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Originally Posted by lil fu fu girl  I do not use RC because one of the top ingredients is chicken "meal". I prefer not to feed mine anything with the term "meal" in it.
As for corn, it is a carbohydrate with trace proteins. The problem arises when corn is used for the main protein,( in the top 5 on the ingredient list) as it is a vegetable protein, or an "incomplete" protein, due to the fact that it does not contain enough amino acids that are necessary for metabolism. In essence, this means that it is very difficult for your pup to digest it.
The second problem with using corn as a main protein is the fact that proteins are processed in the liver and the waste materials from this process are filtered and excreted through the kidneys; both of these functions requires water to complete the process. High quality proteins such as red meat, do not generate large amounts of waste, so not a lot of stress on the liver or kidneys. On the other hand, poor quality proteins such as corn, which is difficult to digest, puts added stress on the kidneys as it generates excessive waste byproducts that need to be taken out of the liver and carried to the kidneys and then excreted, which means a lot more water must be taken in to allow this process to work correctly. When sufficient water is not present these byproducts cannot be expelled, that is where disease issues arise for our pups.
In consideration, I would make sure that my pups get a quality protein that is not vegetable based. |
Sounds like you have been researching, but as I said earlier, things are really more complex than what you read at first. Actually meal is considered better by many, as long as it specifies the type of meal, like "chicken". When it's just meat meal, you don't know what you are getting, and as Britster says you are actually getting more of the chicken in meal because no water is included in this. Fresh meat contributes far less concentrated animal protein to a product, since 60-75% of the weight is water, which is removed during the manufacturing process.
The Dog Food Project - Meat vs. Meal
Furthermore, chicken meal is considered very easy to digest. In addition, your comment on corn is a little misleading. Corn doesn't have the necessary amino acids to form a complete protein but when mixed with other proteins, does form the compete protein. You say that corn should not be used in the first 5 ingredients, this seems like some arbitrary number, why 5? From everything I've read it shouldn't be listed as the first ingredient, because that means the protein source is mainly coming from corn, and this is not satisfactory for the reasons you listed. I actually believe the way things are listed are very confusing for the average person, and they don't understand that the water content in foods can really throw off where on the list they fall.