David has posted on Facebook today about his contribution to the BBC1 television programme ‘Rip Off Britain’. They are looking at pet foods and filming the programme this coming Friday. It should be aired within the next month or two. Here is the content of the post:
[i]BBC1's Ripoff Britain is tackling the issue of bad pet foods and I'm delighted to say that I'll be taking part! Filming is this Friday with the show airing in the next month or two. They get over a million viewers so it could really shake things up!
If they were talking to you, what points would you try to get across and what advice would you have for a population largely hooked on supermarket pet foods?[/i]
There are people who are not members of Facebook so I thought it would be useful to post here as well.
If I could only say one thing on the programme, it would be about labels: advise people to choose a food that is clearly labelled, to read it and if there is anything there that they don’t understand, look it up. What piece of information do you believe to be important enough to pass on to the pet owning public? Remember that if it is all made too complicated people do have a tendency to switch off (the brain and the television).
I wish David well with the programme and hope that everything goes according to plan. Look forward to seeing it.
Thanks Dottie. I’ll be flying to the UK later today so I’m doing some last minute revision on some facts, figures and ingredient definitions.
Apparently, the dog food section will only last around 7-8 minutes so they can’t cover much ground but I think that could be a good thing. The 45 minute Channel 5 documentary, “The Truth About Your Dog’s Food”, attempted to cover far too much subject matter and heard from so many contradictory view points that I think it just ended up confusing a lot of viewers.
From talking to the director, it sounds like they are only going to feature a handful of contributors largely singing from the same hymn sheet. It looks like the whole dry vs wet vs raw vs home-cooked debate will be bypassed, focussing instead on bad food (additives, derivatives, misleading labelling etc) vs good food (in whatever form) as that will be much more relevant to the wider public.
I have high hopes for this show as it’s not often that dog food makes it on to the BBC. I’ll let you know how filming goes tomorrow.
Back from filming, exhausted but pleased with the way it went.
We spent a full day filming and Gloria Hunniford and I talked pet food for hours, both on and off camera. Like so many dog owners out there, she has been completely taken in by big pet food marketing and never really thought twice about the supermarket brands that she has been feeding her two gorgeous Cavaliers… until now.
The producers had a very clear idea of the points they wanted to cover and it seems the main focus was to investigate claims that big pet food producers are misleading the public through their advertising and labeling. As well as speaking to me, they had a lengthy interview with Piers at Scampers Natural Pet Superstore and they will be asking Mars and Nestlé for their side of the argument as well as speaking to at least one vet. It’s a huge amount to cover in 7-8 minutes and with hours and hours of filming to go through, the cut is going to have to be brutal so only time will tell what they will keep in and what will be left out.
Fingers crossed though, it will at least get dog owners thinking about food, which is the most important thing
Yes indeed - April 22nd (next Wednesday) at 9.15am, BBC1.
With hours and hours of interviews, it will be very interesting to see what will be left in. Fingers crossed, it will at least get people thinking more about what goes into their pets!
I’m not 100% sure but I believe there is an afternoon version but it is shorter than the morning one so some of the features are dropped. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything on that.
Just watched the piece and while it got the main points across, I wish it could have been a bit longer. David had warned us of the editing though so it was expected. If nothing else, it might get people actually reading the label. The programme was about food for humans too so that premise was backed up in other parts of it. Gloria stated that as a result of covering this issue she had changed the diet of her own dogs so that was a real endorsement.
Well done David.
BBC iPlayer link here - the piece is 11 minutes in.
I think, when you consider the audience, the piece was pretty spot on. It was never intended for the likes of you and me that already know a fair amount about dog food and nutrition. It is for the hundreds of thousands of Bakers and Pedigree feeders out there that have never thought twice about the subject. For them, a quick 8 minute introduction to tell them why their current choice of food might be detrimental and a few points on how to start looking for a more suitable food is all that was really needed. I say well done BBC.
One thing I would have really appreciated though (and was actually promised by the director) was a mention of the site but hey ho, you can’t have it all!
