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There seems to be a trend towards feeding animals a raw meat diet, with the belief that it is all-natural, preservative-free. This maybe in part because it appears, although untrue, to be cheaper than commercial diets. This raw-meat diet idea seems to stem from breeders, "nutritional experts", and holistic/homeopathic resources. However, these diets could possibly contribute to severe disease processes, and consequently are very dangerous to feed; not only for your pet but for you and your family. Most of these "diets" have not been tested for nutritional content; some have not been approved by any regulatory organization for safety; and often come from people who just "believe these diets are the best for the pet". This is how these ideas/trends, etc come into circulation.

Just to familiarize you with data on humans, let us look at some statistics: there are between 6.5-81 million cases of food-borne illnesses reported per year according to the American Meat Institute. The bacteria most commonly associated with raw meat are: Campylobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli. (E.Coli), and Clostridium, among quite a long list of other organisms. ALL of the listed bacteria have "raw meat" listed as a primary source of growth/infection. Almost everyone has heard about the problems regarding the recall of ground beef from several popular food chains thought to be contaminated with the bacteria called E.Coli (0157:H7). E. Coli can occur in any undercooked or raw meat. Any of the four bacteria above can contaminate and grow rapidly in meat (and other products) as long as the meat is not handled properly or kept at the proper temperatures. E. Coli is a bacteria-bacteria can be infectious by itself or produce toxins that can be very harmful - even life-threatening. Perhaps you are familiar with safe-handling of meat techniques, such as never thawing meat at room temperature, washing hands and any surfaces that come into contact with raw meat, cooking meat to a minimum of 160 degrees Farenheit, and never leaving meat out too long, to only name a few. These prevention measures are aimed at keeping the meat at safe temperatures to control the growth and spread of bacteria.

The USDA is now recommending cooking hamburgers at home with a meat thermometer to insure that meat temperatures reach 160 degrees F. Some bacteria have become resistant to measures listed in safety guidelines and can produce growth right in your refrigerator or are not wholly destroyed when cooked-especially if undercooked or not cooked evenly. The clinical signs associated with bacterial contamination are: (ranging from mild to severe, life-threatening-especially if not identified and treated early): vomiting, diarrhea (often bloody), nausea, listlessness, weakness, dehydration, abdominal pain, and some produce fevers. Some just take hours to show signs, others can take days. The most overlooked problem with feeding your pets a raw meat diet is that these bacteria can also be transmitted to people, even with animals that do not show any clinical signs of illness (they are "carriers"). Most of these bacteria can survive in the environment for a long time and can easily be transmitted to people. With representatives from the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), and from the Public Health Veterinarian of California's recommendation to not feed yourself or your animal raw meat due to health risks involved; why take the chance?

If still unconvinced that raw meat diets are a poor choice, let's examine their nutritional status.

These diets are deficient in carbohydrates, which are necessary in sparing proteins used for essential amino acid requirements, are deficient/oversupplemented in vitamins (A,D,E,C,B, etc) that can result in some severe disease states over time, and are diets in which ratios of calcium to phosphorous have not been evaluated (raw meat contains too little calcium and too much phosphorous) which could result in weak, brittle bones, or bones too soft to stand on. These diets don't often address special diets for animals that require specific diets for kidney, liver, heart, or metabolic diseases.

Please carefully consider the dangers of feeding these raw meat diets. With so many premium, high-quality, well-studied and regulated diets available (like through long-standing companies such as Iams, Hills, and Purina) why risk malnourishing your pet ,subjecting it and your family to potentially harmful bacteria? If "natural" is your goal; check for items prepared with this goal in mind (Daisy's, PetFriends). Many thanks to the CDC, USDA, and the Public Health Veterinarian of California's Office for your input regarding this article.