Originally Posted by froggy7
I just want to point out that there are regulations on pet foods. And those regulations are pretty strict on what is called what. (Beef meal, for example, has to be beef... no chicken, lamb, or other animal product in it. And the rules are out there for how things get labeled on the front of the can... there is a defined difference between "beef dinner" and "dinner with beef", for example. So your example is just flat out wrong.) I'm not sure if it's FDA or USDA which covers those... they have joint regulatory powers over food under the law. How we got plastic in dog food is not because of lack of regulations... it's because someone lied in order to meet them. Further, human food is regulated by the same people as pet food (pet food is really regulated because we are concerned about what animals that are going to be butchered for human use are eating, and dog and cat foods just go along for the ride.) So, you are trusting the same people to say that the beef you buy to feed your dog is safe as you would be buying dog food.
And finally... the rules are very loose when you get to terms like "natural" and "cage-free". Organic, I think has some rules on it, if it is Certified organic, not if someone is just slapping "organic" on the bag. For an example of the confusion... if I wanted to raise turkeys by the hundreds in quonset huts, feed them turkey chow laced with antibiotics and additives, and never let them outside, I could label them as "cage-free" turkeys. After all, there are no cages involved. But my factory farm is not what most people think of when they hear cage-free.