Health Food vs. Mass Market Food, Which Will They Choose?
Don't feed me any of that healthy, flaxseed, chicory root slop!
Ever since we’ve had our cats, I’ve gone out of my way to purchase the healthiest food I can for them. Originally I purchased the healthiest food available in Pet Smart, at the recommendation of Linda who runs the cat shelter from which we adopted several of our cats. When we adopted our fifth, most recent cat she changed her cat food recommendation to a high protein brand that was supposed to be nutritionally superior. I followed her recommendation, but it disturbed the digestion of our original cat. We switched to a different brand of high protein food recommended by the small, non-chain pet store where we now shop. All was good, for a while.
One day I decided to try them on the “light” variation of the food since the cat shown in this post was packing on the pounds. A major boycott ensued and it didn’t appear that any of the cats touched the food for days. I grew concerned and switched them back to the regular, high protein food. The cats seemed as happy as you might expect for a diet of dry food without access to the tasty meats we enjoy.
But lately I noticed there was a growing boycott in the food bowls again. This time we decided to try a premium variety of mass market cat food since,if we were switching, I wanted something that didn’t require an extra trip to purchase. As you might expect, it was a hit. For the past few days I’ve been mixing it with the other food, but they’ve been gobbling it all up at double the normal level.
Which goes to prove that mass marketers know equally well how to sell junk food to cats, as well as to humans. And that living beings have a predisposition to like the food that’s less healthy for them. That leaves the choice in our hands – what will we choose for ourselves, and to a lesser degree for our pets? Food that tastes better, but makes us overeat, and possibly cuts our lives shorter in the long run? Or boring food that we’ll only want to eat in moderation over the course of a potentially longer life? It’s a tough question that I ponder nearly every day for myself.
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2 Responses to “Health Food vs. Mass Market Food, Which Will They Choose?”
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You know its not really about healthy foods and unhealthy foods. It is really about healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. Nature wants us to crave fat and sugary foods because we need energy to live. The problem is when our lifestyles don’t allows to work off the extra energy. There is also a quantity component. We may eat too much but it is not the innocent food’s fault.
I would never dream of leaving the blame on the poor food. But I might on the large companies that know how to make the food irresistible. That said, I wouldn’t sue the food cos. as some might. Buyer beware.