News Hound | PetfoodIndustry.com

Tim Wall, senior reporter for Petfood Industry, explores interactions among culture, media, science and pet food. Wall presents his opinions on how animal behaviors, both human and pet, influence global dog, cat and other pet food markets.

Tree planting boosts pet food sustainability at low-cost

Considering the low cost and numerous benefits, tree planting seems to be low hanging fruit for boosting pet food industry sustainability.

November 3, 2021

Tim Wall

Tree planting can benefit environmental and economic sustainability, while boosting employee morale, with a much smaller price tag than installing solar panels.

Post-apocalyptic pet ownership in fiction and reality

Dogs, cats and other pets occupy such an important role in people’s lives that even disasters, both real and fictional, can’t break that bond.

October 26, 2021

Tim Wall

Dogs and cats abound in science fiction and horror movies, especially post-apocalyptic dystopias. That trope seems grounded in reality, considering the growth in the pet ownership during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, although wider demographic shifts also fuel pet population growth.

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One Food: As people die or diet, so do dogs and cats

The connections among disease and human, pet and livestock foods have been established. Yet there is more to health than avoiding disease.

May 26, 2021

Tim Wall

The connections among disease and human, pet and livestock foods have been established. Yet there is more to health than avoiding disease.

One Food: Eat your own cat food ingredients

While eating one’s own dog food remains a negative thing, eating one’s own cat food ingredients may be a good thing for the pet food industry, as it emphasizes the humanization of pet foods.

May 25, 2021

Tim Wall

While eating one’s own dog food remains a negative thing, eating one’s own cat food ingredients may be a good thing for the pet food industry, as it emphasizes the humanization of pet foods.

Insect-based pet foods not risk for zoonotic pandemic

A team of researchers at Ÿnsect has been working to assess potential risks from mealworm farming operations.

April 20, 2021

Tim Wall

Approximately 60% of infections afflicting humans arose in animals, from rabies and the plague to other coronaviruses. Post-pandemic, pet food companies may look for ingredients with reduced zoonotic potential.

Ancient dog diet Ω fatty acids: the eyes have it, guts too

Eyes and brains likely provided omega-3 fatty acids to dogs’ ancestors, but those organ tissues are not used in many byproduct pet food ingredients.

February 23, 2021

Tim Wall

Eating what unfussy hunters and gathers eschewed, such as rodent eyes, may have provided sources of vital nutrients to dogs during domestication, including omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), along with omega-6 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA).

High-protein cat food may reduce bird, wildlife predation

Compared to a control group, cats killed fewer wild animals in the groups that ate high-protein diets and that played with their owners. Those two groups of cats also brought down less prey than before the experiment began.

February 17, 2021

Tim Wall

For those cat owners who let their felines roam the neighborhood, high-protein cat food may be one means to reduce predatory pressure on birds and other small wildlife.

Coastal wolves, ancient clambakes and paleo dog food

Human food trends arose from people’s intentions to eat as our Paleolithic, or Stone Age, ancestors did, and these trends transferred to pet food.

February 10, 2021

Tim Wall

For dogs, the paleo diet can mean meat and other items encountered around human camps during domestication. Although “discarded loincloth” will never become a dog food variety, other ancient flavors may remain to be revived as dog foods.

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Confusion over GMO corn in US pet food exports to Mexico

A decree ends importation of genetically modified corn to Mexico by 2024. However, exactly what this means for the pet food industry is uncertain. Meanwhile, landraces are losing ground to varieties developed outside corn’s Mexican homeland.

January 22, 2021

Tim Wall

A decree ends genetically modified corn imports to Mexico by 2024. However, exactly what this means for the pet food industry is uncertain. Meanwhile, landraces are losing ground to varieties developed outside corn’s crib in Mexico.

Pet owners describe selves and pets with same emotions

Pet owners generated lists of 39 emotional terms for dogs, ranging from happy to anxious, and 53 terms for cats’ emotions, including calm, happy, angry and fearful.

January 4, 2021

Tim Wall

Scientists identified ranges of animal emotions and associated behaviors, as described by pet owners. Those same pet owners also noted their own emotions while interacting with their pets.