Petition to Require Pet Food Companies to be Held Accountable for Damages
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED:
Request that the U.S. Congress enact legislation to require pet food manufacturers and the companies that market those pet food brands to be held financially liable for any medical costs related to or contributing to the illness and/or death of a pet that can be reasonably attributed to the food consumed by the pet. And that all pet foods include the name of the manufacturer, not just the brand under which it is sold.
This petition is in response to the thousands of pet parents and owners who have suffered under the Menu Foods recall and their slow response that started on March 16th, 2007.
Sign after the jump.
Or read about all the latest news surrounding the recall.
In creating this petition, our motive is three-fold:
- First, we want to ease the pain and suffering of those who have lost their pets due to mistakes and negligence of pet food makers. The loss or illness of a pet can be emotionally devastating. On top of it, the financial burden of uninsured veterinary treatment can be a double-whammy, leading pet parents and their families to significant financial damage — often affecting other family members such as kids and the elderly. This legislation will create a venue for settling these cases fairly and out of court, eliminating the need for a lengthy court case, which companies rely on in order to reduce the likelihood of payout.
- Second, create a financial motive for pet food makers and marketers to set higher standards for pet food. We want to let them know that consumers are interested in higher-grade pet food. And that the longer a company waits in issuing warnings or recalls related to their product, the larger the potential financial damage. This new law would hold the manufacturers (often smaller, less financially sound organizations) and also the larger corporations that market the branded foods — who ultimately control what goes in them.
- Third, a clear public disclosure of who actually makes the food. Since the financial liability falls to the brand as well as the manufacturer, the name of the company that actually produced the food should be obvious to the consumer. How much clearer would this recall have been if the food was labeled “Made by Menu Foods”?
Once the final tally of the pet deaths is complete, the petition will be delivered to the head of the congressional committee that controls FDA funding (Dave Obey, D-WI, chairman of House Appropriations Committee).
IMPORTANT!
For your petition to be valid, we require:
- An accurate email address
- Your First and Last name (In the comment field)
- Your Zip code (In the comment field)
Your email will not appear below and will be kept securely by us. Your email will be used ONLY in the purposes of carrying out the petition. It will not be used for spam, sold or marketed to any other company. We hate spam as much as you do. Only your name, Zip code, and any comment you make will appear.
This petition is sponsored by itchmo.com. Please feel free to start your own email campaign to this page. The short link to use is http://www.itchmo.com/petition
June 14th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
80260
Michele Shank
June 14th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Michele Shank 80260
June 14th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
60053
Marianne Maggi
June 15th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Samantha Lamm 22443 I have lost 2 of my dogs so far and have another on the verge of going thanks to the pet food recall.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
97007 Karen Clark
I have been greatly concerned and disappointed at the secrecy and lag time in informing folks of potential deadly foods. The word should have gotten out faster. We should not buy any animal food ingredients from China!!
June 15th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Its shameful that the US companies that manufacture the food haven’t put safety testing of pet foods into place sooner. It shows a lack of foresight and corporate responsibility, not to mention endangering the lives of countless animals that most of us consider to be family members!
June 16th, 2007 at 7:24 am
85249
alita watson
June 16th, 2007 at 10:28 am
80525
Evelyn Robinson
My rage at food companies killing innocent dogs, cats, and pet fish enrages me every time I think of it, which is quite often.
Time for pet companies to be accountable! I will buy the pet food again when I believe the PF I is accountable for damages and then produces healthy foods again that has the animals and fish feeling great to be alive, not sick and dying.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
60660
Kristina Skomba
Pet Food should be manufactured under the same quality standards as food for human consumption. Nutritional labels should clearly state the ingredients used and the % of each ingredient used. If it takes more money for manufacturers to ensure we get higher quality pet food without toxins or byproducts or sawdust and feathers I’m sure that pet owners would be willing to pay a higher price for the pet food.
Our pets are our babies and family and it breaks our hearts when they get sick and die because of food we fed them. The US should set much higher standards for monitoring how pet food is made and making sure it is safe and healthy. And I absolutely agree that the manufacturers of these pet foods that have killed or made animals sick should compensate those owners that have lost their pets due to this UNACCEPTABLE lack of regular monitoring or testing of their pet food!!!!!!!!!!
June 17th, 2007 at 1:53 am
debra moore 92024- i lost my 16 year old boy. i have 28 pouches all on the recall list- i have 3 pouches in the freezer- i have a receipt for tainted food dated march 10, 2007- i have an autopsy report clearly stating he was poisoned by menu foods- what i don’t have is my cat back. i don’t have sleep. i don’t have satisfaction. i need to do something. the fda took my information and gave me a number. i joined 2 class action suits one in canada and one here- menu foods says they’ll call me and pay for my vet bills. i want to do more i want to do something i don’t want this to fade away. where can i go? what else can i do? somebody point me in the direction …please.
June 17th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
92612
D Richardson
June 18th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Julie Thompson 95436
June 19th, 2007 at 12:40 am
37221
MG Sharpe
June 19th, 2007 at 8:45 am
48602
Mary I. Turner
June 19th, 2007 at 11:33 am
There is no excuse to allow poisoned pet food; or human medican and food to be sold in the United States. We need to protect our people and animals, some fed to us as food, from being poisoned just because some company imports an ingredient to save money.
Caroline Baker
Tulsa, OK 74112
June 19th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
30528 renee wessel
June 20th, 2007 at 12:42 am
94107
Michelle Smelser
June 20th, 2007 at 1:12 am
Supermarkets keeping tainted food on shelves and suppliers of raw ingredients for food also need to be accountable. Thank you. Ibi
June 20th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Joyce Finlay 92127
June 20th, 2007 at 1:15 am
01240
Supermarkets that keep tainted food on the shelves and suppliers of the raw ingredients used for pet food also need to be accountable.
Ibi T. Cieslar
June 20th, 2007 at 11:04 am
74604, Katie Kienzle
June 20th, 2007 at 11:20 am
31546 Pat J. Bushong Whitehead
June 20th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Both my cat and dog became very ill. I changed foods only to find the new food was nowadd to the list. My 16 year old cat died and my aged Fox Terrier is now doing better but is not the same as she was prior to this incident. I realize they are both older animals but to lose them because of this industry disgrace is unconscionable- American industry built on trust have given away to greed and total disregard for the customer. Money and Greed- USA corporations have sold out- and as an investor it is not to merely satisfy the shareholders - the top executives are the ones responsible…
June 20th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Pet food companies asked us to trust them with our pets and we did. Now they must be accountable for their lack of responsibility.
June 20th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Pet food companies asked us to trust them with our pets and we did. Now they must be accountable for their lack of responsibility.
Kath Fitzgerald
02148
June 20th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Marilyn G. Watts 75023
June 20th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Crystal J Fogg 95037
June 21st, 2007 at 7:29 am
42366
June 21st, 2007 at 9:03 am
Jackie Sample
71111
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
97477 Gretchen Post
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Cats and dogs are not simply “property”. They are living, breathing wonderful friends and family members. We must do all we can to protect them from all harm, as they cannot do this for themselves……just like a human baby or child.
Let’s do whatever it takes to keep our family members out of harm’s way.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Frances Royster
77399
June 27th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
02169
June 27th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Teresa Wicker,
June 27th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
My cat’s were eating the recalled food. I now have one cat showing signs of kidney failure. The worst part is I have no money to take her to the vet to seek treatment. The cost is way more then I can finacially bare at this time. My cat is going to die and I can’t do anything to help her.
June 27th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
37067
June 27th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I breed dogs and offer a 1 year health guarrentee with them when they sell. I thought I was feeding them some of the best puppy and dog food ( Iams).
I have lost the trust in the food manufactures to help provide proper health care for my dogs and will no longer give health guarrenties to new puppy parents as a result of this major mess up. YES they should be held accountable for their part or lack of in this and future situations.
I no longer will purchase this product or any other product that was on the list of recalled foods.
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THEIR LACK OF CONCERN FOR OUR 4 LEGGED FAMILY MEMBERS.
June 28th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Alicia Anderson 60517
I’m going to tell everyone I know about this petition. No company should be allowed to sell products they know to be toxic. FDA should be allowed to issue MANDATORY recalls in cases that pose a very serious threat to their consumers (or the pets of consumers). Companies should list EVERYTHING that goes into the product whether or not the company put it in or their supplier did. No more pets should needlessly die. ANYTHING that is toxic to pets should not be sold EVER. It shouldn’t even hit the shelves. Garlic, grapes (anything grape or raisin), onions are toxic to dogs and cats.
June 29th, 2007 at 12:08 am
i just found out about this.l i have gotten 2 lab puppies and been feeding them iams smart puppy 1st one died couple weeks ago. we got another one and fed her from the same bad now she is sick and probably gonna die. i have to take her to vet in the am to make sure.
she shows allthe symptoms of the poisioning
sad you know hope they nail hem to wall
June 29th, 2007 at 1:21 am
save our pets!
June 29th, 2007 at 1:21 am
save our pets
June 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Pet Food Companies should be held accountable for thie products
June 30th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
WE NEED TRUTH IN LABELING, AND WE NEED IT NOW!!! Corporate greed (demonstrating zero regard for health and life - be it human or animal) has gone way too far now. I am furious that my recalled cans of Nutro state “Made in USA” on the label - a trick to deliberately deceive me into believing the product was made of ingredients raised and produced in USA. Had I known any ingredents had been imported from China, I would never have purchased the product. And that is the whole point - to deceive the consumer! I have been a careful label reader for years, avoiding anything that said “Distributed by..” because that is a sign the product could be imported. Now I know “Made in USA” is also a trick label. Obviously, my dogs are alive today only because I already had a huge distrust of ‘meat’ products - especially ‘dog food’ grade ‘meat’ products - and therefore fed them very, very little commercially prepared ‘dog food.’ I already had little respect for the USDA and the FDA - now I have zero faith in them.
Everyone needs to know that a lot of ‘meat’ products sold in this country are really cheap imports. But the giant meat corporations selling this ‘who knows what’ from ‘who knows where’ in this country don’t want consumers to know it is imported. This is why we still have no “Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling” (aka MCOOL) for imported meat, despite the fact that MCOOL passed in the 2002 Farm bill. Implementation of MCOOL keeps getting put off a few more years, and a few more years. Enough is enough! Tell your congressman and senators we need MCOOL implemented now, and we need complete truth in all labelling. We are all in danger while greedy corporations profiting from cheap imported ingredients just get richer and richer. And, did you know that recalls are mere VOLUNTARY ACTIONS??? Who does that protect? Corporations! My daughter’s dog died as a result of a dog food that was not recalled! She opened a new bag and fed her dog, the next morning the dog vomited non-stop….every digestive organ shut down…. Everyone needs to channel their anger into getting truth in labelling. Look online and join one of those consumer organizations that is fighting for truth in labeling.
July 2nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
This should have been in place years ago LONG before the pet food recall. We have the USDA to oversee our food, yet there is no group overseeing our pets’ food.
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:42 am
K. Taylor
21740
July 3rd, 2007 at 5:00 pm
10465
Rose Anne Hernandez
July 3rd, 2007 at 5:54 pm
patrick tousignant 91710
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:23 pm
95051
Robin F Kernan
It is inexcusable that our government has allowed the entrance of dangerous pet foods into the US. Where is the FDA?
Considering the dangerous ingredients in HUMAN food imported from China, additionally, I personally will not buy any items at all “made in China” A similar program against Japan many years ago worked VERY WELL. Boycott could be in order for China.
July 4th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
James J. Reynolds
Hobart Indiana
46342
MICHAEL MOORE FOR PRESIDENT!!!!
July 4th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
08244 harvey marco