According to a
recent press release, as of April 2023, Purina donated $2 million to Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Laboratory to "to push the field of companion animal microbiome research forward with the goal to develop new diagnostics and nutritional solutions for pets. The Purina PetCare Research Excellence Fund also allows Texas A&M to continue its role as a global expert in the microbiome and build its investment in the training of future research leaders in this space."
But do they actually care about your dog's microbiome?
If they truly cared about your dog's microbiome and gastrointestinal wellness, they would use garbage ingredients that do not create optimal health.
The people who run Purina are very smart. They employ thousands of scientists, researchers, veterinarians and have an amazing marketing department to help sell their product because they are a big business. Their business in the United States alone is little over $10 billion. And they are in the business of making money by selling products and are not in the business of keeping your dog well.
Your dog's microbiome is a collection of good and bad bacteria, fungi, viruses and genes. When there is an imbalance between these microbes, sickness occurs and symptoms present themselves. They could present in the form of GI issues, skin issues, allergies, other autoimmune disease, joint problems and even cancer because optimal health is determined by a healthy gut and microbiome.
In order to "help" dogs with imbalance microbiomes, Purina created a kibble called
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet Gastroenetic Canine Formula that claims to promote digestive health but there is no way it will actually doe that because the ingredients they use are a slow form of poison. You can read more on this
here.
Purina already knows how nutrition impacts the microbiomes of our dogs. In 1999, they partnered with Cornell University to create the Canine Reference Family DNA Distribution Center to help researchers place markers near specific genes and chromosomes and study disease. Purina's studies have shown, for example, how nutrition can influence gene expression in dogs with osteoarthritis.
Nutrition doesn't just influence gene expression of osteoarthritis. Nutrition influences gene expression PERIOD.
If Purina truly cared about the microbiome of your dog, which they most definitely do not, they would create a product that wasn't full of garbage ingredients.
If you want your dog to be healthy, stay far away from kibble. If your dog is sick, feed real food. You can learn more about what to feed your dog here.
