THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMAN GRADE AND FEED GRADE DOG FOOD

By: Matthew Gibb, our Managing Partner (strongly influenced by: Susan Thixton, Pet Food Safety Advocate)

The differences between Human Grade and Feed Grade pet food can be dramatic. It is really an easy comparison, as one is defined as “edible” (Human Grade, obviously) and one is defined as” inedible” (Feed Grade, rendered pulp). So, why wouldn’t dog owners ALWAYS look to human grade food for their dogs?

“I ONLY give my own pets human grade pet food; part commercial, part home prepared. With the home prepared food, I follow a recipe that is complete and balanced. With the commercial pet food, either the words “Human Grade” is printed on the label or I have gone to the effort to verify with the manufacturer that all ingredients in the pet food are human edible. It’s not necessarily the easy way to feed my 2 dogs and 5 cats…but it is the ONLY way for me.” – Susan Thixton.

All pet foods (and treats) fall into one of two categories – feed grade or human grade.
Most human grade pet foods are clearly marked on the pet food label (raw pet foods are
not allowed to make the human grade label claim). No feed grade pet foods are marked.
In fact, the entire feed grade category is intentionally hidden from pet owners.
All pet owners deserve to understand what they are purchasing – feed or food.

Proponents of feed-grade food will proclaim that there’s nothing wrong with feeding sub-par ingredients to animals; it has been, after all, the common practice for livestock and most pets for decades. We would argue that the difference here comes down to the intention behind their food: feed-grade food is considered “complete and balanced” for the animals it’s fed to, but it’s only designed to keep them healthy until they can be processed, not necessarily to sustain them for long, healthy lives into old age.

Human and feed grades are important distinctions when it comes to feeding our pets a high-quality diet, but it’s not always so black and white. As we briefly mentioned, just because a food item is classified as human grade—for example, chocolate—doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for our pets. In the same way, there are foods our pets can benefit from but aren’t considered human-grade since they’re not suited for human consumption. The prime example from this category is tripe: raw, unbleached tripe is great for our dogs, but any meal it’s included in won’t be considered human grade unless it is bleached, cooked, and bacteria-free.

If you’re wondering how to be sure you’re getting human-grade food for your pets, first consider how many steps and protocols a company has to adhere to in order to produce a product of that quality. Not only will the price likely reflect that effort (the age-old adage of “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” applies here), but the company producing the food won’t hesitate to let everyone know what they’re doing to produce high-quality pet food.

 

Healthy Dogma is proud to have won, again, the award for Best Human Grade Dog Food in November 2022, we hope to be honored again this year!