Pets vs. Plastics Campaign

Dear Pet Lovers,

On July 15th, EARTHDAY.ORG released a damning report, Pets vs. Plastics, that exposed how our beloved pets are being fed plastics and other unsafe ingredients. On August 2, just two weeks later, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced it was ending the 17-year relationship with an organization known as the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which had up until then been setting standards for pet food ingredients in the United States. This arrangement made it possible for these ‘ingredients’ to be used in animal feed and pet foods:

  • Polyethylene Roughage Replacement, a common type of plastic typically used to make grocery bags and shampoo bottles, is listed as an acceptable fiber ingredient in animal feed.
  • Restaurant waste, hereby allowing plastic wrappings and plastic utensils to potentially get into the food chain unless specifically removed.
  • Plastic identity ear tags if left on carcass heads at meat rendering plants.
  • Dust is an acceptable ingredient in pet food as is pig, cattle and chicken feces.

    • Although euthanized pets are NOT an approved ingredient on any pet food list, there is evidence that the bodies of euthanized dogs and cats may get into pet food. In 2018, Steven Solomon, D.V.M., then in his second year as director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was reported in Pet Food Industry as being “startled” by the discovery of the euthanizer drug Pentobarbital in some pet foods. He confirmed that the problem may be more widespread than he first thought.

    What all of this shows is that our pets need us to advocate for them because all of the above has happened under the FDA’s watch. After ending their Memorandum of Understanding with AAFCO, the FDA is now inviting YOU, the pet loving public to send in their views on how pet food should be regulated. But we only have until SEPTEMBER 9th, 2024, to make our views known.

    Here’s how you can make your voice heard and advocate for your pets over the profits of the pet food industry, who want less regulation.

    Option 1

    Tell the FDA to prioritize the well-being of pets over pet industry profits.

    Leave comments on the FDA’s online portal below. It will ask you to select a Comment Category, select Animal Feed Industry, C0007.

    FDA Portal

    You can cut and paste comments from our letter if you wish or attach the whole document below
    Just be sure to leave your name and if you wish your address too.

    Letter

    Option 2

    Write to the FDA to and tell them to prioritize the well-being of our pets.

    Send written comments by mail. Print and sign the letter below and mail it to this address:

    Letter

    Dockets Management Staff, (HFA-305),
    RE: FDA Enforcement Policy for AAFCO-Defined Animal Feed Ingredients
    Food and Drug Administration,
    5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

    Submissions should reference this in the letter: Docket No. FDA-2024-D-2977

    Our pets need us to protect them and to let the FDA know that pets come before the profits of the pet industry. Please make your voice heard. Only together can we defend our beloved cats and dogs! Enough with feces and plastics in pet food.

    Thank you,

    Kathleen Rogers
    President, EARTHDAY.ORG

    FDA PET FOOD INGREDIENT LIST & DEFINITIONS
    Press Release
    Letter To Send To The FDA