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I was looking around at the business of pet products and came across this company and their excellent chews. I knew they had not been included on the blog (I may have reviewed their shedded antlers.) This was pretty exciting–talk of quality food, dental care and raw bones has been a running conversation at several blogs I frequent, and the items available from this company could fill the bill for some who worry (that would be me) about contamination that raw meaty bones could easily harbor. As an added value, the company been around for more than 30 years.
I hit the link and up popped this seriously disturbing bit of news. Free Range Dog Chews Company quits Brazil, where the cattle are known worldwide as “green”: raised free range in fields with springs and streams, no hormones, no antibiotics, no mad-cow since 1990 and no by products in their diets as with US and Canadian cattle kept in feed lots. Beef operations are moving from Brazil, lamb production is being moved from the US and both will now reside in Argentina:
“While the company has been pleased with the quality of Brazil-sourced meat products in the past, this situation has recently changed. “Three U.S. companies now control the majority of the beef in Brazil and have imported their big business mentality of ‘highest possible production level with least cost’,” says Claypool. “Unfortunately, to achieve their goals, they are finding it necessary to begin conforming Brazil’s beef industry to U.S. standards, including putting cattle in feed lots; using steroids, hormones, antibiotics, and supplemental by-products (which is illegal in Argentina); and, in some cases, even establishing ranches in the endangered Amazon Rainforest.”
“In light of these changes, we have made the decision to move our production operations to Argentina so that we can, with complete confidence, assure our customers that all of our beef and lamb treats are humanely raised in a stress-free environment, with the animals thriving on their native organic diet while they roam free in ecological rotation matrix pastures,” asserts Claypool. The company has already opened three plants within a two-hour radius of its raw-material sources, ensuring that all of their products are processed fresh, never frozen…”
“It has been well worth our…financial resources… to make this positive move… allowed us to maintain our core values, rather than lower our standards,” said Claypool. “
Good to know yet more than sad to hear about Brazil. Nice to see a company that sticks to its principles and will just pack up and move. Here is the Free Range Dog Chews press release . There’s a left margin menu that links to products.
If you don’t already do so, does this story make you think twice or want to call your representative about what’s happening with food, your dog’s and your own?
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Yes, it does. I’m the one standing in the aisle of the grocery and pet store reading the labels. Shopping isn’t quick. I read all food labels, and some can be confusing.
One of my friends, a cookbook author with 3 James Beard awards, wrote The Dog Ate It, a book about cooking for you and your dog. She only feeds her dogs home cooked meals.
Thanks for the well researched post.
This is disturbing on so many levels, Mary, but I suppose the worst is the fact that the U.S. is exporting its bad practices to South America. Good for the Free Range Dog Chews Company for moving to Argentina; let's hope the U.S. doesn't follow.
Have you tried any of their products? Maybe I should offer Frankie as a review dog! No bully sticks though. I can't deal with the concept — or the smell.
I was really taken aback by this, and it's one more thing I know about because of my dog. With the economic disaster that has rolled out over the past couple of years, the wars in two countries, the melamine in food debacle of 2007/08, and now a natural disaster, a lot of other news slips under the radar. I'm afraid your comment about hoping the US doesn't follow is likely prescient. The good news is that Argentina has laws against use of steriods, hormones, antibiotics and feeding by products to their Angus beef, where Brazil does not. Operating in Brazil was the path of least resistance for US companies.
A more traditional review of their products will come soon, Edie…looks like they have some items even canine toothless Tashi might be able to handle:)
Glad you liked the post, Michele. It is aggravating to have to check everything on labels, isn't it. And the more you know, the more you need to check! Your friend's book is really useful especially now given all the issues surrounding food safety. Thanks for stopping by.
Yes, we will be calling our reps!
Kudos to the Free Range Dog Chew company! It's refreshing to see a company sticking to their guns and upholding their philosophy. I don't think that this product is available for sale in canada, but if it is, I'll give it a try.
Whoa, what a commitment to values and principals! This is a company I would do business with. I'm going to have to see if their products are available in Canada.
I can only say two things.
#1 – Being educated about all this "stuff" is key. DDB – Thanks for keeping readers informed.
#2 – We vote with our dollars.
Yes, I thought this was pretty amazing, too! If you can't find them in Canada you can order them:)
Wow! Good for Free Range Dog Chews. And thank you for letting us all know about this. As Rod said, we vote with our dollars, and this is the kind of company I'd be happy to support.
Thank to both you and Rod, Amy for your remarks. It is so great to find this kind company, isn't it?
I've been very concerned about this issue for dogs and humans since I told my husband he couldn't order the veal in the '80s. But I'm overwhelmed by information (and my lack of knowledge) in reading labels. I became convinced that Raw Feeding (or any home feeding) was better than anything you could buy, if for no other reason than you could vary the ingredients and supplements as needed. That was in 2000. It took me until 6 months ago to actually switch because I'm not a good cleaner and I was afraid I would kill us all. 6 months and all is well, but I need to get the cost down. Before that I really utilized the Whole Dog Journal as my back-up. I think very highly of them. But even they can't keep up with all the changes, and I can't keep up with treats – I slide a little there. Bully Sticks are great, but expensive. I don't know how we could do this, but I think information about products, similar to this post on the blog, should be more public. I've written down this company's info, but they deserve a lot more publicity, as so some others? What to do?
Voting with your dollars and telling your friends about companies like this one is the best service you can do for them. Tell people in your social media circles. IIt all helps!
I work in the beef business and import meat from Brazil for resale in the US and found this press release to be a little more like propaganda rather than a concerted effort to shift production to more friendly meat sources. The press release sites no sources and Brazil just like Argentina is one of the worlds largest beef producers and grasslands, so to say that Brazilian beef is controlled by 3 companies is not really fair. After doing some research, check this out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti...
I would be just as concerned about feeding my dog meat from Argentina as I would be from Brazil. The fact of the matter is that both countries produce great beef and Free Range appears to be attempting to get publicity because it sounds like they lost their source. The other lesson that I think that this teaches us is not to take a companies press release as factual and true as it was likely written by their marketing department….
Thanks for your comment, Julie and I appreciate what you are saying. Economic facts of life for cattle farmers who still do it the "old-fashioned" way will force them all eventually to make a choice between factory farming or going organic. And they are not making any more land. Of course press releases have their own agendas just as newspaper sources do. Unavoidable. The fact that interested me was the difference in country to country laws…no growth hormones in cattle in Argentina, as of today. This determinant was key to making the release noteworthy and of interest to some of this blog's readers.
As to your point that to say that Brazilian beef is controlled by three companies is not really "fair" the Washington Post article did not offer any enlightening commentary on this or expound on why saying three companies controls the Brazilian beef market is incorrect. It was an interesting article about how Argentina is moving to feedlots along with the times. But even if I take your claim of "not fair"and agree to it, the fact remains that we see everyday how companies control the government with powerful lobbyists so their voices are heard over that of the people's voices. And often it's one company or organization at a time that gets their way legislatively over and above what the majority of people want. So while "not fair" may be true, it does not preclude the statement made by the company of three companies controlling the market from being true, even if it may be self-serving. You will see things, as you have mentioned, in a PR release that outsiders will not, but we outsiders see another story, too that is based on something incontrovertible which was the basis for the story.
I appreciate and welcome your participation in this forum, Julie.
Just want you to know that Free Range came out with bully sticks that have no odor. That solves one of your concerns but can't doesn't change the basic concept.
I agree that it is sad to see the U.S. exporting its scary business concepts to other continents.
Thanks Jan for stopping by and sharing this information – I gave two to a friend of mine…she has two little dogs but their teeth are excellent so they have no trouble with these. She is much relieved that she won't be smelling that awful stuff other companies use in the processing.
Continuing the Discussion