Monday, August 30, 2004
Corporate evil
Ok, there’s something I wanted to talk about today. It’s been weighing on my mind lately, and I have to say, I’m disappointed right to the core of my heart (yeah, yeah, heavy on the melodrama).
I have an ever-increasing number of pets (as you know). I love animals. I feed my pets premium pet food because I like to spoil them and figure they deserve the best because, well, I love animals. Have I mentioned that? Love ‘em. Unconditionally, and all of them around the world. Even animals that other people don’t like, like rats, and basically all of your weird-looking reptiles. I’m scared of two things in this world (sharks and bears), but still, I love those guys, too. I’m not a vegan or anything, and I believe in eating prey animals (cows, deer, chicken, bacon, that sort of thing), but mistreating them is stupid and mean, considering that we have the ability NOT to do so.
Loving animals the way I do, I severely despise the cruel treatment of animals. Yes, once upon a time I did some psych work in a lab with rats, but the rats were always treated very humanely (especially MY rats), so I understand the need for some testing and laboratory work, but I also appreciate that it can be conducted humanely. Animal pain and suffering is not something I can understand a need for at all, under any circumstances.
Now, I saw a news report last week on Rob’s satellite TV feed from Vancouver. There was a PETA protest of the Superdogs show that was going on at the time. The PETA people were protesting the sponsor of the show, Iams. I feed the NoodleDog a different premium brand, but I feed the cats weight-control Iams (or I used to, anyway), and we used to get Iams dog biscuits. This report showed footage of mistreatment that an “undercover” PETA agent had taken in a lab that Iams uses for testing the nutritional value of their pet food. It was disturbing, to say the least, and it totally upset me. What the fuck is wrong with these people? They’re making PET FOOD for Christ’s sake! Did they think no one would find out? Did they think it was OK at all even if no one did? Bloody hell.
Basically, the cats and dogs being fed the food were kept in very small steel cages with nothing (bedding, toys, none of that) and no social interaction at all, and horrible vet care (if any). In order to test the muscle density of the animals, chunks of flesh were cut out of the animals for testing, rather than using a less invasive method, and those animals’ open wounds were left to fester and become infected causing the deaths of those animals. Seriously? It sucked, and it made me very angry. I will never buy Iams brand again as long as I live. And I will tell every single person I know who has pets to avoid Iams like the fucking plague, too.
So, then, this weekend I went to my hairdresser, and told her because she has a dog, and she totally knew about it, and had known about it for quite a while, too. She said that not only is Iams bad, but that PETA had listed a number of pet food companies they didn’t consider “sound” as well. I checked out the PETA website, and sure enough, there’s a whole list. Of course, the “approved” companies are tough to find here in Canada. And I’m not sure I can totally go with the whole PETA thing because they don’t believe in animal testing at all. I say no dangerous or painful animal testing, but if you’re just checking out a food you know is going to be alright to measure performance or taste or whatever, I’m fine with that. And in the event that slightly dangerous or painful animal testing is really absolutely necessary? Serious steps should be taken to minimize or eliminate the animal’s discomfort at all times. A priority should be that the animal be made MORE comfortable than a human patient (because I’m not crazy about the way patients are treated these days, either).
Anyway, fine. I looked on the PETA website, and couldn’t find out exactly what sorts of testing the companies that were on their shit list did, so I’m not going with that. I’m going to operate under the presumption that it’s OK unless I hear otherwise, and I’m going to stick with the NoodleDog’s premium brand until I hear not to. I have sought out other premium brands for the cats, and I’m going to write Iams a little letter here in a few minutes telling them exactly how disappointed I am in their corporate practices. I was an excellent customer of Iams. I would have bought dozens of bags of cat food. And if someone could have told me that the Iams brand dog food was better than the stuff I give the NoodleDog, then I might even have switched. But not on your life, Iams. Not now. Not now that I know what goes on in those laboratories. There’s a website (www.iamscruelty.com) that details the whole undercover thing, and it’s totally sickening. What it does is make me very sad, and there’s enough in the world that can make me sad, I don’t need my PET FOOD COMPANY to do it for me.
What I would like to recommend to Iams, and to all the pet food companies out there that need to test their food for taste and quality, is that they sponsor a local shelter. Create a program for animals that are not-adoptable, or less desirable, and give them a good and loving home (NOT TINY BARREN STEEL CAGES, IAMS, AN ACTUAL SHELTER), and test out the pet food on them. Feed them. Measure their weight, their health, their muscle density (seriously, Iams, you might also want to ensure they’re exercised and treated like our actual pets are treated) using NON-INVASIVE methods. How do we measure muscle density on people without cutting slabs out of their arms and thighs? Do it that way (I don’t know because I’m not a physiotherapist, but if my sister wasn’t out of town, I could probably find out). It would improve the quality of the research because it would be more realistic. If their “test animals” are not treated like our pets, then what is the point, really? How do we know it’s good for our pets? If they tested the pet food on animals in a similar environment to actual conditions, we’d have a better picture of the end results.
And besides, the animals they’re abusing are PETS!! Aauuugg!! I scream in frustration and dismay. They’re cats and dogs, who haven’t done anything to anyone. It’s not their fault, and they would love to be treated with fairness and caring, and they’d give back more than ten times over what you could put in to them. Cats and dogs are not objects. They’re living furry little creatures with all the same attributes as people. They communicate. They interact with us. They are intelligent. They love. They play. They dream. It is unacceptable that they be mistreated. I could rant all day long about how people who mistreat animals should really be shot on sight, but the point of this is that Iams (who make Eukanuba, and their parent company is Proctor & Gamble, if you’re interested) totally sucks and have sorely disappointed me.
Do not buy Iams any more. Try to find an alternative that your pet likes. Feel free to write Iams a letter telling them they are bad, evil people, and that you expect them to make amends or go right out of business. I know I will.
I have an ever-increasing number of pets (as you know). I love animals. I feed my pets premium pet food because I like to spoil them and figure they deserve the best because, well, I love animals. Have I mentioned that? Love ‘em. Unconditionally, and all of them around the world. Even animals that other people don’t like, like rats, and basically all of your weird-looking reptiles. I’m scared of two things in this world (sharks and bears), but still, I love those guys, too. I’m not a vegan or anything, and I believe in eating prey animals (cows, deer, chicken, bacon, that sort of thing), but mistreating them is stupid and mean, considering that we have the ability NOT to do so.
Loving animals the way I do, I severely despise the cruel treatment of animals. Yes, once upon a time I did some psych work in a lab with rats, but the rats were always treated very humanely (especially MY rats), so I understand the need for some testing and laboratory work, but I also appreciate that it can be conducted humanely. Animal pain and suffering is not something I can understand a need for at all, under any circumstances.
Now, I saw a news report last week on Rob’s satellite TV feed from Vancouver. There was a PETA protest of the Superdogs show that was going on at the time. The PETA people were protesting the sponsor of the show, Iams. I feed the NoodleDog a different premium brand, but I feed the cats weight-control Iams (or I used to, anyway), and we used to get Iams dog biscuits. This report showed footage of mistreatment that an “undercover” PETA agent had taken in a lab that Iams uses for testing the nutritional value of their pet food. It was disturbing, to say the least, and it totally upset me. What the fuck is wrong with these people? They’re making PET FOOD for Christ’s sake! Did they think no one would find out? Did they think it was OK at all even if no one did? Bloody hell.
Basically, the cats and dogs being fed the food were kept in very small steel cages with nothing (bedding, toys, none of that) and no social interaction at all, and horrible vet care (if any). In order to test the muscle density of the animals, chunks of flesh were cut out of the animals for testing, rather than using a less invasive method, and those animals’ open wounds were left to fester and become infected causing the deaths of those animals. Seriously? It sucked, and it made me very angry. I will never buy Iams brand again as long as I live. And I will tell every single person I know who has pets to avoid Iams like the fucking plague, too.
So, then, this weekend I went to my hairdresser, and told her because she has a dog, and she totally knew about it, and had known about it for quite a while, too. She said that not only is Iams bad, but that PETA had listed a number of pet food companies they didn’t consider “sound” as well. I checked out the PETA website, and sure enough, there’s a whole list. Of course, the “approved” companies are tough to find here in Canada. And I’m not sure I can totally go with the whole PETA thing because they don’t believe in animal testing at all. I say no dangerous or painful animal testing, but if you’re just checking out a food you know is going to be alright to measure performance or taste or whatever, I’m fine with that. And in the event that slightly dangerous or painful animal testing is really absolutely necessary? Serious steps should be taken to minimize or eliminate the animal’s discomfort at all times. A priority should be that the animal be made MORE comfortable than a human patient (because I’m not crazy about the way patients are treated these days, either).
Anyway, fine. I looked on the PETA website, and couldn’t find out exactly what sorts of testing the companies that were on their shit list did, so I’m not going with that. I’m going to operate under the presumption that it’s OK unless I hear otherwise, and I’m going to stick with the NoodleDog’s premium brand until I hear not to. I have sought out other premium brands for the cats, and I’m going to write Iams a little letter here in a few minutes telling them exactly how disappointed I am in their corporate practices. I was an excellent customer of Iams. I would have bought dozens of bags of cat food. And if someone could have told me that the Iams brand dog food was better than the stuff I give the NoodleDog, then I might even have switched. But not on your life, Iams. Not now. Not now that I know what goes on in those laboratories. There’s a website (www.iamscruelty.com) that details the whole undercover thing, and it’s totally sickening. What it does is make me very sad, and there’s enough in the world that can make me sad, I don’t need my PET FOOD COMPANY to do it for me.
What I would like to recommend to Iams, and to all the pet food companies out there that need to test their food for taste and quality, is that they sponsor a local shelter. Create a program for animals that are not-adoptable, or less desirable, and give them a good and loving home (NOT TINY BARREN STEEL CAGES, IAMS, AN ACTUAL SHELTER), and test out the pet food on them. Feed them. Measure their weight, their health, their muscle density (seriously, Iams, you might also want to ensure they’re exercised and treated like our actual pets are treated) using NON-INVASIVE methods. How do we measure muscle density on people without cutting slabs out of their arms and thighs? Do it that way (I don’t know because I’m not a physiotherapist, but if my sister wasn’t out of town, I could probably find out). It would improve the quality of the research because it would be more realistic. If their “test animals” are not treated like our pets, then what is the point, really? How do we know it’s good for our pets? If they tested the pet food on animals in a similar environment to actual conditions, we’d have a better picture of the end results.
And besides, the animals they’re abusing are PETS!! Aauuugg!! I scream in frustration and dismay. They’re cats and dogs, who haven’t done anything to anyone. It’s not their fault, and they would love to be treated with fairness and caring, and they’d give back more than ten times over what you could put in to them. Cats and dogs are not objects. They’re living furry little creatures with all the same attributes as people. They communicate. They interact with us. They are intelligent. They love. They play. They dream. It is unacceptable that they be mistreated. I could rant all day long about how people who mistreat animals should really be shot on sight, but the point of this is that Iams (who make Eukanuba, and their parent company is Proctor & Gamble, if you’re interested) totally sucks and have sorely disappointed me.
Do not buy Iams any more. Try to find an alternative that your pet likes. Feel free to write Iams a letter telling them they are bad, evil people, and that you expect them to make amends or go right out of business. I know I will.
