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Whole Earth Farms Dog Food Ingredients

According to our research, Whole Earth Farms manufactures 27 dog food recipes using 109 unique ingredients. To evaluate the quality of ingredients used by Whole Earth Farms, we've studied all 109 ingredients. In this article, we'll share our findings on Whole Earth Farms ingredients.

Dog Food Recipes	27
Unique Ingredients	109
Artificial Colors	0
Animal By-Products	0
Anonymous Meats	0
Controversial	3
Harmful	0

First 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight. The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.

For Whole Earth Farms, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 dog food ingredients.

chicken
potato
turkey
pea
pea

As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Whole Earth Farms is chicken. The most common 2nd ingredient is potato, followed by turkey, pea, and pea.

Artificial Food Coloring Dyes

Whole Earth Farms does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According to our records, none of the 27 Whole Earth Farms dog foods contain artificial food dyes.

Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general, we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.

In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most dogs consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming to say the least.

To read more about Artificial Food Dyes, click here.

Animal By-Products

According to our records, Whole Earth Farms does not contain any animal by-products.

Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.

Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including Whole Earth Farms have decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).

For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products, click here.

Anonymous Meat Ingredients

Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive dog foods.

In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient. For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.

In our analysis, we've looked through all 109 Whole Earth Farms ingredients. According to our data, Whole Earth Farms does not contain any anonymous animal-based ingredients.

Controversial Ingredients

In most cases, ingredients which are given the controversial classification can be substituted with higher-quality alternatives. You should evaluate each controversial ingredient independently to see if there is truly a valid cause for concern.

Keep in mind, certain sacrifices often must be made to produce dog foods at a reasonable price. In general, the more expensive the product, the fewer controversial ingredients you'll find.

In our analysis, we've identified 3 controversial ingredients inside Whole Earth Farms products. These controversial ingredients are listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.

canola meal

5 Recipes

Canola meal is a high protein by-product of canola oil production. This ingredient is marked controversial because it may be derived from genetically modified rapeseed, which is associated with multiple adverse health affects.

The following recipes contain canola meal:

pea protein

2 Recipes

Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.

The following recipes contain pea protein:

caramel color

6 Recipes

Caramel color is a concentrated form of caramel, a natural food colorant. Caramel color has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals. Since our pets do not care about food color, caramel color is an unnecessary addition with possible health risks.

The following recipes contain caramel color:

Potentially Harmful Ingredients

Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general, we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.

During our review, none of the Whole Earth Farms ingredients analyzed were classified as harmful by our system. The absence of harmful ingredients is indicative of a relatively premium dog food brand.