets are overweight (Troyer, 2004).\u201d This is supported by the information provided by Purina with the effects of the absence of essential grains and their benefits within \u201ctraditional\u201d pet foods. Understanding the other side that is in agreement with grain-free over non-grain-free foods, Andi Brown of the Halo company was interview by Troyer, Brown goes on to say that grains do not have any place in a healthy dog food choice, and that non-grain-free food is comparable to our dogs being on a diet of \u201cpotato chips and beer (Troyer, 2004).\u201d Some individuals have a huge stance against traditional non-grain-free foods, but they also have a longer history of existence than grain-free foods. It is understandable to have a strong stance on either choice of dog food depending on personal preference and necessities of our pets, however, Brown is biased with the fact of being president of a pet food company specializing in grain-free foods and this does not seem overly credible. With more questions coming to the surface about credibility of the different options available with dog food, I conducted interviews between two representative respondents that could offer their insight based off of their relation to this topic. <\/p>\n
Bridget, the first representative respondent, has grown up with dogs and has one of her own. I chose to interview her because she provides a perspective from the side of promoting non-grain-free foods. With her experience, she has only been around non-grain-free dog foods and refers to it as traditional. This is what her family raised her previous family dogs with, and she stated that she is glad to continue to do the same. The dogs within her family never had any serious health issues and have previously passed away from natural causes, more specifically old age. Her veterinarian has never recommended to have her dog be put on a grain-free and diet, and there are a lot of benefits that she experiences with non-grain-free foods. When grain-free foods started to get more popular and visible in her local grocery store, she did read labels, but the price was so outrageous that she considered her dog to be fine with sticking to the non-grain-free foods he has been consuming his whole life. In conclusion, Bridget explained that every dog is different, and some may benefit from grain-free, but there is no reason that she would want to try grain-free unless instructed to (O’Brien, 2021).<\/p>\n
After speaking with Bridget, I wanted to get into contact with the other perspective of someone who supports grain-free foods. I then went on to speak with Michael about his personal experience with this since he is a representative respondent as well. Michael has his dog on a grain-free diet, and this was due to the recommendation from his veterinarian. His dog has allergies relating to ingredients within non-grain-free foods and the grain-free foods help with him not having reactions. He had not participated in grain-free products before, but due to the severity of his dog\u2019s conditions he needed to change. Ever since he made the switch, his dog\u2019s allergies have almost completely cleared. Michael did state that even though it is more expensive, this is the food that his dog needs and he will do whatever it takes improve his quality of life. He does not have anything against either type of dog food. He is thankful to have made the switch for his dog. In conclusion of our interview, Michael recommended that if anyone notices a problem with their dog and their chosen diet, they should consult their veterinarian and see which choice is best in their situation (Zimmer, 2021).<\/p>\n
In regard to the healthiest choice of dog food, it is essential to speak with one to speak with their veterinarian about which choice is the right one. Personal preference will of course, and should be, taken into consideration when making the decision of what type of dog food to buy. However, so should studies found relating to possible cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy, price, validity of ingredients, and experiences involving veterinarians and existing consumers. One should consider all of these factors and research what is the best overall choice for their dog individually and not based on trends and hearsay. <\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Bantom, S., Baynham, A., Pezzali, J. G., Massow, v. M., & Shoveller, A. K. (2021). Grains on the brain: A survey of dog owner purchasing habits related to grain-free dry dog foods. Gale in Context.<\/p>\n
Carroll, L. (2019, July 1). FDA names 16 brands of dog food linked to canine heart disease. Retrieved from NBC News: https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/health-news\/fda-names-16-brands-dog-food-linked-canine-heart-disease-n1025466<\/p>\n
Egan, M. (2015, July 22). Blue Buffalo: the Whole Foods for pets? Retrieved from CNN Business: https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2015\/07\/22\/investing\/blue-buffalo-ipo-whole-foods\/index.html<\/p>\n
O’Brien, B. (2021, July 2). Representative Respondent 1. (L. Slavo, Interviewer)<\/p>\n
Purina. (n.d.). Regular vs. Grain-Free Dog Food: Which is Right for Your Dog? Retrieved from Purina: https:\/\/www.purina.com\/articles\/dog\/nutrition\/grain-vs-grain-free-dog-food<\/p>\n
Troyer, N. (2004, November 12). Like human, like animal; Natural, healthy foods help pets slim down. DC, Washington, United States.<\/p>\n
Wall, T. (2019, July 1). 119 dog, 5 cat DCM deaths reported to FDA investigation. Retrieved from PetFoodIndustry.com: https:\/\/www.petfoodindustry.com\/articles\/8307-dog-5-cat-dcm-deaths-reported-to-fda-investigation<\/p>\n
Zimmer, M. (2021, July 2). Representative Respondent 2. (L. Slavo, Interviewer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2 Researched Argument Essay English Rhetoric and Argument Lisa Slavo July 20, 2021 \u201cOut of 560 individual dogs affected by canine dilated cardiomyopathy, 119 dogs died in the cases reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between January 1, 2014 and April 30th, 2019 (Wall, 2019).\u201d This means that based off of this study, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-78300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-paper-writing","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}