Farm Raised Fish in Dog Food, Cat Food – Not Recommended
★ 3 min read
In this article:
- Why I don't recommend farm raised fish for dogs and cats
- Toxins in farm raised fish
- Farm raised fish exposure to environmental toxins
- Toxins from medications
- Toxins from farm raised fish food
- Good and bad farm raised fish?
- GMO salmon
- Learn how to select the best fish
Why I Don't Recommended Farm Raised Fish for Dogs and Cats
Farm raised fish in dog food and cat food products, home-cooked, or raw - all farm raised fish poses a very real health threat to your dog. Consuming farm raised fish or fish by-products
can trigger many health issues for your
pet. While the adverse impact on health may
not be immediate, in time, the toll on your pet’s health can be very serious,
even more so when compounded with other toxins present in your pet’s diet.
Toxins in Farm Raised Fish Feed
Most fish farms feed their salmon fish food that includes
ground-up fish. Some also feed ground-up flesh from other animals such as
cattle. The fish used to make the feed are high in the persistent organic pollutants
(POPs). The flesh of the cattle and other animals used as feed for fish, is
also known to be high in POPs.
Farm Raised Fish Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Farm raised fish have considerably higher levels of toxins
than wild and wild caught open ocean fish. The majority of North American and
European farm raised fish contain high levels of dioxins, HCBs, PCBs,
toxaphene, and a host of other known inflammatory agents and carcinogens. Toxic
residue from all of these substances remains in the soft and hard tissue of the
fish after death and is passed on to your dog and cat when he/she consumes a
product made with farm raised fish. High levels of PCBs can also be found in
wild and wild caught fish from highly contaminated open waters.
Toxins from Medications
Farm raised fish are kept in confined pools of water - as a
result disease and parasitic infection spread quickly. These man-made
fish-pools become contaminated with fish poop and unconsumed fish pellets - all
of which creates a breeding ground for bad bacteria. To stave-off disease, farm
raised fish are inoculated - the innoculations contain multiple toxins. These
toxic residues remain in the flesh of the fish after processing.
Toxins From Farm Raised Fish Food
Farm raised fish are fed fish-pellets that contain
antibiotics. The antibiotics are used to fight the bad bacteria in the
contaminated holding-pond water. The water dwelling bacteria adapts to the
antibiotics. When this occurs a stronger, novel strain of antibiotic must be
introduced. Eventually the bacteria become immune to the new antibiotic and
once again a novel antibiotic must be employed and additional immunity to
antibiotics results. The fish food also contains pesticides to stave-off
parasites. To prevent algae formation toxic copper sulfate is also introduced
into the water. When your dog or cat ingests the fish, fish meal or fish oil
he/she is ingesting residue from the antibiotics, the copper sulfate and
pesticides. In so doing your pet's toxic load is increased, his/her chance of
acquiring antibiotic resistance is increased.
All of the toxins above are inflammatory and can trigger or
contribute to the formation of inflammatory disease, such as arthritis, asthma
and other allergic symptoms, autoimmune diseases, colitis, Crohn’s disease,
dementia, inflammatory bowel disease and other gastro-intestinal diseases,
thyroid problems and multiple types of cancer.
Good and Bad Farm Raised Fish?
Farm raised fish living in man-made fish
pools are subject to environmental contamination issues and for this reason alone
producing a clean product is not possible.
The pet food manufacturer’s, grocery stores, supplement, and
pharmaceutical companies all state that their farm raised fish included products are of the highest
standards, and conform to the regulations of government bodies having jurisdiction. In North America the FDA and Health Canada are the ultimate authorities having jurisdiction - both the FDA and Health Canada allow many substances into the pet
food, animal feed and human food chain that are not truly safe in any quantity. As pertains to fish – ethoxyquin
is just one of many examples of a substance that should be banned from
inclusion in all food production. The point being - just because a substance is 'regulated’ and
'permitted', is not an assurance of actual safety.
GMO Salmon
The US company, Aqua Bounty has ‘successfully’
developed the first genetically modified (GM) salmon. If their application is approved GM salmon
will be the first GM fish to be sold for human consumption. Once this approval occurs (which I am hoping will not happen) frankenfish will also enter the made for pets food chain. If GM corn and soy are any indication, the impact of producing and eating GM fish
will be adverse to ours, our companion animal’s health, destructive to the
environment, and all animals that reside on this earth. Aqua Bounty has
recently received multiple fines for a series of permitting and regulatory
failures – I hope that the FDA will not approve this dangerous fish. You can
read more about the current status of GM salmon here.
Learn How To Select the Best Fish for Your Dog and Cat
Holistic Diet, Nutrition, Wellness Services Tailored to Your Individual Dog and Cat
For information about my holistic diet, nutrition, wellness services visit my:
Maintain good health | Address acute and chronic health issues | Pre and post surgery support and recovery
My holistic wellness services are available worldwide via video consultation.
🌎 USA | Canada | UK | Europe | Australia | New Zealand | Asia | South and Central America | Africa | UAE
📱 FaceTime | Facebook | Skype | WhatsApp
Holistic Behavioral Services For Your Dog
For information about my holistic behavioral services visit my:
For dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds
My holistic behavioral services are available locally in-person and worldwide via video session.
🌎 USA | Canada | UK | Europe | Australia | New Zealand | Asia | South and Central America | Africa | UAE
📱 FaceTime | Facebook | Skype | WhatsApp
Affiliations to Companies
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
Article and graphics by Karen Rosenfeld
