Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/01/19/purina-responds-to-social-media-rumors-our-food-is-safe.html
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Do we have any confirmed incidences of using a (possibly bot driven) social media spawned conspiracy theory to generate short selling market funds?
In passing, adding melamine (think: Formica) just to ‘up’ the protein content estimate on food items, both for pets and humans, has a particularly nasty history.
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Purina could address both these aspects by making a Tik-Tok video where the president of the company proves the food is safe. . . by eating some on camera.
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We thought the Internet would create a new town square, a so-called marketplace of ideas. Turns out it just allows misinformation and disinformation to circumnavigate the globe at literally the speed of light.
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The dynamic here seems to be the upset consumers of the Facebook group being latched onto and steered by affilliate marketers. The morphology of it is like early-stage gamergate, almost. The next stage would be reactionary social media persnalities translating it to the stock stories used by text media. Coming soon, How DEI at Nestle killed your Dog.
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The CBC radio program Under the Influence with Terry O’Reilly covered something like this once - “a cat food company that insisted the ad agency eat the cat food before they create the ads”. Perhaps Purina should contact THAT ad agency.
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This is also being driven by “alternative” pet food producers who want to scare people into buying their products, despite many of them not actually having any safety evaluations of their foods. I have no love for large corporations like Purina, but they do hire real, respected pet nutritionists. Any of the alternate companies that tell you your dog should be eating like a wolf is lying and putting your pet in danger for profit.
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Those companies are running ads nonstop on tv these days. They make ridiculous claims about their products.
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Probably “pet vegan diet”-adjacent producers too
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Same. Our friend is a vet tech and has been working with cats, both big and small, for decades. She said to go with Purina Pro when we got our kittens last year for this very reason (plus her personal experience with it). I don’t have the mental capacity to go down the rabbit hole of pet nutrition.
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Wouldn’t prove a thing. Different sensitivities.
I could eat dog food full of cacao or raw onion and it wouldn’t hurt me. That could easily kill a dog. Not that you would ever find those ingredient in dog food but you know what I’m saying, those are not harmful to humans.
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When we first got our puppy, the vet went on and on about all these fancy organic natural wild alternative diet dog foods. I told her we were just planning on feeding the dog Purina Dog Chow. She leaned in close and said softly, “That’s what I feed my dogs too. But people like to buy the expensive stuff to feel good about themselves.”
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Our older cat developed skin sensitivities, and his already tender tummy became more so. The vet understood his love for dry, but she said we also had to start feeding him some canned food.
I researched his conditions, and learned that grain is a major skin and tummy irritant. I looked for grain-free canned and dry noms on ebay and amazOMG, and the prices are scary. Even Purina Pro Plan, the least expensive, costs a lot more than the usual. We try hard not to run out when we’re broke. The only reasonably priced grain-free canned food I could find is Fancy Feast, and it’s far less expensive at amazOMG than our local stores.
Whenever we run out of the good stuff, and can only afford regular dry cat food, he has digestive difficulties. Getting back on the good stuff clears it up in a couple/few days.
We also try to keep cheap dry food on hand to feed the strays (and possums) on our front porch. Either kroger or meijer’s shifty takers makes an evidently delightful seafood blend which includes shrimp, crab, and lobster. It’s popular with the strays & co, and V quickly disappears 
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