Now THAT’S Something to Bark About: Dog Food Goes Local
Confession: I treat my dog like a person. I know all of you pet moms and dads hear me on that. I try and buy my pup quality dog food and treats, and I take her on my runs to keep her healthy. And lately, I’ve been researching how to make my dog’s food. In my search for DIY dog food and treat recipes, I came across an interesting article about local, homemade dog food. Now, a lot of this food goes for a pretty penny, but I still find the concept interesting. The following are just a few of the farms and small business pet food providers that produce local pet food.
Dickson’s Farmstand Meats: Dickson’s Farmstand in New York, NY, sells artisanal meat and meat products. The business only uses beef, lamb, pork, goat, and poultry that’s sourced from local farms. These farms produce natural, humanely-raised, high-quality meat products.
Dickson’s pet food line is called Who’s Walking Who (cute, right?). The farm recruited the help of Stacy Alldredge, canine behavior specialist, to help formulate the food. The farm-to-bowl line makes its food with the same meat it sells at market, and does all of the cooking and product grinding in the butcher shop.
Cota Farms: Cota Farms resides in Cardington, Ohio. Dennis and Angie Adams own and operate the farm. All of Cota Farms’ animals are free-range, and raised outdoors sans chemicals, cages and feedlots. The farm provides a variety of different kinds of pet food (human-grade standard ground chicken, organ meat, etc.) The farm also has created a dog food CSA at the farmers’ market it frequents.
Foxy Treats: Tasha Ardalan, owner of and chef at Foxy Treats, began making her dog’s food when she realized her pup had bad reactions to pet food containing wheat and corn. Ardalan only uses high-quality, organic ingredients in her products. Foxy Treats also is associated with a weekly and bi-monthly, raw pet food CSA. Each subscription supports local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, including Foxy Treats Farm.
The farm itself offers four varieties of meat (lamb, beef, chicken, and ocean fish), mixed with seasonal organic produce. The lamb, beef and chicken is humanely raised, grass-fed and pastured, and all of the ocean fish (local halibut, local rockfish and organic certified Shetland salmon) is sustainably caught.
Jeffery’s Natural Pet Foods: Jeffery’s prepares its pet food five days a week, and uses fresh and locally sourced ingredients. The food is raw, and made from free-range meats that are free of hormones and antibiotics. The meat is mixed with fresh, organic vegetables. The company sources from the following farms:
- Marin Sun Farms, Golden Gate Meat Company and A. Tarantino and Sons provide human-grade, restaurant-quality, grass-fed, hormone-and-antibiotic-free meat.
- The company sources its organic grains and vegetables from Earl’s Organic Produce and Giusto’s Millers & Bakers.
If you don’t live near a farm that produces food for your furry friend, no worries! The Huffington Post re-blogged an article titled, “Local Pet Food Options: How Your Dog’s Meals can be Eco-Friendly,” by Mary Mazzoni from Earth911, that lists some pretty great tips on how to find locally-produced pet and dog food:
Go to a co-op: The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has a state-by-state guide that lists co-ops that carry local pet food. You also can search LocalHarvest for this information, too.
Check out different local CSAs: Some CSAs are beginning to offer local pet food to members.
Go DIY: And, as always, you can learn to make your pet’s food, too. Here are just a few recipes to get you started:
“Squash it: DIY Organic Squash Dog Cookies”
“How to Make Your Own Natural Dog Food”
Resources
N.Y. Butchers See Market in High-End Fresh Dog Food
Image: mrbbking
You Might Like:
