A Utah company is fighting ‘Big Kibble’ over grain-free dog food. They say your dog’s health is on the line.
KetoNatural is accusing one of the largest brands in the country, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, of a broad, “coordinated conspiracy” with veterinarians and scientists to manipulate research and create the appearance of a link between grain-free food and a heart condition that can be fatal to dogs. “Unable to successfully compete in the market, and rather than invest in improving its own products,” Hill’s argues in court filings, “KetoNatural has chosen instead to launch an implausible and belated attack against veterinary science by filing this speech-chilling suit, attempting to stifle discourse aimed at understanding and protecting pet health.”
The investigation has not confirmed any definitive link between grain-free foods and DCM, and in 2022 — four years after it started — the agency announced that it would provide no further public updates “until there is meaningful new scientific information to share.” ”They did this by deliberately cherry-picking cases of DCM involving ‘non-traditional’ dog food brands and submitting them to the FDA all at once,” the complaint says. That “created the illusion that DCM was alarmingly common among dogs fed ‘non-traditional’ diets,” it adds, forcing the FDA to alert the public and investigate.
That category, the lawsuit argues, includes essentially any pet food that is not made by the top four largest brands in the country., in 2023 Nestlé Purina PetCare — known for the Purina brand — was No. 1, followed by Mars Petcare , Hill’s and General Mills . “Applying any cute label to a complicated and unproven problem,” he wrote online, months into the FDA investigation, “does a disservice to the attempt to characterize the problem.”
And pet obesity is more accurately explained by overfeeding, Rees said. It’s about volume, not carb content. Rees said she fundamentally does not believe dogs need, or benefit from, grain-free diets. Her veterinary colleagues generally agree, she said. “She was in dilated cardiomyopathy,” Rees said. It was too late to save the poodle. Her heart was too far gone.
Healthy Pets sells KetoNatural products, displayed prominently in the front of the store near the register. But it also sells food made with grains. Thompson said he cares that food in his store is made from “high quality” ingredients, whatever those ingredients may be.