Is it Ethical for Veterinarians to Recommend Pet Foods?
- 11-10-2008
- Categorized in: Pet Food News
The Canadian Veterinary Journal website posts medical ethics questions from member veterinarians. In June of 2007, shortly after the deadly pet food recall, veterinarian Dr. Lea Stogdale posted the following ethical question: “Many veterinarians sell nonprescription pet foods along with prescription pet foods as a service to their clientele. Some pet food companies insist that if their products are sold through a veterinary clinic, then no other brand of pet food can be sold through that clinic. Does the exclusive marketing of only one brand of pet food by a veterinary clinic imply a professional endorsement of that product over all other products on the market? Are pet food companies indirectly using veterinarians’ good reputations to market their products?” http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1950106
Her question received two replies from veterinarians on the website. Dr. Marion Smart responded: “When a client purchases any product or service from his or her veterinarian, he or she trusts that the veterinarian has knowledge of its efficacy and safety. Advertisements by the pet food companies and magazine and newspaper columns invariably advise pet owners to “ask their veterinarian” for correct nutritional information. The recent recalls involving Diamond Pet Foods, Medi-Cal, and other pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods has made it clear how complex the pet food industry is, and that blind faith in pet food manufacturers can be a mistake. If a veterinarian is selling pet food, he or she must accept a degree of responsibility for the products’ efficacy and safety. This is particularly true if a veterinarian is endorsing one brand of pet food exclusively at his or her practice.”
The next reply posted to the ethical question, is from veterinarian Dr. Clayton MacKay – Directory of Veterinary Affairs, Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada – one of the most commonly recommended pet diets by veterinarians, Science Diet: “Professional endorsement of any product or service could take place when the veterinarian has investigated the particular product or service to the best of his or her ability. The professional should use an “evidence-based approach” matched with his or her own knowledge, use, and experience. In fact, most clients want exactly this kind of recommendation, that is why they seek advice from a professional. Pet food companies (like pharmaceutical/biological/equipment companies, etc.), do indeed believe that appropriate recommendations of their products/services are of value in the compliance use by the public/client. However, I am unaware of nutrition companies that demand exclusivity of their product in a particular clinic. For certain, demanding exclusivity is not the practice of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc.”
Dr. MacKay’s response, again, a representative of Science Diet pet foods, is interpreted to tell veterinarians that clients WANT the recommendation of a pet food brand from their veterinarian. However, most veterinarians are NOT animal nutritionists. At almost every Vet School across the U.S., dog and cat nutrition classes are known to be very brief, most lasting only a couple of hours in total. Furthermore, most of these classes are taught by representatives from Science Diet, Iams/Eukanuba, and/or Purina pet foods. In other words, most veterinarian’s knowledge of pet food, ingredients, use of chemical preservatives, and so forth – is extremely limited.
Dr. MacKay also recommends to veterinarians to use an ‘evidence-based approach matched with his/her own knowledge, use, and experience’ in recommending a dog food or cat food. Most pet owners would find this statement close to ridiculous. Would ‘evidence’ be countless pets dying from melamine tainted imported ingredients? Would evidence be photos of prime choice cuts of meat on pet food labels when NO prime cuts of meat are contained within the pet food?
While US pet owners continue to seek pet food advice from veterinarians, Europe has taken legal steps to prevent veterinarians from misleading clients into pet food purchases. New European Consumer laws put into effect in June of 2008, veterinarians must not hard sell pet food, vaccinations, or drugs and must not make any health claims for anything they sell, unless they have veterinary research to back it up. http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id88.html
Pet owners DO want their veterinarian to recommend a healthy pet food for their dog or cat, unfortunately many pet owners have learned the hard way that most vets do not understand the ‘truth’ of many commercial pet foods. The continued veterinarian recommendations of dog foods and cat foods that contain by-products, chemical preservatives, and various risky ingredients has caused countless pet owners to ignore the advice of a ‘should be’ trusted partner in their pet’s care, and search for healthier options on their own. What a shame for the veterinarian/client bond.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Truth about Pet Food
Petsumer Report
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com
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using a trademark of one company's food. I've been very careful to use "veterinary diet" or
another carefully selected word to replace "prescription" since veterinary diets are made by
more than one company.
Some will recommend a particular food simply because the pet food company gives them a discount, as a way of thanking them for recommending their food.
Other Vets tell pet parents to buy a particular food because it is more expensive (and thus puts more money into the Vet's Pocket".
Some Vets are honest and very good.
Some are dishonest and incompetent.
Some are just in it for the $.
Others generally care for animals.
It depends on many things.
I guess the best way to go about it, is to get your vet's advice on pet food, and then to go elsewhere for advice, such as PetSmart,Petco etc (who are also open to "politics"), then ask friends who have companion animals. Then go to this website and see what Sue has to say.
Then read Ann Martin's fabulous book "Foods Pets Die For" (I think that's the title...or atleast something very similar).......get several opinions from various people, and then weigh the positives and negatives.
I think we all know what a bunch of fraudulent individuals the Pet Food Industry is made up of.
They promise us "high quality ingredients" and then throw in bird beaks as an ingredient. They promise the food to be "Ultra Premium Deluxe Gourmet" and it has the same garbage as Wal-Mart's Pet foods, in it.
They promise us that "because your pet deserves the best, we give them the best, because we love pets too", and then put something called "Beef Flavor" in the foods, rather than real beef.
Dont even get me started on the "euthanized pets in pet food" issue.
So, who do you believe? Ultimately, you have to go with your conscience, after carefully educating yourself on what exatly is IN pet foods.
If the pet food is garbage, then Dr Doolittle himself wouldnt be sufficient enough a recommendation for me to feed the food to my four-legged babies.
Maybe someday we'll get a Pet Food industry that actually has "quality standards" rather than just advertising the "quality standards" that they dont have.
Maybe someday the FDA will actually go to work and do their job and answer the many questions that we have regarding the "quality" of pet foods.
But there is nothing wrong with a Vet recommending a "Low sodium" pet food if a pet has high blood pressure and the Vet is worried about the Pet's safety. (Just an example...I know that animals arent really known to commonly suffer from High blood pressure, certainly not like us human animals do (wonder why that is?).
It's all about balance. Dont believe one person. Get several views, and do research on your own, and decide with your Vet what you think is best.
It is important to listen to your Vet, if your pet is on a specialized diet for health reasons. But there are always second opinions from other Vets, if we have any doubts.