corn in pet food?

Question

how come so many people are against having corn in their pets food? i hear people say its nothing but a filler, and that it causes allergies. then why do some pet nutritionists state otherwise, and say its actually good for pets? is it true that its because corn is cheap so any pet food with it in it must be cheap and no good?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Commercial-Pet-Food-Myth-Busters---Is-Corn-Good-or-Bad?&id=490612

Answer 1

Corn in pet food is a good carbohydrate and there is no reason not to use it as a base for pet food. It is not highly allergenic, do you know anyone who is allergic to corn? There is a lot of spin in the pet food industry and it can be difficult to decipher it even if you read labels, etc. Ask your vet what specific food they would recommend for your specific pet. Age, breed, health, and other factors all come into play and your vet should be able to cut through the spin and point you in the right direction.
People will say since you don't digest whole kernel corn, then ground corn is not a worthwhile food for pets??? Pet foods do not contain whole kernel corn, just like most human corn based foods do not. Like I said, there is a lot of spin...

Answer 2

No snake is prone to obesity, its all down to the keeper. Generally, you should feed a snake a mouse no thicker than the width of the thickest part of snake itself. if your corn snake is about the thickness of a teenagers thumb it sounds like you're feeding her the right sized mice. Another way to check that you're feeding the right amount is by looking at the bulge created in the snakes belly after feeding. if there's a decent sized bulge after feeding, then the amount of food given is usually enough. if the bulge isn't very big, or isn't visible at all, try feeding two of the same size mice or feed the snake a larger sized mouse. The bulge at the base of the tail - if its just below the Cloaca - is physical trait of some adult/subadult corns and is likely not a problem, but do keep an eye on it. make sure that it does not grow at a faster rate than the overall body size of the snake as there is the off chance that it's an infection or something similar. Its unlikely that you're corn snake is obese, for snakes to become obese the keeper has to be pretty ignorant as it takes a lot of overfeeding and the majority of the time snakes wont eat more than they need.

Answer 3

Corn is a filler. It can be good but too much is bad. When looking for a good brand of food it's best to find something with the least amount of corn, if corn is in the first 5 ingredience then the foods going to be cheap and not as healthy. If it's else where then you should be safe.

Answer 4

Corn - isn't cheap, the cost of corn has went up and anything made from corn has went up. Corn is used in many different types of feed( dog, cat, horse,hog ext..)
it is used mostly as a base, Ground corn yes is a filler, but it does have nutritional value to it.
There are also different types of corn and or the way that it is processed that makes a large difference also.
Just because it has corn or a corn product doesn't make it a bad or a good dog food.
Allergies- This depends on the animal, different animals have different allergies, these are things your vet can test for and shouldn't be passed as o it's corn or a corn product. It could be any number of things.
So keep in mind - Corn isn't cheap ( any longer), Corn does have value to it, And just cause something is made with corn or a product of corn doesn't mean it's cheap or bad.

Answer 5

What about grains? Two or more grains listed in the first 5 ingredients means your food may have more vegetable protein than animal protein. Grains such as soy, corn, corn gluten and wheat gluten can be difficult to digest, which means less nutrition and more clean up.


Corn, soy, and wheat are three of the biggest culprits as far as food allergies in dogs go, and finding a brand of dry dog food that is free of these ingredients can be tricky. Itchy, red, flakey skin, and a dull coat are common symptoms of food allergies.

Answer 6

It is a filler, and it does cause allergies in pets skin. It is a known and proven fact. It is a cheap additive for pet food. You are right about pet food . BUT if corn if one of the first items on the ingredient list this is BAD. if it is one of the last on the list it isn't so bad, it is one of the lesser ingredients. It is better to see ingredients like green beans, peas, carrots, beef, lamb, rice.

Answer 7

The corn they put into animal foods such as dog foods is a pulverized dried corn.It is easily digested in this state.Whole corn is much harder to digest whether it is fresh or dried.Yes corn is a filler.Though it does have a good fat as well as carbohydrate value.The fat in corn is not the same as animal fat.You have to have fat to off set the higher amounts of proteins they are putting into the feed now a days.In a wild atmosphere or setting your dog wouldn't be eating hardly anything that is in modern dog food.In the right amounts corn isn't a big deal.Expanded dog foods are what you want to stay away from.

Answer 8

FRESH corn is fine for animals. The dried corn that they put in pet foods is nothing more than a cheap filler, with no nutritional value at all. In fact, it can be moldy which can cause all kinds of health problems.

Think of it this way -- if the pet food manufacturer is more concerned with saving money (by using cheap, possibly harmful ingredients) than in providing a high quality, nutritious, safe food for your pet, do you really want to buy their products?

Answer 9

Corn gluten meal is ok, not good, but ok. It's relatively better than yellow corn or ground yellow corn and here's why: dogs, have a short digestive tract, too short to break down the hard outer shells of the corn. People are almost the same way, except we have longer digestive tracts and still ahve trouble breaking down the corn. Corn gluten meal is the "meat" of the corn. It's the part with nutrition inside the shell. I still don't recommend it much, but if you had to choose, go with the gluten meal. Look for the first ingrediant of 'chicken/lamb/etc meal' The meal means that it is that particular meat with the water and fat cooked off of it. So all your getting is the purest of meat. That last figure I heard was 5 chicken to 1lb of chicken meal. Dogs will hang on to the meat longer and be able to breakdown the food more complete to obtain the nutrients. Corn moves to fast to allow this breakdown to occur. Take my word for it, stay with a quailty dog food free of any corn, wheat, soy at all. Besides, the price of corn is going up due to alternative energy searching, so cheap foods are going up in price anyway.

Answer 10

Corn is just a filler. It is used because it is cheap. I read the article you provided, it isn't even a vet, its just by a vet tech. When I want information on the health of my pet I turn to a vet not the tech. And the article only says she has articles published, article does not even name the magazines she is published in. Anyone can get articles published, that doesn't mean anything.

One vet tech saying corn is ok, against numerous real vets saying it is not. I'll stick to the actual vets.