Raw feeding is the practice of feeding domestic dogs and cats a diet primarily of uncooked meat, edible bones, and organs.
Supporters of raw feeding believe that the natural diet an animal in the wild has evolved to consume is what it is most adapted to. They try to mimic a similar diet for their domestic companion with the belief that a balanced raw diet has the benefits of giving the animal a healthier coat, cleaner teeth and breath, reduced stool volume and odor, and better overall health. They are commonly opposed to commercial pet foods, which they believe are detrimental to an animal's health. Opponents believe that the risk of nutritional imbalance, intestinal perforations and foodborne illnesses posed by the handling and feeding of raw meat and bones would outweigh any benefits. The assertion by raw feeders that what is natural is better has also been criticized.
Few studies have been done to support the numerous beneficial claims of a raw diet. Raw feeders feel that the burden of proof rests on pet food manufacturers and veterinarians to show that commercial diets are superior and safer than raw diets.
Rationale
Natural diet
Raw food proponent Dr Ian Billinghurst argues that the dog has evolved over many million years on a natural raw diet and that that is the best way to feed them. He claims that processed foods are "not what dog was programmed to eat during its long process of evolution" and says that foods similar to those eaten by the dog's wild ancestors are more biologically appropriate.
Proponents have also pointed at the practices of some modern zoos which feed their captive carnivores raw meat and bones or whole carcasses. The curator of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary has said that "Common sense suggests that there is no more nutritious food we can offer to a carnivore than the entire carcass of their natural prey type." While carcass feeding is pretty well accepted in European zoos, it is a controversial topic within American zoos. Concerns are similar to those expressed by opponents of raw feeding and includes dental impactions, airway obstructions, intestinal perforations, food contamination and social aggression. Benefits include better oral health, mental stimulation through processing of carcass (see Behavioral enrichment) and higher activity level.
Critics have pointed out the flaws in associating "natural" with better and Billinghurst himself warns against that stating "There are grave dangers that go along with the natural diet and natural conditions the ancestors or wild cousins of our dogs live with." Katie Merwick, who runs an animal rescue sanctuary cautions against "making a fetish out of what animals eat in the wild"(paraphrased)
Objection to commercial pet food
The intense heat used to process commercial pet food destroys and reduces nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Studies with rats showed that the digestibility of amino acids in cat food is changed significantly by heat processing. Pet food manufacturers must supplement the food after heat processing to replace those nutrients. Some raw feeders believe that supplements have reduced nutritional value compared to the same nutrients in raw food and that possible nutrients not yet recognized as essential by nutritional science cannot be replaced. The same rationale is used by some to reject supplemented home cooked pet food.
Commercial pet foods, dry foods in particular, often contain a large amount of grains, which proponents of grain-free food feel are inappropriate for dogs and cats. Because cats are obligate carnivores, it is believed that a switch to a predominantly meat based raw diet would be especially beneficial (as compared to a raw diet for dogs) due to cats' relative inability to digest grains. Studies comparing the source of protein in dry cat food concluded that the digestibility of meat-based protein is superior to corn-based protein.
Veterinary surgeon and raw feeding proponent Tom Lonsdale states that food from dry or canned commercial kibble sticks to teeth and enables bacteria to proliferate, causing "sore gums, bad breath and bacterial poisons that affect the rest of the body". Lonsdale further states that dogs lack the necessary enzymes to digest grains and plant material and claims that grains cooked at high temperature can cause starch, proteins and fats to become "denatured or toxic in variable degrees." The poorly digested grain is said to support toxin-producing bacteria in the lower bowel which may eventually lead to "poisons pass through the bowel wall into blood circulation" creating "further problems" in other organs.
History
Herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy is credited with starting the holistic pet care movement in the 1930s. In her books, she preached, amongst other things, that dogs require a natural diet of raw food. Australian veterinary surgeon Ian Billinghurst, who published "Give Your Dog a Bone" in 1993 credited de Bairacli Levy's book as an inspiration.
Raw diet types
There are various differences in opinion within the raw feeding community. Issues include the question of whether dogs are omnivores or carnivores. Also, whether cats and dogs need plant material in their diet, and if so, the proportion of such material. The safety of whole bones is also a frequent topic of discussion. Recipes that are advocated range from those that include vegetables and grains, to a minimalist approach using only meat, bones, organ meat, and necessary supplements such as the Meat with Bone diet advocated by Michelle T. Bernard.
Barf
The "BARF" diet, an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones And Raw Food was created by Billinghurst. A typical BARF diet is made up of 60-80% of raw meaty bones(RMB), that is bones with about 50% meat,(e.g. chicken neck, back and wings) and 20-40% of fruits and vegetables, offal, meat, eggs, or dairy foods.
This acronym was originally coined by Debra Tripp to mean "Born Again Raw Feeders". Debra later changed it to "Bones and Raw Food" after trying the diet on her own dogs. Debra met Dr. Billinghurst later at one of his seminars and he signed a copy of his book (Give Your Dog a Bone) thanking her for the BARF acronym.
Prey model
The "Prey model" diet attempts to simulate the proportions of an actual prey animal in a pet's diet. This includes organ meat, heads, skin, muscle, bone, blood and even small amounts of fur, feathers or scales, mimicking the amounts that would be consumed when eating small prey. Generally, the diet recommends 80% meat (including some 'meaty' organs such as heart), 10% bone and 10% organs (of which half is liver). Proponents of the whole prey model diet believe dogs and cats are carnivores and therefore there is no nutritional or dietary need for anything other than meat, bones, and organs. The supporters of the prey model also focus on feeding meats from a wide variety of animals for best nutrition.
Supplements are generally not used in a prey model diet although some followers do add fish oil to the diet to compensate for the reduced amount of omega-3 fatty acid in commercially raised grain-fed livestock.
Nutritional balance
As raw diets can range from meticulously prepared and tested to diets composed of a variety of meats and butchers' scraps, the nutritional balance of a raw diet can vary greatly depending on the recipe. However, supporters of raw feeding believe that not every meal needs to be "complete and balanced", and that nutritional balance can be achieved over time by feeding a wide variety of meats, fats, bones and organs from several sources, such as chicken, turkey, lamb, cattle, pigs, fish, rabbits, etc, and even wild game. The general belief among the supporters of raw diets is that pets have no more complex nutritional requirements than humans, and that a variety of ingredients over time will provide the pets with a sufficiently balanced diet.
Many who oppose raw diets believe that the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards that many commercial pet food comply with gives an assurance of quality that homemade food cannot give. One study that analyzed the nutritional content of three homemade diets (BARF, Ultimate and Volhard) and two commercial raw food diets (Steve's Real Food and Sojourner Farms) and compared it to the AAFCO standards, showed that nutritional imbalances occurred in multiple areas. Three of the diets had abnormal calcium-to-phosphorus ratios which can lead to hyperparathyroidism and fibrous osteodystrophy in puppies.
A 12-month study undertaken for the Winn Feline Foundation by researchers from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sought to compare the effects of a whole ground rabbit diet with a high quality commercial diet on 22 kittens and adolescent cats. The ground whole rabbit diet (including fur and organs) was frozen in
BarfWorld: Fresh Frozen Dog Food » Archive for BARF
Lily Noon, president of BARF World, holding a BARF Juicy Chicken bag at Everest Base Camp, March 22, 2009
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