Dog Talk Newsletter

By Tracie Hotchner

Some of the listeners to my radio shows and followers of my websites are wondering why I have not been more active in sending out updates on the constantly evolving pet food mess. The reason why is that everyone has been swamped with waves of words and worries and until I had something illuminating to say and constructive to recommend, I felt it better to stand to the side and try to make sense of it all. This has been my position from the beginning: there is more here than meets the eye, what you hear is not necessarily the truth and definitely not the whole story, the government in the form of the FDA is shielding the pet food manufacturer, controlling when we learn things, manipulating the media - and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. All this seems to have been an accurate assessment.

For timely, in-depth and up-to-the-minute information on the situation, I cannot recommend highly enough that you visit Dr. Jean Hofve’s site, www.LittleBigCat.com. If you want the precise link to her brilliant assessment of what is going on, it is at www.LittleBigCat.com/index.php?action=petfoodrecallinformation.

Of all the experts and other members of the media with whom I am in contact, I can say that LittleBigCat.com is where I have consistently gotten the best information and the wisest evaluation of it. Dr. Hofve is wired in to the government system as well as the pet food industry and just cynical enough to give us an intelligent perspective. I urge you to go there, scroll around, and dive into her excellent offerings. She has posted an article on “Pet Food Regulation” that she wrote 7 years ago for the Whole Dog Journal that seems even more relevant and valuable now as it was then.

And here is my recommendation to each and every one of you: let them know in Washington that we are out here, flanked by our animal family members, and we want answers and a system in the future that protects and informs us about food issues relevant to our pets. Many of us have been under the false impression that our government, through the FDA, was inspecting or overseeing the pet food industry – and they are not. It is a billion dollar business that regulates itself and answers to no one

Sending a letter is a constructive and powerful tool because we vote for Senators – they care what we think. Senators control the FDA – the agency that does NOT watch over our pet food, even though we imagine they do. The FDA is a big presence within the AAFCO (see Jean Hofve’s article to fully understand this) and that is where new rules and safeguards will come from.

Several representatives are already standing up to demand information and action. They are Dennis Kucinich, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy who has contacted Menu Foods in Canada, and Senator Richard Durbin and Rosa L. DeLauro who is Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that determines how much money the Food and Drug Administration receives. Together, the latter two have written to demand information and reform.

My suggestion is that these lawmakers deserve our respect and support for their efforts. And we need our own representatives to know that we are watching – that our animals mean a great deal to us – and that we urge them to join with Dennis Kucinich, Rosa DeLauro and Richard Durbin on our behalf.

There is a fairly easy way to find out who your representatives are and get their email address. Because I am a dope about how the government subcommittees work, I am going to do this step-by-step for anyone else who shares my ignorance about how to make their voice heard.

Go to www.house.gov and in the top left corner there’s “Write Your rep.” Click on that. Select your state and zip code – then click the “Contact my Representative.” (In some cases you need to put in your “plus 4” zip code numbers). This will take you to your representative and a place to “Send a Message to:”

The more personal your letter is – especially if your pet has suffered in any way from feeding tainted foods – the more impact it can have. But it means a lot to send even a brief email saying “My pet is not property to me – he is my family member and I urge you to work to make sure the food I feed him is clean and healthy. We’re counting on you to speak up for our concerns.”

We can all worry and fret and whip up other animal lovers, but a constructive use for your energy is to channel it to inspire those in Washington to stand up for the changes that need to take place. If everybody takes 5 minutes right now to do this, it will be a mighty roar.

Read PDF Letters and Press Releases from
Senator Dick Durbin & Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Senator Dick Durbin - Letter to FDA,

Senator Dick Durbin - FDA Press Release

-and-

Kucinich Sends Letter to Pet Food Company
Concerning Recall and Use of Poison
in 60 Million Products

Tracie Hotchner