by Eva van Loon

In spite of the scare pet-owners had this year over pet foods polluted by melamine in gluten from China, our government has not seen fit to pass any laws against poisonous pet food, much less pass slaughtering regulations for meat animals destined to be fed to the fur persons in the family. The class- action lawsuit against Royal Canin, started in Ontario on behalf of all Canadians whose pets ate it (allegedly an overabundance of Vitamin D caused hypercalcemia), had to resort to negligence and constructive trust—not a statute in sight about pet-food standards.

Correct me if you can, but the only mention in the BC Statutes of pet food is in the Communicable Diseases Regulation under the Health Act, which says, in section 19, “No person shall offer for sale or sell as pet food meat containing micro-organisms capable of producing disease in humans.”

Okay. Makes sense, as far as it goes.

As for food, the Food Safety Act says food means food or drink for human consumption, a definition adopted by every other statute we’ve got concerning food.

It strikes me as a bit odd, since I now buy raw food—meat—for my pets and pay about the same per kilo as I would for my own rip-and-tear-pretending-I-am-a-great-hunter. Wouldn’t I want to know my pets were entitled by law to the same safety standards as I?

Legally, other animals seldom count. They are not persons in the eyes of the law, but chattels. You own them the way some people used to own other people. What you feed your chattels is your business.

I didn’t say this lack of law was a bad thing.

It strikes me that whenever I find a meat bargain or a source of truly good meat for people, I might as well buy it for my furry friend. I’ve started cooking nice, meaty, spicy stews for him. Which he loves. No wonder-- they’re as good as my own stews!

I’ve quit buying frozen raw pet food in Vancouver and ferrying it home. I’ll buy my pet food here, from local farmers. If it ends up in my pot as well as that of my furry friend, it’s nobody’s biz but my own.

At least something still is.

Powell River farmers, wake up to the potential of this new market!