What makes a pet food truly healthy

How do you know “natural” pet food is truly healthy for your pet?

Do you remember the term green-washing once environmentally-friendly practices became the all the rage in the early 2000’s? It referred to marketing that implied something was eco-friendly without having the substance to back that claim up. It strikes me a similar phenomenon has been occurring as “natural” or “healthy” pet food has been gaining popularity.

An increasing number of health-conscious humans twinned with an increasing rate of pet ownership has led to a booming market in healthy pet food. As the founder of one of the first raw pet food companies and the “pet parent” to three Golden Retrievers, I think it’s great to see the options for pet nutrition expanding beyond kibble and canned food. However, with all these options, it can also be confusing to untangle what a truly healthy diet is for your pet.

At Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, we advocate for a raw, ancestral diet, one that best preserves vital nutrients that dogs and cats need. We’ve seen tens of thousands of pets benefit from a well-balanced raw diet based.

And we have been incredibly particular about our definition of what is a truly healthy diet for dogs and cats — starting with where the food comes from to how it is processed and delivered. Every pet food company will have a different definition of what makes a healthy food for your pet. That’s why we believe in being transparent about what we mean when we say our food is fresh and consciously sourced.

Darwin’s is simply fresh.

We believe that simple ingredients minimally processed make for the best pet food. All ingredient lists are easy to read, with no hidden fillers or hard to pronounce chemicals.

Instead, we craft recipes using only the fresh meats, vegetables, and vitamins pets need.

All meals are formulated by certified veterinarians and pet nutritionists to meet or exceed AAFCO guidelines for all life stages of cats and dogs. Darwin’s recipes are complete and balanced, and all processing is kept to a minimum to preserve vital nutrients. This means all our meals are truly raw, no cooking, no high-pressure processing, and most importantly, no chemical or synthetic preservatives are used.

Darwin’s is consciously sourced.

We believe in feeding our pets as well as we feed ourselves. We wouldn’t want to eat processed fast food every day, right? To create our fresh, true raw meals, Darwin’s uses human-grade meats and vegetables that meet or exceed USDA and FDA guidelines, all fresh from the farm.

We respect our farmers and the animals we source for our meals. All our ingredients are consciously sourced, and we take care to ensure the welfare of our animals and our farmers. Members of the Darwin’s team visit the farms we partner with to ensure that both the farmers and animals are being treated ethically and humanely. This helps us feel confident that our partners live out the same values we do.

Switching to a raw diet isn’t for every cat or dog, and that’s okay. Every pet is unique and responds to raw differently. That said, even if you select a food other than raw, taking a few minutes to understand what that brand means by “healthy” or “natural” will help ensure you are getting value for money, and most importantly, your pet is receiving the best nutrition to keep them happy and healthy for years to come.