Moderated by Greg Aldrich, PhD, president of Pet Food Ingredients & Technology and research associate professor and pet food program coordinator for the pet food research production program at Kansas State University (KSU). Most research on companion animal nutrition, pet food processing or safety, or any other aspect of pet food, is funded by private companies, who are not always able to publish or share their findings. No other source of funding for pet food research currently exists, which means little is publicly available.
Does the pet food industry need a scientific society, with fees from members (pet food manufacturers, marketers and suppliers) funding published research? This panel will explore that concept and address other elements such as their personal approaches and their organizations’ philosophies toward pet food research, how they fund, share, publish or communicate their studies, the key gaps in pet food research and how to best communicate available research to consumers.
Panel members include Richard Butterwick, PhD, global nutrition advisor for the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition; Micah Kohles, DVM, director of veterinary science and outreach for Oxbow Animal Health; David Meeker, PhD, senior vice president, scientific services, for the National Renderers Association (NRA) and research director for the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation; and Karen Wedekind, PhD, comparative nutrition manager for Novus International.