Food Is Going to the Dogs

A staple of nonprofit fundraising appeals for years has been the amount of money Americans spend on pet food compared to the notably smaller amount one is asked to contribute to said cause.

Americans love their pets. They spend money on their pets as if they were kids. Pet food alone is a $14 billion a year industry. In fact, "For the baby boomers, the pets have now become the kids, because people are treating them that way," according to a story in the Boston Herald. "We've seen this huge amount of money being spent on their pets."

So, it's not surprising that a major story has emerged of pet food from China that killed furry loved ones in homes across America.

Add a sense of helplessness and fear (American Food Supply at Risk -- April 29) after the toxic food becomes human (Tainted Pet Food Linked to Ind. Chickens – April 30), mix in a touch of greed to the scandal (Pet Food Officer Sold Stock Before Recall -- April 11), and the makings for a major story are in place, the kind of a story that most any reader can relate to.

This story taps into the dark and deeply personal memory of losing a pet that any pet lover has experienced, probably in the course of their formative childhood years.

China’s sheer lack of quality control and corruption is of course the main story here. Consider the huge trade surplus involved – China had about a $150 billion surplus with the U.S. and replaced it as the largest exporter in the world in 2006. The sheer volume of products from China that enter the United States at every level of the supply chain promises that the pet food scandal is a story, dare I say … with legs.