Haven't read everything in this thread yet, so this may have already been said. If something is unethical or illegal, doesn't mean that it's not happening. That article someone linked from Wall Street Journal, I believe, does, in fact, clearly state that vets make up to 40% profit by selling SD. I am guessing that many other smaller, better (in terms of nutritional value of the food) companies cannot share their profits to this extent. This, to me, is a form of a kickback. I would define a "kickback" as any form of compensatioin, be it monetary or otherwise; great game tickets, fancy dinners, big profit margins from the sales - all these qualify as kickbacks, in my opinion.
Lack of nutritional education in college for vets argument doesn't make sense to me. Many of us here are not experts in animal nutrition, yet we know which foods are good, and which aren't. It doesn't take a genius to figure out, and vets are by no means uneducated. I would understand if a vet wanted to sell cheaper food for his clients, who, for example, cannot afford "premium" foods. But, why push an expensive food that is not the very best out there?
Thankfully, my vet did not push SD on me back when I first visited with my kitten 5 months ago, even though her shelves are lined with it and I see people buy it all the time when I take the furkids in for their appointments. I was an uneducated consumer when it came to pet food and I know I would have bought SD if my vet told me it's the best. But from stories I've read so far, some vets are more agressive in pushing SD than others.
Edited to add that I understand why vets prescribe special SD diets - I've no problem with that. My only issue is with them pushing SD for regular diets.