The interesting thing about this is that I am a bit of a "nature freak". I am very careful about the foods I buy for my family (free range chicken, organic produce etc) I am going to school to become a midwife, I don't take ANY medications (including tylenol and the like) unless I feel it is absolutly needed. We cut down trees and chop our own fire wood, my husband hunts. I feel cofident that we could, as a family move out to the middle of the woods and servive just fine without modern conveniences. Now my point, if we were to do that feeding my dogs a raw diet would be a given. It would feel natural and right (afterall, how else would I feed them?) There is something about city living that changes a persons prospective on things. There are many things that we would all make due without and probably not miss much if we HAD to do without them. But living in a place and time that pushes pre-packaged, disposable, inpersonal, sterile crap... well I admit that I have in some ways become part of that. I do not use commercially made pads or tampons and that doesn't seem odd to me at all, but that's something that people don't talk about much so I am free to step away from the norm because there are no expectations about THAT. People don't ask me what kind of tampons I use, but I do get asked a lot and told what I (should) feed my dog! It's the NORM to fed our dogs commercial dog food. No one anywhere, until recently even suggested that we had other viable options. So when you've been programmed to do a certain thing for so long, even when another choice comes along it scary to make the change. In 20 years this conversation may seem silly because trends will have changed, opinions will have changed and perhaps Alpo will start making raw commercial dog food that people can feel good about feding their dogs.
Life has gotten to crazy that people often don't have time to prepare their dog food. Most hardly can find the time to prepare their human meals! If it can't be found pre-packaged in the market it's not right. That's where life has gone. You can buy pre-made PB&J sandwiches because apparently we're all so busy we can't even take the time to make a sandwich for our kids anymore! (Though I think the real message is that if you do have time you're not working hard enough)
Why do people feed un-sure of feeding raw? Because we live in a time where we are supposed to work hard, live fast and never have a moments rest...and leave the rest to the "experts". We aren't supposed to know what's best for our pets or ourselves...th ere are big companies making lots of money off of telling us what that is.... and selling it to us, conveniently packaged in isle 10.
I may know better, but I'm still guilty of it.
(Wow, I don't know where that rant just came from!)
Vicki