Have you seen the September issue of 'Your Dog' magazine. On page 98 is a feature entitled "What's on the menu?". Dr Monica Lundervold MRCVS, employed in the PR department of IAMS, strenuously defends the 'processed food' cause, while yours truly has a bash for natural and fresh diets. I recommend reading both.

I am glad for Dr Monica that she has such faith in her employer's products (IAMS pet food manufacturer is a subsidiary of multi-national giant Procter and Gamble).

I quote from the 'products' page of my website www.alternativevet.org/products.htm :

"As with any walk of life, it is not wise to seek the advice of those who will directly benefit from that advice."

In her article, Dr Lundervold refers to the '24-hour Operational Ration Pack'. Guess what, this is only designed for continuous consumption over 15 days and certainly no longer than 30 days. Might the British Army have realised that such diets are not for long-term use? According to Surplus and Adventure,

" Features of the 24-Hour Operational Ration Pack are:

  • An individual ration for normal use in the field
  • Ration is designed to feed one person for one day
  • It has been designed to provide a balanced nutritional diet
  • Can be eaten hot or cold
  • ORP provides an average of 4000 Kcal per ration
  • Ration is 10% protein, no more than 35% fat, 55% carbohydrate
  • Continuous consumption up to 15 days, ideally no longer than 30 days
  • Hot meals in flexible foil pouches
  • Rations packed in waterproof outer cardboard boxes
  • All ORPs have a shelf life of at least 3 years "

    • Incidentally, this little item comes to you, from military surplus supplies, for £9.95 (for 24-hours of food) and includes 10 matches, a striker and 6 water purification tablets! It is interesting to read that the military realises that there is such a thing as 'menu fatigue' and are introducing variety into 2007 packs. All this sounds far-removed from the petrol-pump sounding 'super premium' dog food described. Now would that be leaded or unleaded? Anyway, I'm glad Dr Lundervold mentioned the 24-hr ORP, really.

    As for the publication of my own views (page 99), shame about the photo of the steel food dish! It's a bit 'off message' and I have made a mental note to try to remember, when writing articles, to ask for input on choice of photographs. By the way, my own incentive for writing the article? A free copy of the magazine!