Just got this timely report which shows what AAFCO approves of in “feed”: Do we know what their standards are for pet "food"?


A new recycled waste feed (livestock) ingredient: palm fronds. And government is helping recycle the waste.
The Phoenix, Arizona April 2018 city newspaper included the following notice to residents (highlighting added):

The mentality of feed is to divert as much waste as possible from landfills into the mouths of animals. Even the unimaginable becomes ‘feed’.
The follow are just a few animal feed ingredients officially defined by AAFCO and allowed into livestock feed:
Hydrolyzed Hair (ground animal hair)
Hydrolyzed Leather Meal (ground leather scraps)
Unborn Calf Carcasses(unborn calf taken from slaughtered cattle)
Dried Poultry Waste (chicken poop)
Dried Poultry Litter (chicken poop and bedding)
Dried Ruminant Waste (cow poop)
Dried Swine Waste (pig poop)
Someone – who was clearly not in their ‘right mind’ – approved all of the above (and more) as feed ingredients for livestock.
Animals are NOT living, breathing recycle bins (but they certainly are treated as such).
Back to palm fronds…
The livestock feed (horse, cow, goat, hog, sheep) produced by Palm Silage – with the assistance of the city of Phoenix, AZ – contains the ingredient “ground palm” (listed as the first ingredient, the majority of the feed). Every pet food or animal feed ingredient is required to be defined by AAFCO or approved as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by FDA. To my knowledge, “ground palm” is not an AAFCO defined ingredient (is not listed in the 2018 Association of Feed Control Officials Official Publication). To my knowledge, “ground palm” is not a GRAS ingredient approved to be fed to horses, cattle, goats, hogs, and sheep (GRAS approval would be species specific).


It could be that palm fronds are the next super food for livestock (though highly doubtful). But super food or not, palm fronds are required to be a defined ingredient of animal feed – just like every other feed ingredient. The safety of the ingredient has to be proven for all species consuming the ingredient.
So IF my investigation for a legal definition of “ground palm” is correct – there is no legal definition of the ingredient – why is the city of Phoenix, AZ helping to supply palm fronds to the animal feed industry? Why is government assisting a feed manufacturer to divert waste from a landfill when the ingredient has not been proven safe?


Recycling is a great thing (my recycle bin is a full size garbage can that is full each week). BUT – animals should not be treated as living, breathing recycling bins – especially with the assistance of government.



Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food