Can a Person Sustain Themselves with Pet Food?

I know, it's a really stupid question albeit one that never gets asked too often. No, I don't want to ever touch pet food. I mean, cat and dog biscuits look and smell a little tasty but I don't want to eat them. I ask this question because I wonder if a person can sustain themselves on a diet consisting of nothing but pet food.

I mean, you look at many of the boxes and tins of pet food and they all seem to contain a lot of beneficial nutrition for thy pet. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the animals are techincally eating better stuff than we are (nutritionally... I mean, the taste would be pretty damn bad). I mean, what with Monsanto and Codex Alimentarius C-Walking over the nutritional value of food for humanity, is there a chance that pet food could potentially be more pure than a lot of our diet?

Again, this is a stupid question, but I'm sure that there will be some rather interesting answers.

[edit on 13-6-2010 by Whine Flu]

Short-term I don't see why not.

Seems to me dogs & cats have higher metabolisms than us so I would suspect eating that food exclusively would actually fatten you up!

I have a picture somewhere of me, at about 5-6 years old, hiding from my mom on the back porch, finishing off a whole box of dog biscuits.

And I lived to tell about it

Not sure about anywhere else, but in the UK it is a legal requirement that pet food (cats and dogs) is fit for Human consumption. I think that is in case of another "u-boat" type scenario or other food shortage crisis.


EDIT: It's actually taste tested by humans too......

So, to answer your question, yes you can live off it.

[edit on 13/6/10 by stumason]

Yuk! I wouldn't want to eat pet food and I don't think we could live too long on it. I might be wrong though, I'm sure a lot of people do eat it for one reason or another. If I had to live on it I think I'd die of depression before the food killed me. It's full of dyes and flavourings and very little real meat I should imagine.

There's a lot on the internet about pet food and how it's actually bad for pets, but that it keeps the vets in business. A lot of people are now advocating the return of "raw,meaty bones" for our cats and dogs. That's what they're supposed to live on. For cats it's fresh as possible, for dogs it can be old meat because they tend to bury it and dig it up months later anyway.

That's the secret of the white dog poop too. I remember growing up in the 60s and 70s and us kids would see a lot of white dog poop everywhere.
I always thought the dog that left it had eaten something it shouldn't have, like a pound of chalk or a tin of paint or something.
Turns out it's perfectly natural and it's from a dog who has a good healthy diet of "raw,meaty bones."

Bring back white dog poop is what I say.

reply to post by stumason


In Britain we're allowed to eat some horrible stuff though. I watched a programme about hot dog sausages last week on that Really Disgusting Food Show or whatever it's called. I'll never touch a hot dog again.

[edit on 13-6-2010 by wigit]

this is really funny.

The food if designed for your pets body.

you will probably be missing out on quite a few vital things.

does YOUR pet food have all this?:

# Calcium (1.5%)
# Phosphorus (1.0%)
# Potassium (0.35%)
# Sulfur (0.25%)
# Sodium (0.15%)
# Magnesium (0.05%)
# Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Molybdenum, Fluorine, Chlorine, Iodine, Manganese, Cobalt, Iron (0.70%)
# Lithium, Strontium, Aluminum, Silicon, Lead, Vanadium, Arsenic, Bromine
(trace amounts)

Vitamin A
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Niacin
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Biotin
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Pantothenic acid
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Folic Acid


oh and theres much more your body needs.

There are much better alternatives, I can get most of these vitimins from my breakfast cereal plus they have a great shelf life.

[edit on 13-6-2010 by MR BOB]

Interesting, I never knew that's why white excretion from dogs was caused because of that. Now that you mention it, I don't think my dog's crap is white at all. She could also do with a bath, too, because she smells pretty damn bad. She's awesome, though.

Also, would anybody be able to answer what the gelatinous bits in jellimeat are supposed to actually contain? Or are those parts just there for the sake of being there?

Perhaps we have been eating pet food all along.

Because we are the pets...

Originally posted by MR BOB
this is really funny.

The food if designed for your pets body.

you will probably be missing out on quite a few vital things.

does YOUR pet food have all this?:

# Calcium (1.5%)
# Phosphorus (1.0%)
# Potassium (0.35%)
# Sulfur (0.25%)
# Sodium (0.15%)
# Magnesium (0.05%)
# Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Molybdenum, Fluorine, Chlorine, Iodine, Manganese, Cobalt, Iron (0.70%)
# Lithium, Strontium, Aluminum, Silicon, Lead, Vanadium, Arsenic, Bromine (trace amounts)

From what I've seen on some pet food, a lot of that does show up. Perhaps not all of the minerals listed, but most of it.

reply to post by Signals


as a kid, i would wolf down jerky treats until my mom caught me.

reply to post by stumason


i wouldnt say the same for ANY of that stuff that you get at the market.

you know the stall, with the big plain sacks of ugly looking dog food.
Usually comes with a gypsy and his lurcher sitting next to em.

reply to post by wigit

In Britain we're allowed to eat some horrible stuff though. I watched a programme about hot dog sausages last week on that Really Disgusting Food Show or whatever it's called. I'll never touch a hot dog again.

You know you can buy vegetarian hotdogs, they taste exactly the same.

everyone i know who has tried them loves them. even non vegetarians.

not the sausages, they are nasty, they are labeled hotdogs, in the freezer isle

reply to post by Whine Flu


Max did, in Mad Max 2.
If its in the movies, it must be true.


"Loaded with meat and veggies with a blended sauce which is sure to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters".

reply to post by MR BOB


I've never tried vegetatian meats, maybe I should have a go.

Nice avatar btw, I've spotted it on ats a few times and found myself staring at it for ages. Mesmerising, lol Reminds me of my old rabbit friend.

Originally posted by wigit
In Britain we're allowed to eat some horrible stuff though. I watched a programme about hot dog sausages last week on that Really Disgusting Food Show or whatever it's called. I'll never touch a hot dog again.

Agreed, but food standards outside the EU, such as in the US, are much lower..

Who has cheese in a can? Couldn't think of anything more vile...

Mr BOB, I think the fact that a pikey at the market with his mangey dog is selling it might be a good indicator that it may not be totally kosher...

As for the nutrients side of things, my cat food has most, if not all, of the nutrients you listed. At the end of the day, we're all mammals and require the same basic stuff.

Have any of you pet owners noticed your pet gets turned off some human meats? I have 4 cats and a dog and whenever I go in the fridge they tend to crowd around me and miaow and that, till I pull out a packet of ham or something and give them all a piece.

Very occasionally I give them a slice of something and they all choose to leave it.

I think "crikey do they know something I don't? Should I really be eating this, what is this anyway?" It puts you off your dinner.

reply to post by wigit


I think it might be the salt in the ham that puts them off somethimes,

they never seem to be put off roasted chicken.

i work with a guy that used to work in a pet food plant in the u.s. and he said that it is all taste tested by human tasters and its pretty much the same thing that is in hot dogs for the canned dog food and the dry stuff is mostly corn and soy meal. so i could sustain you but for how long??

if the pet is a bird and its food is hemp seeds.


then yes, those have everything the human body needs.

Ok, every conceivable topic has now been introduced on ATS...right?

You may be able to survive on it, but I have a feeling if you visited the factory where the stuff is concocted and packaged, and you saw the insects running all over it, and the flies landing on it, and you saw what parts of the animals they actually use in it, and you saw it being picked up off the filthy floor and used--I have a sneaking suspicion you wouldn't even think about eating it.

reply to post by wigit


Not me, my cat will rip a slice of ham clean from my fingers and come back for more. He also loves roast chicken and pork, but isn't keen on Lamb or Beef.

EDIT: I suppose what kind of ham might matter. I tend to buy proper ham, not the formed slices..

[edit on 13/6/10 by stumason]