BARF people, invincible, critterkids: what do you think of this article?

i understand the need to take a critical approach to examining research, including this article....but i dont have the breadth/depth of knowledge to do a good job of appraising so please give me a hand and let me know what you think!!

from rawmeatybones.com (couldnt link so copied and pasted)

RMB Newsletter Vol 6:2 Barfmania: The junk raw pet-food scam

Dear Reader,

How’s 2006 treating you? Well I trust.

Here in Australia the days race by with ever new information to chew and
digest. Changing the way dogs, cats and ferrets (and zoo animals) are fed
is a big task needing many shoulders to the wheel. Initially we need to
look after our own animals. With our domestic arrangements in place it’s
then a case of tackling the triple plague of the junk pet-food industry
and their veterinary and faux animal welfare allies.

Although the junk cooked pet-food alliance is the main scourge there is
perhaps a more immediate obstacle to feeding our pet carnivores as Nature
intended. In the mid-nineties barf (vomit) mania swept across North
America and much of Europe too. Pet owners were conned into believing
that dogs are omnivores, not carnivores, and need lashings of vegetables
and bottled supplements. Here in Australia barfmania has not taken hold
to the same extent. But where ever it spreads it does harm. If we want to
take decisive action against the junk cooked pet-food alliance I believe
we first need to tackle the barfmaniacs and their junk raw pet-food scam.

Best wishes,

Tom Lonsdale
__________________________________________________________________________

BARFMANIA: THE JUNK RAW PET-FOOD SCAM
__________________________________________________________________________

We humans are an odd lot. We can put a man on the moon but we can’t agree
on how to feed a dog. How crazy is that?

Having lived with this conundrum for a few years now, I still find it
disturbing. And in my opinion both the problem and the solution lies with
the veterinary profession.

Where understanding and certainty exists the room for debate and chatter
shrinks almost to zero. That’s how it is regarding the moon’s orbit,
rocket propulsion, electrical conduction and differential calculus, the
necessary building blocks of a successful moon landing. Experts agree
about these things. Universities teach the subjects and the population at
large is satisfied that genuine experts are in control.

When it comes to feeding pets, the community can have no such confidence.
The self-appointed but non-genuine experts in this field, veterinarians,
are variously cowed, incompetent and in notable instances corrupt. It’s
largely by default that veterinarians have been given authority over pet
diets. Vets are supposed to know about health and disease and an
assumption is made they will be trained to put prevention first –- in
keeping with the first rule of medicine ‘First do no harm’.

In reality young vets start their induction in kindergarten. They watch
their parents feeding pets out of the can and packet; watch the TV ads
and the celebrity vets feeding junk food too. By the time they have come
top of their class, passed their exams and been admitted to vet school
the young vet students are filled with misplaced assumptions about the
world, their position in it and that pets should be raised and maintained
on junk food. Doing harm for most budding vets is a way of life.

Nothing at vet school tells them otherwise. In fact nutrition courses are
frequently taught by pet-food company guest lecturers and the text book,
if there is one, will likely have been supplied by a pet-food company.
Courses in medicine and surgery are taught by lecturers receiving pet-
food company research money, or by lecturers eyeing the money and hoping
their turn will soon come.

In the final years at vet school diagnosis and treatment of disease is
the priority focus. Assumptions about diet continue and little or no time
is spent thinking about preventive medicine. A raw diet, where it is
discussed, is used as an object of ridicule to warn the students of the
alleged risks of bacterial disease, parasitic disease, broken teeth, and
choked, obstructed and constipated dogs. With the preventive benefits of
natural feeding upended and replaced with scaremongering the students
dutifully absorb the diagnosis and treatment options in readiness for the
final exams.

I pity the new graduates. I was one once. The first weeks in practice
are, for many young vets, a nightmare experience. Attempting to recall
diagnosis and treatment options from the textbooks and fit them to real
life patients is a scary business with pitfalls at every turn. Small
wonder prevention never gets a moment’s consideration. And thus the scene
is set for a professional life spent treating animals that are fed the
canned and packet junk food displayed in the vet’s waiting room.

There are other nuances, but you get the idea. Vets live in a culture
that puts them in charge of pet health care, but they generally know
nothing and care little about the benefits of a natural diet. Governments
innocently bequeath self-regulatory status on the veterinary profession
meaning that vets themselves decide what is and what isn’t good practice.
The veterinary leadership, veterinary schools and veterinary research
establishments decided long ago to accept junk food as the norm –- it’s
what defines the culture. (You and I know it also makes the vets a lot of
money treating the diet-affected animals.)

Once a culture is established it’s real hard to divert or change it.
Where vets are put in charge of identifying, researching and
communicating good preventive options, but where they abrogate their
responsibilities a vacuum develops. And as the saying goes: ‘Nature
abhors a vacuum.’ This brings us to the predicament we now face –- a
cacophony of voices filling the vacuum with their pronouncements about
the dog’s bowl and what should go in it.

It’s a free for all where the well-meaning jostle with the naïve and the
devious -- where those with nothing to sell spread confusion and others
exploit the confusion to sell junk raw food and bottled supplements.
Major aspects of the junk pet-food fraud amounting to 95 % of the issues
we face don’t get a mention.

http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter/view.epl?id=37

Worse still, self-styled experts in natural nutrition seek to stifle
discussion of the wider issues.

Principal among the junk raw food merchants are the barfers who contend
that dogs are omnivores not carnivores. Without protection from a
competent veterinary profession many people fall victim to the barf
absurdity. Trouble is the victims all too often become victimizers. They
victimize their own pets and then seek to spread the barf nonsense to
other defenceless pet owners who get caught in a web of confusion as
illustrated by this quote:
-------------------------------------------------------

http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=48238

'I decided when I started this the best thing for us was to follow some
kind of recipe and grind it together in some sort of patty and go that
route until we all were more experienced. I followed Dr.Billinghurst's
recipe in his book for canine patties. The last time we made it we made a
huge batch and if you don't mind me going on and on here’s what we put in
it:

80 lbs chicken necks and backs, 40 lbs chicken wings, 10 lbs beef liver,
10 lbs beef heart and kidney, 30 lbs various veggies, 10 lbs various
fruits, 6 lbs yogurt, 6 lbs ground flax seed, 30 oz Kelp and 16oz garlic.
We grind this all together and freeze it in daily amounts. I guess my
question is...is this adequate? Does it sound like a fairly good recipe
to be feeding daily? We do occasionally give [our two dogs] chicken wings
whole; beef rib bones and larger beef bones they can't totally eat. The
pup eats everything. [Our 2 year old dog] is not eating this new batch
very well at all. Is garlic necessary, it makes the mixture smell
horrible? Any suggestions?'
--------------------------------------------------
In reaction to barfmania a new strand of thought says that instead of a
recipe for minced meat, vegetables and supplements pet owners need a
recipe for different organs. ‘Prey-model’ is the term applied and imposes
strictures on the amount of meat, bone and certain organs that should be
fed to a pet. Head, hide and guts are left out of the reckoning. To my
way of thinking, although well meaning, ‘prey model’ is another piece of
jargon and best avoided.

What we can be sure of is that Nature has had lots of practice and
practice makes perfect. If we feed our pets according to Nature’s model
we’ll get the best available health, vitality and longevity. Whole
carcasses of other animals set the standard in canine cuisine. Next, I
suggest, comes a diet based on raw meaty bones. It’s the physical side of
ripping, tearing and chewing meat from bone that is central to the needs
of a carnivore diet. By all means include whole carcasses as often as
possible; include meaty bones and offal from a range of fish, mammals and
birds. For fuller practical details on feeding dogs please see
Work Wonders: Feed your dog raw meaty bones. For a fuller exposition on
diet disease and the five facets of the pet-food fraud please see Raw
Meaty Bones: Promote Health.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com

__________________________________________________________________________

Australian College of Veterinary Scientists Award Nomination
__________________________________________________________________________
Back in 2003 I complained to Dr Richard Malik that he had not read Raw
Meaty Bones. Fortunately he was not offended by my remarks and continued
to listen as I told him of efforts to get the book reviewed by veterinary
journals. The journals of the American Veterinary Medical Association and
the American Animal Hospitals Association had simply ignored all
correspondence. All other journals approached refused to review the book,
some giving excuses and some not.

Richard is well liked, respected and in the top tier of vets in
Australia, possibly the world.

http://www.pgf.edu.au/courses/bio/malik.cfm

When he offered to review the book and then seek publication of the
review I was delighted; especially given that two Australian journals
said they were unable to find anyone to do the job.

After some months a letter arrived from Richard and a quick glance
informed me that he was no longer planning to review the book. Imagine my
disappointment -- that quickly turned to joy. Richard went on to say:
‘I have taken the initiative....and thought of something that may achieve
the same end. I have taken the liberty of putting you forward for the
College Prize of the ACVS.’

Launch in external player or download.

Dr Douglas Bryden, former President of the ACVS,

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/DBprofile.htm

seconded the nomination and together two of the most eminent
veterinarians in Australia wrote magnificent nomination statements that
fill me with pride.

The nomination stood for three years, 2004/5/6, and was unsuccessful each
year including in 2005 when there were no other candidates. Now at the
conclusion of the nomination period the statements are available for
public scrutiny.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/vetsay.html

__________________________________________________________________________

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Elections 2006
__________________________________________________________________________
Followers of the Raw Meaty Bones campaign know that each year at around
this time I report on the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons elections.
As ever I came a distant last with 263 votes (ten fewer than last year).

The quantity of votes may be low but the quality is high and I received
some terrific messages of support. However, at 7.4% of the votes cast
it’s not nearly enough to bring about the sought for reform –- hence the
need for committed political and legal action that vets cannot ignore.
_________________________________________________________________________

Raw Meaty Bones U-turn Tour
__________________________________________________________________________
The weekend trip to Caboolture in Queensland was made most agreeable by
the sterling efforts of Lyndal Nichols and the team at the Suncoast
Fundogs Agility Club

Launch in external player or download.

About 50 people attended
the Saturday seminar and stayed focused on the topics under discussion
despite bucking bulls flying past the windows. The high schools rodeo was
in full tilt in the ring next door. On the Sunday a relaxed gathering met
to chat and enjoy a barbeque at Lyndal and George Nichols’ farm. As a
special treat Ray and Marie Sapwell showed us around their Canine
Hydrotherapy and Exercise Centre

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/caboolturepics.html


Thank you all for a wonderful weekend.

Now our thoughts turn to Belgium, Holland, Germany and the UK. Lots of
people are busy making arrangements. The folks at UKRMB are sending out
hundreds of individually addressed letters to Members of Parliament in
readiness for the 12 July briefing.

Seven UK vet schools and 17 European vet schools were invited to host
talks. None accepted.

http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=53801

Students and graduates of those schools may, one day, question the
failure to discuss diet and disease issues. Who knows? Perhaps some may
hire lawyers to ask questions on their behalf.

For September there’s a new venue added at the Victorian Canine
Association in Melbourne, Australia.
Details at:
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/speaking_2006.html

__________________________________________________________________________

RawMeatyBones Discussion List

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawMeatyBones/

__________________________________________________________________________
Discussions get underway on the RawMeatyBones List. Beginners to raw
feeding receive sage advice from the old hands. More experienced
campaigners discuss the options and facets of the cooked and raw pet-food
scams. All welcome.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawMeatyBones/

___________________________________________________________

We welcome copies of correspondence/emails/faxes for possible inclusion
in future RMB Newsletters.

Please circulate, distribute or reproduce this newsletter as you wish.
___________________________________________________________

The Raw Meaty Bones Newsletter is published by:

Tom Lonsdale
Rivetco P/L
PO Box 6096
Windsor Delivery Centre
NSW 2756
Australia

Phone: +61 2 4574 0537
Fax: +61 2 4578 1384
Email: rivetco@rawmeatybones.com
Web:
http://www.rawmeatybones.com


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