Debbie Schlussel: Pets, The New People, Alert: In Response to Bad Economy, Meat Industry Seeks to "Humanize" Dogfood; "Deli Food" for Spot
As I've repeatedly noted on this site, the animal rights folks and PETA a/k/a "PUTAh" (People for the Unethical Treatment of Animals and humans) have won. We may mock their stupid media-grabbing tactics, but they've gotten American society to elevate animals to a humanized status. In many cases, people treat dogs better than humans, with aromatherapy and yoga for dogs and doggie massage. Etc., etc., ad absurdum.
Now, though, at least Freshpet--a dogfood producer--and Tyson cop to it and admit they're trying to get humans to see their pets as human-like, to make a buck:
With the economy going to the dogs, meatpacking giant Tyson Foods Inc. is forming an alliance to make a product its executives think is recession-proof: deli-like food for pets.
Tyson, Springdale, Ark., is expected to announce Tuesday that it bought a minority stake for millions of dollars in closely held Freshpet Co., a Secaucus, N.J., company that is rolling out refrigerated dog food to thousands of stores such as Kroger, Supervalu and PetSmart.The Freshpet brand is unusual because the company's executives, a collection of former Meow Mix managers, are trying to make dog food look, smell and taste as much like human food as possible. The line, the first national brand of refrigerated pet food, is aimed at consumers who give their pets everything from clothes and car seats to cemetery graves.
"Everyone talks about the humanization of pets," said Scott Morris, Freshpet marketing vice president. "But pet food looks the same as it did 30 years ago."
Tyson, which is being battered by gyrating feed costs and slowing consumer demand for pricey steaks and chops, is betting that some consumers won't cut corners when it comes to their pets. It is a phenomenon that is coming under increasing scrutiny during the recession.
Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Swiss foods giant Nestle SA, which owns several pet-food brands, said earlier this month that consumers who have "humanized" their pets refuse to trade down despite the economic climate.
What's sad is that, while they wouldn't "trade down" for their pets, they--the ones who aren't gay--would "trade down" for their kids. Priorities. . . .
Tyson, which also is opening its research kitchens to Freshpet, is stopping short of using the Tyson brand on dog food, however.
Gee, I wonder why. They can "humanize their dog food," but they won't dare ruin their brand over it. Frauds.
EXIT Questions: If human deli meats are now dog cuisine, isn't it tasteless to continue to call those certain deli delights by their insensitive names--hot dog, Coney dog, and hush puppy. I mean, that's really bigoted and specie-ist.
If they can "humanize" dog food, what's to stop them from "dog-izing" human chow?
Not much.
Posted by Debbie on March 17, 2009 03:19 PM to Debbie Schlussel