Discussing the growing interest in the relationship between nutrition, health and the environment.
Trend towards natural ingredients
There has been a trend in the food processing industry in which people feel the need to ‘go back to basics’, choosing organic, holistic and natural food over industrial, refined and junk food. So why not want the same for our pets?
Today for dogs and cats you can choose products enriched with essences of flowers and plants, and without artificial additives or ingredients derived from crops and intensive livestock farming.
The ‘holistic’ concept
The word holistic comes from the Greek word ‘holos’, which means ‘all together, globally’. In the context of food, it denotes the principle that food affects the entire body and influences physical and mental well-being.
The holistic approach views the body as being in constant state of evolution, and as being able to regenerate and purify itself, countering the effects of aging and lifestyle. The holistic theory claims that foods not only prevent many diseases but can also cure them.
In the holistic view, food does more than merely satiate and satisfy physical requirements, and can improve the health of an organism. It is the interaction between certain natural substances in the body that determines the beneficial effects on health.
Pet food evolution
The primary purpose of food is to provide sufficient nutrients to meet the body’s nutritional needs. However, more and more scientific evidence supports the hypothesis that some foods and food components have beneficial physiological and psychological effects that go beyond the contribution of the basic nutrients.
Current research focuses on the identification of biologically active food components, the potential to optimise physical and mental health and/or reduce the risk of contracting diseases.
In parallel to the developments in human food, recent years have seen a trend in the pet food industry where producers are establishing food ranges that, in addition to meeting the requirements necessary for a appropriate and balanced diet, have positive effects on specific body functions which improve health and reduce the risk of diseases.
Many of these food ranges contain the aforementioned biologically active components used in natural foods for dogs and cats. These include antioxidant molecules, such as vitamin C, vitamin E and bioflavonoids which are found in many fruits and vegetables, natural extracts of medicinal plants, essential fatty acids and some substances with an immunostimulant action.
Organic pet food
The concept of holistic nutrition goes hand in hand with a natural diet, which is an efficient and sensible regimen that combines the various foods that nature has to offer in order to provide the body with everything it needs to sustain itself and continue to grow and regenerate.
The organic food trend has come in the wake of people’s desire to eat healthier and more ‘natural’, drastically reducing the use of fertilisers, pesticides and chemical additives in agriculture and breeding. This will stop all forms of pollution resulting from industrial production, while yielding ‘pure’ products of a high nutritional quality.
The principle of organic food is more closely defined than that of holistic diet. Consumer protection laws contain stringent regulations that cover the entire production process and certification process for products obtained with organic farming.
Controlled production
The efforts of the feeding stuffs industry are focused on new horizons, embracing the holistic and natural pet food partners. All stages of organic farming are controlled and organic food must be produced with production methods that, from farm to table, exclude the use of chemicals, such as pesticides and the use of pesticides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Finally, additives like artificial colours and preservatives are not permitted in the production process of organic food.
Protection of welfare
Principles similar to those applied to organic farming also exist for the breeding of cattle, poultry and other animals. The key point of these principles is that the reared animals and animals’ natural behaviour are taken into account and respected.
In this sense then, as well as for human consumption, the supply of pet is expanding to include natural and organic foods, which pay more attention to the quality of raw materials and to their natural origins, with a growing interest in the relationship between nutrition, health and environment.
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