# Tell me about Peas.



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I keep hearing more and more about how peas are actually not as awesome as pet food companies want you to believe. 

I like fromm well enough (grain free) but they have lots of peas in them. And truth be told, I wish I could find a simpler food with moderate calories (and price) with no peas and corn, wheat or barley, no brewer's yeast of flax seed. 

Like PetGuard Lifespan but instead of JUST their chicken, have a fish based one and maybe lamb, too. They do so well on PG, but I am not comfortable feeding it forever, I guess.

Anyway, why are peas bad?


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## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

hmm. i have not seen these findings. i always thought peas were a good veggie. i tend to use acana, orijen and redmoon ingredient lists when i compare (i think of these 3 as probably the extreme top end of canine kibble in usa) kibbles.
they use peas and pea starches. i dont think those three companies would pull the "wool" on consumers


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

FarminaND mentioned peas were 'worse than processed corn' and I , too, had believed peas were ok. Which brought me to the question. Maybe they will chime in...


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## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

Shamrockmommy said:


> FarminaND mentioned peas were 'worse than processed corn' and I , too, had believed peas were ok. Which brought me to the question. Maybe they will chime in...


I think they were referring to Pea Protein. I don't think just peas are bad, but when you have Peas, Pea Starch, Pea Flour and Pea Protein in one food, then I think thats getting to be a problem.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Fromm has peas, pea protein and pea flour in its 4-star foods. Should this raise a red flag?


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## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

i dont know the validity of their statement (farmina). but according to the "what is important to you" thread and my responses. they are global. just not in usa yet. so i dont know them but they must have a reputation that is above average to be in so many countries. i lived in italy compliments of the military. i still wear a made in italy belt that is now 12 years old. i dont think italian companies make junk. but then when what i consider to be the top 3 dog food companies in u.s.a along with quite a few others use peas. ill worry when they stop using them as they have the nutritionists, chemists and vets on the payroll. i wouldnt raise flags just yet.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Excellent point! My dear old friend who has been in dogs for more than 60 years told me not to worry so much about which food is the 'right' one. Dogs have only a limited amount of years on this earth and to enjoy them for that time and not sweat the small stuff. She makes a great point. 
I'm slowly learning this unfortunate fact of life...


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

Another Pet Food Filler Ingredient Revealed: Pea Fiber


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## danielba73 (Sep 12, 2013)

Peas are considered to be on the border because they tend to ferment and could produce gas. For this reason many people prefer not to feed them to their dogs. My personal opinion is that IF your dog likes them you can try giving them to it. Keep track of how the poop is and if it looks good then it is ok to feed peas to your dog.


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## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

danielba73 said:


> Peas are considered to be on the border because they tend to ferment and could produce gas. For this reason many people prefer not to feed them to their dogs. My personal opinion is that IF your dog likes them you can try giving them to it. Keep track of how the poop is and if it looks good then it is ok to feed peas to your dog.


The issue is why Pea Protein is even used. There is only one reason, to save money. Ironically, many of the foods filled with Pea Protein and other legume proteins are the most expensive on the shelves. 

Companies that do not use the best quality animal sources must use Pea Protein and other legume products to compensate for high ash levels while keeping GA protein high.

To date, the only safety studies on Pea Protein have been on fish. Technically, Pea Fiber, Pea Starch, Pea Flour and Pea Protein are not even approved to be in pet food but in each state they choose to enforce this differently.

We use animal protein sources and no legume products whatsoever.


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## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

bett said:


> Another Pet Food Filler Ingredient Revealed: Pea Fiber


interesting read. if i read correctly, a source of cheap filler. if so the high dollar food companies would be priced out of existence if they changed from pea to ??? 
but she also said something in the last paragraph about pea fiber. so is it the pea fiber or the whole green pea that is the issue? as most companies use whole peas.


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

I have never heard of any issues with the peas. I will definitely keep track of my customers and see how they are doing.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

two of mine eat peas, in their fromm without issue. i home cook for rex, and as a vegetable, add some peas into the mix. they love them.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

All of mine eat peas with no problems as well, which is why I was curious when Farmina mentioned they are worse than corn.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

Shamrockmommy said:


> All of mine eat peas with no problems as well, which is why I was curious when Farmina mentioned they are worse than corn.


different strokes.....


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

Shamrockmommy said:


> Excellent point! My dear old friend who has been in dogs for more than 60 years told me not to worry so much about which food is the 'right' one. Dogs have only a limited amount of years on this earth and to enjoy them for that time and not sweat the small stuff. She makes a great point.
> I'm slowly learning this unfortunate fact of life...


I have learned to try and not sweat the little stuff so I agree but feeding a good food to our dogs may just help keep them around a little longer. As I have written, my Berner was a month short of 13 yrs old when I had to say goodbye to her. Time is priceless with our dogs. It's not the cost of vet bills, food, etc. It's the price of having to say goodbye that we all pay. I sincerely believe nutrition can help give us more time before we pay that price.


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

I know nothing about peas but it is interesting that many of you are feeding diets with peas in different forms from companies you trust and your dogs seem to do well. I forget who has called Fromm and talked with them about other things. I think they should call Fromm and ask them about why they use peas. Nutro also uses peas so Geoff can call them.
Dr Becker has nothing good to say about peas and sees them as just a filler but in my humble opinion, she needs some nutrition classes and some credentials instead of trying to keep up with Dr Mercola, who is pretty brilliant in human nutrition. It's a good example of being cautious what others say about certain ingredients and stepping back and looking at their bias and agenda. Farmina mentioned peas are processed more then corn. I trust him/her so I guess my question would be Is that a bad thing and why. Just like he/she had said in another thread, they continue to use certain processed ingredients because they perform well. Are the nutrients provided by peas not good due to the processing? I know that's not true with corn? I prefer to always feed a food with corn because of the nutrients it provides. Why is there a whole business of demonizing certain ingredients if not to help differentiate a food and give a customer a reason to buy yours and not the other guys? Again, I have no opinion on peas but past experience tells me peas are probably fine and the myth is nothing more than myth.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Dr Dolittle said:


> I know nothing about peas but it is interesting that many of you are feeding diets with peas in different forms from companies you trust and your dogs seem to do well. I forget who has called Fromm and talked with them about other things. I think they should call Fromm and ask them about why they use peas. Nutro also uses peas so Geoff can call them.
> Dr Becker has nothing good to say about peas and sees them as just a filler but in my humble opinion, she needs some nutrition classes and some credentials instead of trying to keep up with Dr Mercola, who is pretty brilliant in human nutrition. It's a good example of being cautious what others say about certain ingredients and stepping back and looking at their bias and agenda. Farmina mentioned peas are processed more then corn. I trust him/her so I guess my question would be Is that a bad thing and why. Just like he/she had said in another thread, they continue to use certain processed ingredients because they perform well. Are the nutrients provided by peas not good due to the processing? I know that's not true with corn? I prefer to always feed a food with corn because of the nutrients it provides. Why is there a whole business of demonizing certain ingredients if not to help differentiate a food and give a customer a reason to buy yours and not the other guys? Again, I have no opinion on peas but past experience tells me peas are probably fine and the myth is nothing more than myth.


Well, you know how the internet is! If you saw it on the internet, it must be true LOL. 

I avoid corn because it's evil for my own self. I don't want my dogs eating, licking me, and causing an allergic reaction. Just personal preference.


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

apriliamille said:


> hmm. i have not seen these findings. i always thought peas were a good veggie. i tend to use acana, orijen and redmoon ingredient lists when i compare (i think of these 3 as probably the extreme top end of canine kibble in usa) kibbles.
> they use peas and pea starches. i dont think those three companies would pull the "wool" on consumers


Hey April, I am not familiar with the other two but have spent a lot of time on Origen's website. maybe they aren't pulling any wool over your eyes and are sincere but they have absolutely no credibility as far as nutrition goes. just my opinion, okay, but whether they are clueless or pulling wool, I would be very cautious putting much trust in them. They need to hire a nutritionist. I know that sounds rude but I read thru much of their white pages or whatever they call it and was amazed. Again, just my two cents.


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## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

dr. d,
thats fair. maybe its my growing up in the pac nw and knowing about champion pet food (makers of orijen and acana) lead me to this. the crazy thing is, the food we are currently using was found accidentally, (their marketing expense seems kind of low, boring white bag and computer print out of feeding instructions since its not on the boring white bag along with a sticker label on the boring white bag instead of a neat cute yummy dinner plate spread that i would eat photo) it was selected by the name compliments of an odd google search return i got some how on my cell phone while at pet smart

any how, im not here to start brand wars, if i want to do that ill troll one of the pet facebook groups im in after popping some popcorn (wanna watch insanity? say brand x is best in a facebook pet group :smile
guess it would be better if i had said in the post "there are quite a few good companies who have not had recalls actively using peas, ill wait till they leave the pea bandwagon before i do"


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

apriliamille said:


> dr. d,
> thats fair. maybe its my growing up in the pac nw and knowing about champion pet food (makers of orijen and acana) lead me to this. the crazy thing is, the food we are currently using was found accidentally, (their marketing expense seems kind of low, boring white bag and computer print out of feeding instructions since its not on the boring white bag along with a sticker label on the boring white bag instead of a neat cute yummy dinner plate spread that i would eat photo) it was selected by the name compliments of an odd google search return i got some how on my cell phone while at pet smart
> 
> any how, im not here to start brand wars, if i want to do that ill troll one of the pet facebook groups im in after popping some popcorn (wanna watch insanity? say brand x is best in a facebook pet group :smile
> guess it would be better if i had said in the post "there are quite a few good companies who have not had recalls actively using peas, ill wait till they leave the pea bandwagon before i do"


What food is in the plain white bag?


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## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

redmoon. the H and P are my doing. hammer and Poppy. this is 98 pounds worth on the shelf


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Dr. Tim's are in plain white bags. At least the ones 40# and up.


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

apriliamille said:


> dr. d,
> thats fair. maybe its my growing up in the pac nw and knowing about champion pet food (makers of orijen and acana) lead me to this. the crazy thing is, the food we are currently using was found accidentally, (their marketing expense seems kind of low, boring white bag and computer print out of feeding instructions since its not on the boring white bag along with a sticker label on the boring white bag instead of a neat cute yummy dinner plate spread that i would eat photo) it was selected by the name compliments of an odd google search return i got some how on my cell phone while at pet smart
> 
> any how, im not here to start brand wars, if i want to do that ill troll one of the pet facebook groups im in after popping some popcorn (wanna watch insanity? say brand x is best in a facebook pet group :smile
> guess it would be better if i had said in the post "there are quite a few good companies who have not had recalls actively using peas, ill wait till they leave the pea bandwagon before i do"


I think that's a great way of putting it! Not jumping on the bandwagon! There aren't any peas in my dogs food (I am pretty sure) but if there were I surely wouldn't be concerned because the latest fad is demonizing peas. I may be the extreme one around here since I have no problem feeding soy, corn, grains, etc. but that's based on my experience and watching the pet food business change and the marketing taking over. when a food company says !NO this or no that they are simply trying to use the bandwagon to sell their food. Every one of them is doing it now, and I can't blame them since it works, but personally I find it frustrating. Only because it works best on the people that love their dogs as much as I do. It is funny though, foods are so similar now I wonder what the next fad will be!


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