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Media Contact: September, 2005 Your dog may not be fussy about what you’re feeding him for dinner, but should you be? We know good nutrition and exercise plays a vital role in our health, but many experts also say the same is true for your pet’s health. “Some dog and cat foods contain animal byproducts, added growth hormones and antibiotics,” says natural food expert and author of, “How Dog Food Saved the Earth,” Anthony Zolezzi. “Animal byproducts are often listed on the ingredient labels as “chicken meal,” “meat or bone meal,” “beef byproducts” or “poultry meal,” which can include fats and meat derived from sources not allowed for human consumption.” Zolezzi’s new book, “How Dog Food Saved the Earth,” (ASM Books, 2005) is an inspiring story about how a small group of people joined together to make a change that benefits our environment and the health of companion animals at the same time. “In the same way we buy organic and natural meats for ourselves, our pets can also benefit from eating food with protein sourced from natural meat ranchers and farmers,” says Zolezzi, who with a small band of leaders in the sustainable agricultural business set out to develop a pet food that would guarantee pet owners a food free of animal byproducts, added growth hormones or antibiotics. They were able to accomplish this by setting up a system to source the protein from family farmers who do not use antibiotics or hormones on their livestock, or chemicals and pesticides on their land. The pet “health” food then also serves as a solution to an economic struggle that has faced these family farmers for decades. Last year, the sales from one natural pet food that launched because of Zolezzi’s vision, called Pet Promise, helped support over 1,200 family farmers by offering a premium for their non-prime meats making the raising of their natural livestock economically feasible. In 2006, the makers of Pet Promise plan to expand that number to over 3,000 family farmers. “If we can find a way to support sustainable agriculture with pet food, we can certainly find many other ways to produce products that are more environmentally friendly,” says Zolezzi. Net proceeds from the book, “How Dog Food Saved the Earth ”will benefit the Association of Family Farmers.
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