Can a Person Sustain Themselves with Pet Food?

It would depend on the pet food in question. Some of the high end organic, corn free, grain free foods have everything we need, but they are more expensive than "people" food. It is also so dry I doubt our teeth could handle it for very long. I wouldn't touch canned though

I have a little dog and I feed him a combo of half meat, and a vegie, some olive oil, sometimes brown rice. Sometimes an egg, always at least half protein though. It is cheaper that the good dog food and just as good for him. I researched carefully first to make sure it was the right combinations and the right vegies. Nothing processed.

I wouldn't even try the cheaper pet foods, because they showed the kind of crap that goes into them when all those poor animals died a couple of years ago from melamine poisoning. Plus the cheap ones are mostly corn, ground corn, corn meal, and corn gluten. And picked up from the floor, no cleanliness in processing, overprocessed, etc.

I have tried milk bones though , as a kid, and they were surprisingly tasty. They tasted like rye crisp crackers. Good with a little bit of butter

That depends on the pets you are using as food. Hamsters....certainly not, but a Rottweiler would probably feed the whole family.

Originally posted by groingrinder
That depends on the pets you are using as food. Hamsters....certainly not, but a Rottweiler would probably feed the whole family.

I think you may have misconstrued the question...

We're talking about whether pet food can sustain you, not the pet itself, although you do raise an interesting side topic

reply to post by groingrinder


Oh, wise guy eh? why I outta...

Well, since it's formulated for the animals, no. I suspect if you were in a desperate situation(what ever that may be), it may help you along for the time being. It would not be nutritionally complete for you(cats obligate carnivore, dogs omnivore closer to carnivore). For the animals, a lot of the higher quality brands that exclude fillers, etc, are better for the animals.

I find it interesting, that in one of my Vet Tech school's books, the quote;

Currently more is known about the nutrition of dogs and cats than is known about nutrition of humans. America's dogs receiving good commercial dog foods receive a better balanced diet than is consumed by America's children.

James E. Corbin, petfood nutrtionist from Pet Foods Around the World from Then and Now-May 1993 Source
To say their diets are better formulated then ours, but their food still isn't fit for us. It's been a while so hopefully there's been more research into what people/children need for a better diet(however, it doesn't seem like it).

Good topic!

I think I would prefer Cat food to Dog food - has more vitamin E, ya know some kind of fish products. Probably taste like tuna, smells good. Only side effects I can think of might be Purrring and Meowing.

I would suspect that yes it could .. but not very well...

However pet food is pretty expensive.. if you think about it

If you want survival food buy rice in 50 or 100 pound sacks and beans in large quantity.. you know "beans and rice".. that combo provides nearly everything a human needs to live well.. throw in a few greens and fruit here and there as you can find them and you should be A-OK

Another good idea buy a grain grinder and just go to the local grainery and buy whole wheat..

IF your goal is survival, you can literally eat on pennies a day... and is suspect it woul tase beter than pet food.

It is fit for human consumption and actually is frequently eaten by senior citizens. It's kind of sad, but when they're down on their luck and the MUST buy medication, the only money they have left is enough to buy dog and cat food (the wet kind is what most people eat).

It's a lower grade meat and the FDA doesn't have as strict restrictions on it, but it's likely just as healthy as a hot dog.

I would think both dry and wet would sustain a somewhat healthy diet. What is the real big difference in our anatomy and a dog or cat? They have livers, hearts, etc.

If it came down to myself having to consume dog or cat food I would take it a step further. Use the food to attract animals and then use them for food. It may sound sick having to eat a opossum or raccoon. I'm just not denying the fact that when we have had no food for over a week the animal side starts to awaking in everyone. You eventually would eat just about anything. Good for you or not.

They don't call Gainesburgers "Senior Vittles" for nothing.

Seriously, you can indeed eat it, and if it's a good commercial dog food, you can eat it for quite a while. Cat food is a bit short on some nutrients, long on others you don't need.

If you can supplement it with a few wild greens and some berries, you could go for a long time.

Originally posted by stumason
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.

Well you learn something new every day! I did not know that.

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

And that has to be the most disgusting thing i have heard this year.

I know our furry little friends love the stuff, as do many dogs, but i will almost puke just smelling the stuff.

CX.

reply to post by atlasastro


Yeah, but look at Mel Gibson today.


Mad as a hatter, and who knows, it might have been the dog food.

(Though I personally suspect the booze and religious fanaticism combined with a natural leaning myself.)

Humans would do better on dog food than cat food, if survival was the goal. Their natural diet is much closer to our own than that of cats, and it is reflected in the make up of the kibble we make for them.

Well I tried it and ran into some problems! A couple of days of eating dog food and I suddenly thought that it would be a good idea to lick my own "Danger zone".....well I fell off the couch and hurt myself and the cat laughed at me.

Originally posted by CX
And that has to be the most disgusting thing i have heard this year.

Actually, most dog biscuit is either tasty or totally bland. Like a MilkBone - it's annoyingly crunchy but slightly sweet and a little salty. It actually could stand a bit more salt. Sort of like a really tough low-sodium Ritz cracker.

There are lots more disgusting things to have to eat than dog food. Trust me on this.

My cat will eat just about any human food - except tuna or fish. Turned his nose up at Salmon for crying out loud - whats up with that?

reply to post by Klaatumagnum



LMAO!

Originally posted by E-villeHowever pet food is pretty expensive.. if you think about it

If you want survival food buy rice in 50 or 100 pound sacks and beans in large quantity.. you know "beans and rice".. that combo provides nearly everything a human needs to live well.. throw in a few greens and fruit here and there as you can find them and you should be A-OK

You can buy a 44lb bag of Purina at Wallmart for 22 bucks. You're right about the Beans and Rice though.

Me and a buddy of mine once bought some dog jerky treats and put them in a human jerky bag, and walked round handing them out to people.

Everyone seemed to enjoy them, lol.

reply to post by crazydaisy


Good! I am glad. That was the whole purpose of my post! We all should laugh more!