Does Organic Matter? + Are Nutrition Calculators Even Accurate? Well...
This week we’re a little irritated. We keep hearing from others that kibble helps dogs clean their teeth. I was told the same thing by a vet before, and it is total BS — 100% untrue, and in fact just the opposite. (Guess who owns the largest chains of veterinarian clinics in America? The same people who want you to buy the kibble.) We’ve written about this before, but it’s worth repeating. Tooth decay is most closely associated with consumption of fermentable carbohydrates. Modern kibble is up to 70% or more carbohydrate. Here’s an article that cites an interesting study.
Stray Dogs Have Better Teeth Than Pet Dogs?
Last week we revisited and updated some old favorite recipes, like Pupza and Oxtail Stew!
And here are the new recipes!
Are organic foods worth the added cost?
Organic foods are everywhere and many people insist on only eating organic. The claims about benefits range from better nutrition, to less pesticides, to being fresher and more delicious. The biggest downside is the expense. According to Consumer Reports, organic foods are 47% more expensive than conventional produce on average.
“The dirty dozen list,” is compiled by the Environmental Working Group which, according to Forbes, is funded by several large organic farming groups. This list outlines the fruits and vegetables that the organization advises to purchase as organic in order to avoid what they claim is dangerous levels of pesticide residue. The USDA disagrees and clearly states that organic is NOT about safety.
But what does the science say?
Organic food probably does taste better to many people, but perhaps not because of the flavor. A 2017 study showed that higher prices increase enjoyment. Research subjects’ brains regions associated with pleasure were more active when drinking the same wine thinking it was more expensive compared to when they were told it was less expensive. The same is likely true for produce.
In some studies organically grown food is shown to have higher levels of nutrients, however studies like this one report that conventionally farmed raspberries have higher vitamin C content. A 2012 meta-analysis comparing 17 different studies concludes that there is no evidence organic foods are more nutritious than conventionally farmed foods.
According to the same meta-analysis, pesticides residues are potentially lower in organic foods as well as antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Peeling and washing can effectively reduce the amounts of pesticides in conventional produce according to this study.
USDA reports that more than 99% of food tested through the Pesticide Data Program falls below the EPA guidelines.
How much pesticide residue is in food?
We examined glyphosate, the active compound in roundup, to understand its potential impact on people. Glyphosate is an herbicide used for weed control, and is the most commonly used agricultural herbicide in the world. Because it disrupts photosynthesis, which affects all plants, genetically modified strains of food crops are engineered to be resistant to its toxicity. This in turn allows farmers to use ever more amounts of the chemical to increase their farming yields.
There is good news: A 2019 literature review of glyphosate content in grains and foods reports that “overall, residue of glyphosate in grains and foods are below maximal residue limits.”
But there are concerns. Some researchers suggest that toxicity can be experienced at levels within acceptable limits. However, other papers contest this claim, stating the pathways glyphosate use to eliminate weeds does not affect mammals. They further suggest that the perceived effects of very elevated glyphosate residue is more likely due to disruptions with the microbiome (helpful bacteria that live in our guts). Also, because of it’s wide spread use, glyphosate is found in the soil and water supply in most countries. It’s even often found in organic foods.
Ultimately, how much glyphosate impacts human health is far from settled.
How much glyphosate is actually in oats?
Despite all of the noise on the internet about glyphosate in oats, there are very few studies measuring the exact amounts in food. The concern about glyphosate in oats probably comes from a new practice started in the mid-2000s called “harvest aid” where glyphosate is sprayed on crops like oats to help dry them before harvesting.
A 2021 paper tested actual glyphosate amounts in oat products and found that every sample contained glyphosate, including organic oats. The sample with the highest amount of glyphosate contained 1.1 mg/kg of oats, or about 1/30th of the maximum amount allowed by the FDA. Importantly this research was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, rather than a special interest group.
Whole wheat flour contains more pesticides than white flour
Because of “harvest aid” and similar practices, the highest concentration of glyphosate is contained in the hull of crops like wheat. Therefore whole wheat, which contains the bran, has higher amounts of glyphosate than white flour. According to a 2020 study, which tested glyphosate content in whole wheat, some samples contained as much as 15 mg/kg. Though this is lower than maximal residue amounts required by the FDA, it is more than 13 times higher than in the oats study cited above.
Conclusion
The average organic food likely has lower pesticide residues than the average conventionally farmed food. Does this mean that it is safer? It’s possible but, given improvements in monitoring and stringent regulations by the USDA, it’s unlikely. If you have money to spare and want to play it safe, definitely continue to do so, but don’t worry if you can’t afford to go organic. The health benefits from regular exercise (yes, exercise!) for you and your dog far outweigh potential benefits of organic food.
Balance calculators — Nutrition facts can be off by 20% legally
One fact that we learned over our time working with food products is that the FDA allows a 20% leeway with nutrition facts on labeling for human food! How much more will they let slide for pet foods? We’ve covered this before. Let just say there is a lot of tolerance for “mistakes”…
Dog nutritionists often use pet food balance calculators to balance their meals. What they fail to realize is that not only can nutrition facts off by 20%, there is also natural variance of vitamins and minerals in foods between growing seasons and regions.
Also, the nutrition facts that the calculators use can be wrong! We’ve found numerous mistakes in the values of vitamins and minerals for ingredients in paid food formulation software. Be wary of anyone claiming that science is absolute. It’s really just about probabilities.
How do we “balance” our food?
Pet food manufactures must meet AAFCO guidelines. We also balance our recipes for your peace of mind. Because of the inaccuracies in commercially available software we built our own proprietary balance calculator that we continually update and check for accuracy.
Ultimately, we believe balance is not as big of a deal as it’s made out to be. After all, how often do people use food balancers? (Doesn’t that strike you as odd?) Kibble, on the other hand, is easy to balance. All manufacturers have to do is sprinkle some cheap powders on top of dough and all the vitamin and mineral requirements are met. Just because it’s balanced doesn’t make it good.
That’s all for this week
All the best,
Joelle and The Precious Creatures Team