Live from Studio 1A: Pet Food
Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 8:07 AM by Elizabeth Neumann
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Live from Studio 1A
This week I helped producer Federico Quadrani on his spot for 8:09 today on pet food. The segment came into existence as a follow-up to our coverage of the recent pet food recall, because so many people were writing in and responding to the crisis. We wanted to take a closer look, with TODAY contributor Janice Lieberman, at the pet food industry as a whole, and help viewers figure out which food is best for their pets.
Janice's main point is that the most important thing as a pet-owner is to make sure you are giving your pet the nutrition he needs. If you've been feeding your dog a generic brand of dog food for ten years, it's not necessarily the best idea to switch to a premium or organic choice all of a sudden. That said, she did make the point that with the more expensive brands you do get more bang for your buck - even though these foods may be manufactured in the same factories as the less expensive brands, they do use higher end ingredients (such as lamb meat over cow, for example).
In the tape spot setting up the segment we profiled one woman who makes her own food for her dogs, which is another alternative. The catch with that plan is that you have to make sure you are including all of the vital nutrients your dog or cat needs on a daily basis. Always the best bet to consult with your veterinarian on any diet questions, especially with the recent concern over the recalled brands. For a complete list of recalled dog food click here, and for cat food, click here.
