Just wanted to share some facts about the history of commercial pet foods.  Makes me wonder what people fed their animals before commercial pet foods were available.  I know the answer, do you?

The History of commercial pet foods, according to the Pet Food Institute:

• James Spratt, an electrical engineer in England, developed a dog biscuit around 1860
• Production of the dog biscuit began in the U.S. about 1890
• Canned horse meat was introduced in the U.S. after World War I
• Canned cat food and dry meat-meal for dogs was introduced in the 1930’s
• The extrusion process was developed for cereals in 1950, and this was the beginning of kibble
• The Pet Food Institute was founded in 1958 by the top pet food manufacturers at that time
• Expansion in the variety of canned, moist and semi-moist foods grew in the 1960’s
• The 2013 top 5 U.S. manufacturers hold approximately 70-80% of pet food sales and have so for many years (each markets various brands and types of pet foods):
  • Mars Petcare Inc.
  • Nestle Purina PetCare
  • Del Monte Foods Co.
  • Hill’s Pet Nutrition
  • Proctor & Gamble
• The top 5 U.S. pet food manufacturers above also hold significant market share in human food manufacturing and distribution.  Hmmm, smart business decision to reduce their scrap rates and create a secondary market for their waste.