Cognitive Dissonance: Pet Care's Newest Epidemic

In 1957, American social psychologist Leon Festinger ran an experiment to understand how people cope with conflicting thoughts/beliefs. In his study, participants were given a painfully boring task and then paid either $1 or $20 to convince others that the task was enjoyable. The participants that were paid $1 were more likely than those paid $20 to report that the task was enjoyable! Why? Festinger stated that the $1 payment was "insufficient justification" for their behavior so they changed their attitudes to better align with their actions. The discrepancy between their behavior (convincing someone that the task was enjoyable) and their feelings (finding the task boring) created a discomfort: "cognitive dissonance".

A more concrete example would have be a person that has ample knowledge that smoking is bad for their health, yet they continue to smoke. The glaring difference between their knowledge and their behaviors creates significant discomfort. To reduce this discomfort, they can 1) quit smoking 2) change their narrative ("smoking isn't as bad as they say") and/or 3) acquire knowledge on the "positive" effects of smoking. The human mind is remarkably adept at justifying its actions.

BASE KNOWLEDGE of the PET INDUSTRY

In 2023, the US pet care market achieved record sales of USD $147 billion with a projected 5 year CAGR of 5.26% (2024 - 2029). Pet owners spent USD $64.4 billion on pet food and treats. While there are more than 500 pet food manufacturers, 65% of total sales are owned by just five companies (Purina 29%; Mars 17%; JM Smucker 8%; Hill's 7% and General Mills 6%). Broken down further, Purina had $21.4 billion in sales and an astounding profitability of more than 20% (that is at least $4.2 billion "in the black" in just 2023)!

While each of the Top 5 companies offers a full complement of food forms (dry, wet, treat), the majority of their sales come from extruded kibble. As a matter of fact, it has been reported that 75.7% of pet owners feed dry kibble. A quick recap: extruded kibble is an ultra-processed food where the ingredients themselves have been processed and "altered" from their original state; these ingredients are then mixed together and then processed again with intense heat and pressure.

The AVMA estimates that there are 140 million companion pets (dogs and cats) in the US. Quick math tells you then that about 105 million of these pets are being fed dry, extruded kibble.

AN EPIDEMIC OF POOR HEALTH

In reviewing literature from The AVMA, VIN and The NIH, the biggest health issues (or disease states) facing our pets are 1) dental issues 2) obesity 3) joint health 4) dermatitis and 5) cancer (prevalence as a %).

In the US, pet owners collectively spend more than $38 billion annually for veterinary care. According to a 2022 Synchrony study, canine owners will spend (over the lifetime of their dog) between $20k-$55k "all in" ($5,500 to $14,850 at the veterinarian's office alone). The numbers are mind-boggling. We spend $65 BILLION on food/nutrition, another $2.7 BILLION on supplements to combat the nutritional shortfalls and then another $38 BILLION on veterinary care.

Although we call it "pet care", it turns out we aren't spending money on managing their health so much as we are spending money on managing their diseases.

AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

The universe of research on canine and feline health as it relates to nutrition (or lack thereof) has ben expanding exponentially. Accumulating evidence suggests that dietary components may impact not only GI disease, but also allergies, oral health, weight management, diabetes, and kidney disease through changes in the GI microbiome*. Some additional headlines (correlations, not causation):

• Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are linked to 32 adverse health outcomes, including obesity, cardio-metabolic, cardiovascular and cancer
• The Maillard Reaction that occurs in UPFs like extruded kibble, creates extremely high levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and have been linked to cancer and various disease states
• Manufacturing extruded kibble requires high starch and carbohydrate levels. These two are the foundational blocks of plaque, tartar and gingivitis in dogs.
• Carbohydrates are a low cost kcal of Metabolized Energy. While dogs can (and do) consume and digest them, they are not the preferred source of energy. Dogs, in a self-selecting study, chose an overall protein:fat:carbohydrate RATIO OF 30:63:7

This preferred ratio was also shown to be true with ancestral dogs/wolves. So when a company talks about how their kibble feeds the wolf in your dog with a 34:12:54 ratio, don't buy in to their marketing!

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

So just like the smoking example at the beginning, there is a discomfort in the pet industry that needs to be addressed and reconciled. On one hand, it is a $147 BILLION dollar industry with collective net profits over $30 BILLION! On the other, it is called the PET CARE industry and the leading product is, at best, not very nutritious and at worst, causing adverse health effects!

How are the discrepancies between my behaviors and my feelings/knowledge reconciled? Just like Festinger's real world example, we can 1) stop making kibble 2) change the narrative and challenge the prevailing knowledge and/or 3) change the conversation to the "benefits" of kibble. Do any of these sound familiar:

• "Extruded kibble has made pet ownership affordable and easy. It is a good thing!"
• "Kibble is complete and balanced and I trust xyz Pet Foods."
• "Raw and minimally processed foods are dangerous to pets and people with all the pathogens."
• "Kibble is the best thing for your dog's teeth. The mechanical abrasion from the hard kibble removes plaque."
• "Kibble has gotten SO much better with the addition of slurry and real meat."
• "There are no AAFCO guidelines on carbohydrates and no requirement to report essential amino acids."

I'm not saying that people in the industry don't care about pets or that they want profits more than they want healthy pets (it just seems that way). There is significant opportunity for profit within the pet care industry and that attracts people from a wide array of professional backgrounds. And let's face it, the extruded kibble market has a very low barrier to entry and new entrants compete on marketing buzzwords and NOT nutrition.

New participants and long standing veterans of the industry are the ones that are most committed to rationalizing their actions. "Newbies" (or "Recentlies") think that their spin on kibble is a game changer and the seasoned veteran is fully committed to preaching the alternate narratives. They've been selling it for years and they are a "good person". If you want to draw some parallels, you may want to watch, "Thank You For Smoking" with Aaron Eckhart or "The Insider" with Russell Crowe.

Some folks look at the pet care industry as any other business and that their purpose is to minimize costs, expand the user base and maximize profits (kind of explains the artificial and synthetic ingredients as well as the sub-par protein sources).

STARTLING CONCLUSION

That headline is "tongue in cheek" because I'm about to say what I've been saying for the last decade: We can do better! I'm not advocating that kibble be outlawed or taxed into oblivion (e.g. "BIG soda tax"). I want pet food manufacturers to look beyond the immediate lure of profits and look at promoting health. I believe there needs to be a better, more immediate, change to the nutritional panels and information companies need to provide. According to Rodney Habib, over the last 5 years 60 MILLION pounds of extruded kibble has been recalled for aflatoxins and an additional 8 MILLION pounds due to high levels of pathogens. A certification of safety doesn't seem too intrusive or outlandish. Maybe a full report on essential amino acid levels and total digestibility results should be common place on company websites. While sourcing is important for several reasons, we need to focus on nutrients and bioavailability. Lastly, the wording and statements on packaging needs to be addressed. Freeze-dried and kibble are not and cannot be "raw". You shouldn't be able to claim "limited ingredients" or "natural" if you only tout the nebulous "vitamins and minerals" on your ingredient panel or if your vitamins and minerals come from artificial or synthetic ingredients.

Being better and changing things only requires commitment...and a love for our pets!

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power..." - Jimi Hendrix