What Will the First Puppy Eat?

The Obama's are finally getting their puppy, a six month old Portuguese water dog named Bo. But what will Bo eat? Obama Foodorama interviewed Marion Nestle on that very subject. They asked whether the Obamas should feed Bo commercial pet food and Marion Nestle responded as follows:

I don’t see anything wrong with feeding commercial pet food to the First Dog. If the Obamas want to open a can or scoop out some kibble, they will be doing what 90% of American dog owners do every day. All commercial dog foods are required to meet certain nutrition standards and for the most part they seem to. The canned ones are less likely to be contaminated than the kibbles but the overall risk is low. It’s just that when something bad happens, it’s truly awful.

What makes Marion Nestle, renowned expert on human food, the go-to on pet food questions? She also happens to be the author of a recent book called Pet Food Politics and an upcoming book intended as a pet version of her 2006 book What To Eat. Pet Food Politics is a case study of the pet food melamine crisis in 2007. With that in our country's recent past, no wonder everyone's wondering how the Obama's will ensure the food they feed Bo is safe. If you read the book, though, you'll see that it's not unique to pet food. Any highly centralized supply line (like pet food - or peanuts for that matter) that prioritizes its bottom line above all else and entirely separates the farmers from the eaters is susceptible to such a disaster. The system is fine as long as it works, but when it doesn't work, it REALLY doesn't work.