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…of a few days ago, from the LA Times:

The Taste of Dog Food? It’s Harder Than You Think to Identify

The story: Only three out of 18 study participants were able to identify the Newman’s Own dog food that was included in a taste test with two kinds of pate, a Spam concoction, and pureed liverwurst. The participants were told that one of the meatstuffs was dog food and, well, they participated anyway.

If you were going to eat dog food, Newman’s Own would probably be a good choice: It’s certified organic by Oregon Tilth and “free of hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides and chemical additives.” Depending on the flavor, it’s got natural, human-grade chicken (what you’d choose for faking a pate) or free-range beef from Uruguay*. (It’s also formulated to “maximize palatability.”) All of which makes it a lot better than much of the people food** out there.

Also of note: The study was conducted by the American Association of Wine Economists. Did they set out to prove that you might as well serve dog food with your nice dry white?

* More on that beef: “Uruguay has a thriving economy and is recognized as one of the cleanest countries in the world. In fact, smoking is not allowed in any building there. It is also a country that boasts of 270 organic beef farms and certified free of BSE and E. Coli…. each free-range, grass-fed animal is maintained in an area equivalent of two soccer fields…. The animals are treated extremely well and, according to an animal behaviorist at Colorado State University, exhibit very low stress levels. They even have their feet washed and are bathed regularly.”
** I’m told that when I was very small, I was caught more than once on my hands and knees eating Meow Mix directly out of the cat’s dish. I’m sure Newman’s Own is better-tasting and better for you than Meow Mix.

13 replies on “Headline of the Day”

  1. We’ve been saying for years in our household that the dogs eat better than we do – this is just further proof of that.

    (We only give them food that comes from human-grade foodstuffs where the ingredient sourcing is also known).

    Thanks for the info on the Uruguay beef! Cool and helpful, too.

  2. This article is really disingenuous. Note that 72% of participants correctly identified the dog food as the worst tasting thing they were served. They just couldn’t say with certainty “This one is dog food.” Which is not surprising at all, most people don’t eat dog food (nor the other things they were served) so being able to name them would not be expected.

    The important and useful data is that 72% of people said the dog food is the worst tasting dish. But that makes a much less sensational headline.

  3. Yeah, but you don’t see homeless people eating Newman’s Own dog food. Why didn’t they tell us how Alpo compared?

  4. If dog food tastes like pate, then there’s an untapped market for doggy baguettes just waiting there as low hanging fruit. You could even sell them in cute little red and white checkerboard wrapping and a beret.

  5. Actually, didn’t it say that “72% rated the dog food as the worst-tasting pâté”

    Which if they had already discounted the Spam and/or the pureed liverwurst as being the dog food – then it would mean that it was the worse tasting among the four remaining food samples to 72% of the participants.

  6. @3: I don’t think that the testers would have been able to stop throwing up long enough to finish opening a can of Alpo – let alone serve it.

    That stuff is vile.

  7. i tried to give newman’s own cat food to my cat. he ignored it then when he finally did eat it he puked it all over the house. it may be quality, but martini pixel can tell you it’s no bueno.

  10. i too was caught eating the pet’s food a few times. there are photos of me wearing only a diaper and huched over the dog bowl.

  12. Thanks Bethany! Martini also thanks you, he’s pretty proud of his name.

    I also had many diapered days of eating kibble out of the dog’s bowl. Fancy!

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