RMB Newsletter Vol 1:3     A pet food vet speaks on the radio     19 December 2001

Dear Reader, Christmas is coming and it’s a time for relaxing with the family - in front of the TV maybe. Will the pet food ad-men give us a break? Or will we, and our children, be treated to the usual stream of carefully crafted messages delivered with high-tech precision? But what do the pet food people say when they are not scripted, when someone asks them a few questions on the radio? Recently Uncle Ben’s, the Australian pet food division of Mars Inc., were asked for comment. In this edition of the RMB Newsletter we bring you two (lightly edited) transcripts from ABC radio. Dr Duncan Hall was the Mars spokesperson in both interviews - in the first via a ‘hands-free-speaker-phone’. We welcome your comments on Dr Hall’s contribution to the raw vs processed debate. Until next time, Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Tom Lonsdale and the Raw Meaty Bones crew __________________________________________________________________ A pet food vet speaks on the radio Derek Guille ABC Radio 3LO 774 Melbourne, Australia interviews Dr Duncan Hall, External Affairs Manager, Uncle Ben’s of Australia 20 August 2001. Interviewer – Duncan Hall, good afternoon, welcome. DH – Good afternoon Derek and thank you very much. Interviewer – You’ve had a chance to listen to some of the things that Tom Lonsdale is saying. First of all I guess we would all agree that, yes, in the best of possible worlds a raw meat, raw meaty bones diet with a few supplementary table scraps or whatever you’d like to call them, would be a great diet for a dog. DH – Thanks Derek, there’s a few things there. Firstly, we would certainly endorse feeding of the occasional large uncooked bone to dogs as part of an overall dietary plan -- providing that the bones are not cooked -- providing that they are not chop bones and providing that the dog doesn’t have an underlying veterinary problem -- say an enlarged prostate or some sort of colonic problem that could lead to constipation. So if people want to feed the occasional bone on top of a good quality diet, we have no problem with that. I think it’s important though to recognise that raw meaty bones are a long way from nutritionally complete, they don’t provide the whole range of nutrients required and that what we do, with good quality manufacturers, is make sure that in consuming a meal made of high quality prepared pet food the whole gambit of nutrients, being protein, you know carbohydrate -- rather the whole series are consumed in the right level. So for good bone development of puppies you need very close mix of calcium and phosphorus -- minerals in the diet so they get strong bones and healthy teeth to start them off right. Interviewer – Duncan, sorry the technical problem from our operator, are you on a hands free speaker phone? DH – Ah yes. Interviewer – Yeah cause it’s difficult for us to hear you unfortunately, it’s not coming through very clearly, would you be able to pick the phone up? DH – Ah I can’t do it...I can dial in again. Interviewer – Oh we’ll keep going and see what we can get from the position you’re in then. DH – OK Interviewer – So you’re suggesting that a variety, or a diet of raw meat and meaty bones is not going to provide the nutritional requirements even though it might be much closer to what a natural diet in the wild would be. DH – Oh I think that in the wild -- if you do look at animals in the wild - - they do consume the whole carcass and what we’re effectively doing is we’re providing the whole range of nutrients in a convenient and nutritious format. Interviewer – So there’s the equivalent of eating offal of eating the stomach contents of prey, those sorts of things. DH – Absolutely because that’s the balance of vitamins and minerals that are provided in a quality prepared food. The, the issue really is……also is what we’ve done is, we’ve done all the hard work of balancing up the nutrients, we’ve made sure that the digestibility of the food is good so that the animal can easily digest it and extract those nutrients and we’ve provided it in a convenient format in different versatile formats like dry or canned -- format so people can mix and match whatever suits both them and what their pet prefers. Interviewer – Well I mean that’s a really interesting question. Is it really about convenience for pet owners rather in the best interest of the dog or do you believe you’ve found a balance for both. DH – Oh it’s all so paramount, to us is the nutritional integrity and one thing that prepared pet foods offer is validated nutrition in as much as the testing has been done and we know what the levels of those nutrients are on a daily basis. Now, people can certainly feed dogs on a variety of different formats and if you put the work in, yes people can feed good quality prepared, sorry, home prepared meals for their dogs. The way our lifestyle has developed though is that, you know, many people are not prepared to put the work in to finding out what the nutrient profiles of all of those raw materials are, therefore what we offer are high quality prepared pet foods that are ready to go that we know will provide a good balance of nutrition for that pet. Interviewer – Good, Duncan, well thank you very much for being with us this afternoon. __________________________________________________________________ Ian Rogerson interviews Dr Duncan Hall on ABC 2BL 702 Sydney, Australia 26 October 2001 Ian Rogerson – We heard from Dr Tom Lonsdale, who’s a veterinary surgeon, with a book out entitled Raw Meaty Bones: Promote health. Well for the other side of his argument we’ve now got on the line, Duncan Hall, he’s the External Affairs Manager of Uncle Ben’s, he’s joining us right now, are you there Duncan? DH – I certainly am, good evening. Ian Rogerson – Good evening, well Duncan you’ve certainly heard Dr Lonsdale’s criticisms of pet food, I hope you were listening beforehand. What do you say to claims that pet food is, you know, unnatural and potentially dangerous, as he says. DH – Oh well Dr Lonsdale’s certainly entitled to his view and I’d make that point. Ian Rogerson – Mmm. DH – His views aren’t supported by science or the scientific community, or indeed the vast majority of the veterinary community either. They’re primarily anecdotal views that he’s formed, they’re personal views. Ian Rogerson – Mmm. DH – And I’d make the point we, we undertake a lot of studies and a lot of science goes into, nutritional science goes into formulating our foods based on proven and internationally accepted stands. But perhaps more importantly, somewhere around two thirds of Australian pet owners choose to feed prepared pet foods and really I think it’s ah, the pet owners can judge for themselves. If they have a look at their pet right now, or out in the back yard that they can judge for themselves whether their pets are healthy, contented and full of vitality. And I think that that’s the key point that we’re not enforcing anyone to adopt feeding of pets by prepared pet food, that’s entirely, how they feed their pet is entirely up to themselves… Ian Rogerson – Mmm DH – and we actually accept that pet owners should have their choice in how they feed their pets. It’s just a fact that the majority of pet owners choose, of their own volition to feed prepared pet food due to convenience, ah for the nutritional quality, the safety, the cost effectiveness and in the end, the measure is, as I said, the health of their pets that they see on a day to day basis. Ian Rogerson – Mmm, I actually am a pet owner as well, Mr Hall, and I must admit I’ve never really ever looked at the tin food on the side. Do you have all the ingredients and the various additives and everything that goes into the tin? And pardon my naivety if you do. DH – Yes we do, we have a comprehensive listing of ingredients on the sides of any packs and it’s there for all to see. Ian Rogerson – Yes DH – I’d also, I think there’s some important points that, you know, we have no problem if pet owners want to feed large raw meaty bones for their pets, we would endorse that, that’s exactly what the Australian Veterinary Association endorses… Ian Rogerson – Mmm DH - recommends, and their recommendation is the basis of the diet should be on a high quality, nutritionally balanced diet, and they recommend that large bones are fed on a, on a, you know maybe a weekly or so basis to not only improve the dental health but also to provide relief from boredom in many cases or to entertain the animal in their environment, so we have no problem, so, if you know, if people choose to do that… Ian Rogerson – Yes DH - …as well feed a balanced prepared pet food, they’re not only getting complete nutrition, they’re getting all the vitamins, all the minerals etc they need, they also get the benefits that bones can bring in, in regards to, you know, both entertainment and improved oral health. Ian Rogerson – Yes, Dr Lonsdale actually says that in his book that big companies don’t really care about pet health, that they’re only interested in making money, I mean, what would be your response there to that Mr Hall? DH – My response would be, I think the large companies would be out of business if we weren’t producing like any other organisation in this market economy, we would be out of business, if the products weren’t of a high quality and, you know, maintain the, and enhance the pets’ health. Ian Rogerson – Yeah DH – You know, we’re not, we’re, of course we’re interested in pets’ health, both from a moral view, but also from a, from a, that’s what we do. Ian Rogerson – Yes DH – We have a very large investment goes on behind, in maintaining and even driving forward nutritional science relating to pets. Ian Rogerson – Yeah, and what sort of things have you come up with in some of that science? Obviously some of it you don’t want to give away for trade reasons, but, you know, are you moving forwards towards, you know, a healthier diets like that or a more sort of bone orientated meals? DH – Well, it’s one of the things that have come about it, that in some cases, bones, people, you know, may not choose to feed bones, either on veterinary advice, sometimes you find for instance dogs that may have pre- disposing medical conditions, whereby they get constipated if they consume bones. What we’ve gone and evolved is an alternative whereby we have a product called Pedigree Dent-a-bone, which people can choose to feed as a, a very hard, but a biological-based product that people can choose to, to feed to their pet, which also enhances the oral health of the dog. Ian Rogerson – Mmm, have you ever been in a situation where, and by the way I’m talking with Duncan Hall, who’s the External Affairs Officer of Uncle Ben’s. Have you ever been in a situation where people have actually asked questions of health food makers and yourselves in that area? DH – Oh, we regularly have customer enquiries on all sorts of matters relating to pet health. We actually employ somewhere around about ten veterinarians at our organisation and many of those are engaged on a daily basis in responding to any consumer enquiry or customer enquiry that we may have on a whole diverse range of topics. Ian Rogerson – Mmm, OK, well listen, thankyou very much for joining us here this evening, it’s good to get both sides of the argument in this circumstance, thankyou for talking with us Duncan Hall, External Affairs Officer from Uncle Ben’s. DH – My pleasure, thankyou very much. ___________________________________________________________ We welcome copies of correspondence/emails/faxes for possible inclusion in future RMB Newsletters. 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