ok... just to let you know that the first three things listed on any ingrdients package is what the contents consists most of.. in pedigree these are the ingredients and what they are in order listed:
note: as for corn being the main ingrident bad news... also as far as "meat meal" also bad news
Ground Yellow Corn:
Ground yellow corn is the entire corn kernel, ground or chopped.
While the whole corn kernel is nutritious and follows Natura's philosophy of supplying whole grain nutrition, corn is considered to be highly allergenic.
Meat meal/Meat and Bone Meal:
Meat Meal or Meat & Bone Meal is the rendered product from mammal tissues, with or without bone, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Most people associate this ingredient with beef. The truth is that it can come from any mammal: pigs, goats, horses, rabbits, rendered animals from shelters, and dead animals found on roads. Meat meal can contain condemned parts and animals that are rejected for human consumption, including '4D' animals: dead, diseased, dying, or disabled. It can include pus, cancerous tissue, and decomposed (spoiled) tissue. This inexpensive ingredient found in many commercial pet foods cannot be considered part of a safe, healthy diet for pets.
Ground rice:
Ground rice is the de-hulled rice kernel, ground or chopped, with the bran removed -- known as white rice.
Rice is a high quality source of carbohydrates. Found in several Natura products, rice is the most digestible grain for pet foods and is relatively hypo-allergenic.
Some manufacturers use rice fractions, such as rice polishings, rice bran, or brewers rice, which have been leeched of much of their nutritional value. Brown rice comes from the same plant as white rice, but has the bran intact.
Chicken By-Product meal:
Chicken byproduct meal consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Chicken byproduct meal is an inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used, their constantly changing proportions, and their questionable nutritional value. Chicken byproduct meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal, which Natura uses and which is considered the single best source of protein.
Corn Gluten Meal:
Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.
Corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in HealthWise Cat 'N Kitten formula. Cats vs Dogs: While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. Natura does feel strongly, however, that there is no justification for the use of corn gluten in dog foods and considers it to be only a cheap protein filler when used in this manner.
Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.
Animal Fat:
Animal fat is a byproduct of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health. Natura uses high quality chicken fat which has the highest levels of lineoleic acid.
BHA/BHT:
BHA/BHT is short for Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), both of which are chemical preservatives.
BHA and BHT have been banned from human use in many countries. In the US, they are still permitted in pet foods. Natura uses no chemical preservatives of any kind. All of our foods are naturally preserved with Vitamins E and C.
Natural Flavors:
Natural flavors are minimally processed flavor ingredients that do not contain synthetic or artificial components.
Natura uses only quality chicken broth as a natural flavoring ingredient, and a proprietary blend of herbs and spices is used as a natural flavor in our HealthWise products.
Peas:
Green peas are a variable annual leguminous Eurasian vine that is cultivated for its rounded smooth or wrinkled edible seeds.
Green peas are a fresh vegetable source of protein and contain a good source of vitamin A. While this is an excellent addition to any pet food, Natura uses other vegetables at this time for their nutrient value.
Wheat Mill Run/Middlings:
Wheat Mill Run and Middlings consist of coarse and fine particles of wheat bran and fine particles of wheat shorts, wheat germ, wheat flour and offal from the "tail of the mill"
Commonly referred to as "floor sweepings", this ingredient is nothing more than inexpensive filler with little or no nutritional value. Natura does not use fractionated grain ingredients or grain byproducts in any of its foods.
Salt:
Salt is a natural mineral, necessary for life and good health.
Most pet food ingredients contain enough sodium to meet a dog or cat's nutritional needs. The sodium in the Natura products comes only from the natural ingredients, with no added salt or sodium products as flavor enhancers.
Whole Wheat Flour:
Wheat flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling wheat (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ, and the offal from the tail of the mill.
Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients. Natura avoids all processed grains, relying instead on only whole grains for complete carbohydrate nutrition.
Caramel Color:
Caramel color is an artificial chemical coloring added to foods to make them appear more brown in color.
Natura does not use any artificial ingredients of any kind. The color, taste, and smell of our foods come from their natural ingredients.
Whear Gluten:
Wheat gluten is the tough, viscid nitrogenous substance remaining when wheat is washed to remove the starch.
Wheat gluten is a cheap byproduct of human food processing, the result of washing wheat and letting the starchy liquid dry. It offers almost no nutritional value, and serves mostly to bind the food together.
Natura does not use fractionated grain ingredients or grain by-products in any of its foods. Instead, we use whole grains with all their nutrition intact.
Vegetable Oil:
Vegetable oil is the product of vegetable origin obtained by extracting the oil from seeds or fruits which are processed for edible purposes.
The source vegetables for this oil (and their nutrient properties) are unknown. Natura prefers to use single-source fats (like chicken fat and sunflower oil) which are high in desirable linoleic acid.
In general I am sure you would agree with me that pedigree sounds really gross as the moment .
After all my research I have found that the only food i feel good about is either homemade balanced food... or Innova at
www.naturapet.com
I hope this helped??
