Hello, all! This week let’s take a look at canine nutrition from a different angle. There is a lawsuit in the news this week against commercial dog food. And, it’s definitely worth discussing here.

What’s the lawsuit about? Well, it’s about something we talked about some time ago. Glyphosate.

To refresh your memory, glyphosate is an extremely toxic chemical that is used as a primary ingredient in weed killer.

Glyphosate is detrimental to our dogs, us, and the environment.

If I talked about all the reasons why, we’d have a book rather than an article. But, before I go any further, I highly recommend doing some research about the effects of glyphosate.

Now, people aren’t saying glyphosate is sprayed directly onto your dog’s food. Instead, they’re upset glyphosate is sprayed on the veggies that are later used for your dog’s food (and think about what we’re eating, too).

Dog lovers are also claiming commercial dog food is unable (or should be unable) to claim they’re organic, healthy, and critical to our dogs’ well-being. The lawsuit claims dog food organizations who utilize glyphosate are being deceitful and misleading.

A Little Background

Now that we’ve discussed the lawsuit, let’s talk facts. The United States uses about 100 million pounds of glyphosate each year. The harmful ingredient is found in over 700 agricultural, forestry and home-based products.

And, it doesn’t just kill weeds. It literally kills everything.

Everything.

Glyphosate kills our microbes, our fungi and our insect population. And, that’s just the beginning.

The fact that glyphosate is so common makes it near impossible for us to escape.

There is an argument that states only professionals should handle this dangerous chemical to keep its use under control.

Now you’re probably thinking it couldn’t get any worse. Oh, but it can. Even more dangerous than glyphosate alone is the combination of the chemical with 2,4-D (AKA Agent Orange). The combination of glyphosate and ‘Agent Orange’ is found in Enlist Duo. The deadly combination is sprayed on many of our crops including corn, soy and cotton.

What does this mean for us and our dogs? Any cotton product. Any meat, bones, milk, or cheese. All of these have an extremely high probability of being contaminated by glyphosate.

Research shows glyphosate blocks our detox pathways and prevents our dog’s bodies (and ours) from detoxing. So, we can’t get our ‘bad’ bacteria out. And, it kills our good bacteria while allowing for the bad bacteria to survive.

Since we aren’t able to detox glyphosate (as mammals), it continues to accumulate over time and stays in our dog’s tissues (and ours!). Scientists have determined the likelihood of our dogs and us having traces of glyphosate in our intestines, bones, muscles, etc…. and in our dog’s (and our) breast milk… is high.

Scientists speculate therefore bacteria like botulism (Clostridium botulinum) is increasing on our farms. Since our good bacteria is dying off, the bacteria known as Salmonella is also increasing in America.

What About Disease?

Oh, it doesn’t stop at contaminating our body. If something is contaminating our body, you can guess the probability of developing some sort of disease or condition is high.

In our dogs, there are many diseases which have been linked to glyphosate: cancer, kidney failure, seizures, gastrointestinal disease, and liver disease, just to name a few.

One of two dogs develop cancer in their lifetime. Kidney failure is the second killer of dogs. Liver disease happens as a result of the inability to detox. Seizures begin from glyphosate affecting brain function. And, since your dog’s good bacteria are being destroyed and bad bacteria are alive and well, it’s not surprising that gastrointestinal disease is common.

Our dogs are even more exposed than we are. They don’t have shoes to protect their feet (not usually, anyway). They run around barefoot all day every day just collecting all of the toxins we, as humans, have sprayed.

Even if you can’t fully escape, try to get as far away from this as possible.

Find out where glyphosate is sprayed in your area. Yes, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do. But, it’s worth a shot.

Give your dog detox baths.

Feed your dog fresh foods as often as possible. This isn’t always a possibility because it is expensive, but if you can do this, please do so.

If you must buy food that’s not from a farm you know, or from the grocery store, be sure to wash it before consumption. Washing won’t get rid of all the glyphosate but at least it will remove a little.

Ask your veterinarian what you can do for your dog’s gut health.

I could go on and on about this, but unfortunately, I am out of room here. If you have interest in learning more, please do some research. If you aren’t sure what to research, or where to find information, send me an email at amberldrake@dogbehaviorblog.org.

Please know I have many, many messages each day so it may take me several days to get back to you, but I will respond as quickly as possible.

Feel free to send in your knowledge about the topic, too. Make a comment. Share what you know with our community.

Until next time!