The history of raw food
Over the last 9 years, the raw feeding movement has experienced remarkable growth, leading many individuals to shift away from dry biscuit “foods,” which is a fantastic development.
However, this rapid expansion has caused us to lose sight of the fundamental truth and the core essence of raw feeding. The essence is to foster genuine and enduring health and vitality, ultimately promoting longevity of life. Achieving this objective is only possible through a SARF – Species-Appropriate Raw Food™ diet.
To provide precise clarification and facilitate a clear distinction between a SARF™ and the “Raw food diet” commonly associated with the “Raw Feeding Movement,” we will rely on evidence from nature, biology, biochemistry, history, and simple observations.
Nature serves as the primary reference point, emphasising a critical fact that has been overlooked amidst the rapid growth of “Raw Feeding.” In nature, all animals, without exception, adhere to the laws of nature and consume a raw diet. However, what is often missed by a significant portion of the raw feeding community is that this raw diet is fundamentally a “Species Appropriate Raw Food – SARF™” diet.
With over 1 million species and billions of animals coexisting on Earth, it is evident that they all follow the laws of nature and adhere to a specific raw diet tailored to their unique species—what we refer to as SARF™.
- Herbivore
- Omnivore
- Carnivore
- Frugivore
The point where many people, and possibly even you, may falter in feeding your dog a SARF™ diet lies in the common assumption that dogs are omnivorous. This misconception has permeated the fast-growing “Raw Feeding movement,” with approximately 80% of people incorrectly nourishing their dogs due to various reasons
The raw feeding movement
Firstly, reliance on information disseminated within the Raw Feeding Movement is a significant factor, and secondly, societal tendencies to unquestioningly adopt and repeat information play a role as well.
Before delving into the biological aspects and specific features that substantiate the importance of the SARF™ diet, let’s first acknowledge the scientific name “Canis Lupus Familiaris,” attributed to dogs by the Smithsonian Institute nearly 9 years ago.
This designation came about when it was discovered that all dogs share 99.8% of their Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with their ancestor, the Grey Wolf – Canis Lupus. To simplify, mtDNA is responsible for processing food at the cellular level, providing strength, vitality, and overall health, thereby contributing to the dog’s life longevity.
By all scientific standards and evolutionary history, the dog is a wolf.
Biology
Now, let’s turn to biology and examine the distinctive features that allow us to differentiate between species, specifically focusing on the contrast between omnivores and carnivores. This exploration will enable us to grasp the dissimilarity between a raw food diet and the SARF – Species Appropriate Raw Food™ diet.
Beginning with the head area, particularly the jaw, we observe that a dog’s jaw is fixed and moves vertically in an up-and-down motion, resembling a pair of scissors. In contrast, omnivores (and herbivores, for that matter) have jaws that rotate from side to side.
Furthermore, a dog possesses sharp, serrated teeth extending from the back of their jaw to the front canines. Notably, their fourth upper and first lower “molars” are referred to as carnassial teeth.
Carnassial teeth are specialised upper and lower teeth uniquely adapted to pass by each other in a shearing manner with enlarged and often self-sharpening edges. This feature is found in carnivorans, where the carnassials consist of the modified fourth upper premolar and the first lower molar, although variations may exist within different families. These teeth are also referred to as sectorial teeth.
In contrast, omnivores (and herbivores) possess flat molars that aid in the breakdown and grinding of their food, facilitated by the rotational movement of their jaws.
The salivary gland of a dog produces a single enzyme called lysozyme, which has the ability to lyse onto bacteria, effectively destroying it. This phenomenon explains the old wives’ tale of letting dogs lick injuries or wounds.
The very initial stage of food entering the body of a dog (wolf) unequivocally supports the classification of the dog as carnivorous..
Dogs have a relatively short foregut and a smooth, unsacculated colon. This anatomy allows food to pass through quickly, resulting in a relatively short digestive time of about 6-8 hours.
Additionally, the diameter of their colon is similar to that of the small intestine, limiting their ability to effectively ferment or digest vegetation or grains. On the other hand, herbivores and omnivores require a longer and sacculated colon, leading to a digestive time of approximately 12-14 hours, as vegetable and plant matter necessitate more time to sit and ferment.
While omnivores and herbivores often possess larger and longer small intestines, and may even have a caecum, it’s important to note that although carnivores have a caecum, it serves no functional purpose.
Nature
Taking into account nature, biology, history, and observations, and considering our dogs as carnivores, we can now address what is observed when feeding the vegetation shown below in whole or chunked forms as part of the SARF™ diet for our dogs.
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Peas
- Sweetcorn
When dogs are fed these raw foods without being minced or boiled, they can be observed in their whole forms in the dogs’ faeces—the body’s waste management system. Since the dogs’ digestive system does not break down these raw foods, they are eliminated as waste. This emphasises the essential purpose of eating, which is to strengthen the body at the cellular level. For this to occur, a SARF™ diet must be consumed, allowing the body to break down the food and absorb its minerals and nutrients at the cellular level, thereby promoting strength, health, and vitality.
We can also consider grass, another form of vegetation, and indeed the finest form compared to the aforementioned ones. Although the reasons for dogs eating grass are not the focus of this blog (as it has been covered elsewhere), it is noteworthy that after a dog consumes grass, if it does not induce vomiting, the grass will be seen in their faeces through the waste management system. Some of you might have even had to assist in pulling it from their bottom. This highlights that dogs, being carnivores, do not break down vegetation to gain anything from it at the cellular level. However, they do possess the ability to break down dense bone to extract calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus required for their bone structure at the cellular level.
In discussing the SARF diet, it is essential to address products like Kefir, a byproduct from the dairy industry. While many might wonder what could be wrong with dairy products like cow’s milk, cheese, yoghurt, and kefir, examining nature and history reveals several issues that do not align with the SARF™ diet.
Female animals produce milk specifically for their offspring
For example, cow’s milk is intended for calves, a dog produces milk for puppies, a sheep produces milk for lambs, and a human woman produces milk for her child. Each milk is tailored to meet the needs of the young of that particular species.
Milk production by the female is limited
Milk production by the female is limited to a specific period of time, aligned with the needs of the offspring. After that period, the lactation ceases, and the young stop nursing. Nature functions this way to ensure the survival and health of the species. For instance, a female dog will stop lactating between 3-5 weeks after giving birth, and she will not produce milk again unless impregnated again. Similarly, puppies will not consume milk after weaning. Only humans consume dairy products from other animals and then extend this unnatural approach to other animals like dogs.
To grasp the fundamental basics of a SARF™ diet and recognise the difference between the current raw diet paradigm and the SARF™ diet, let’s consider the diet of a polar bear, which consumes flesh as a carnivore, and a gorilla, which consumes plants as a herbivore. Both foods are raw, but if we were to feed the food of a carnivore to a herbivore or vice versa, there would be detrimental consequences to the health and life of the species. These basic principles of nature are so crucial that even switching the geographical location of these animals would have significant impacts.
Yet within a movement that has grown so quickly, with many people jumping on board the raw feeding movement, opening production factories mincing meat with vegetables calling them a “complete raw food diet” lol, along with many people opening shops, selling and promoting the same nonsense, none of them seem to have the dogs health in mind as they sell you a product without truly being conscious to the fact that if it isn’t a SARF(™) diet it cannot bring true health and will and does overtime result in disease, dis-ease which is proven to be due to either weakness or toxicity within the body and at the cellular level, which can only manifested from what has been consumed!
Sure4pets
Sure4pets was founded in 2014, we are leading the way to achieve real health for dogs and have been for the past 9 years promoting, advising and directing people to the SARF(™) diet as well as educating people about dogs as species, sure4pets also has a new sister company called “Alpha Canine Health” that has since 2020 been helping people reverse numerous health issues with their dogs, health issues that are directly linked to what has been consumed!. No one has been or is more dedicated to your dog’s health than sure4pets and Alpha Canine Health, we will always strive to bring you facts and honesty to help ensure that your dog lives a happy and healthy life with longevity. Hence you will not find anything in store or recommended that isn’t SARF(™)
I have referenced many times so far that there are billions of animals that live by the laws of nature consuming raw foods that are known as SARF(™) diets, for the animals that are omnivores or Herbivores, yet when we observe what nature provides we will never find any of these so called “Natural” vegetables growing wild, WHY? Because they are created in the lab and are what are known as hybrid foods, meaning that they cannot be the SARF diet for any herbivore or omnivore, never mind a carnivore.
Learn more
Want to learn more about SARF? Check out our other blog posts or read The Raw Truth by Gareth Sheppard, the founder of sure4pets.
