Hello Pups and Kittens, welcome back to The Groomer Next Door. This week we're joined by an amazing lady whose one of the Godmothers of Raw Feeding. We're going to hear all about Vicki Larsen, her stories, and hopefully you all will enjoy this weeks episode,

Hello Pups and Kittens, this is the first episode of July. We're back to our normal format with the most amazing animal lovers. This week Julie Bacon (Q-Coach) is sittinfg down with us on the podcast For all of you who want MORE!! if you go to https://www.theqcoach.com/ all e-books will be 25% at checkout when you use the promo code "GROOMER".

This week to conclude a very unique and difficult series I will do my very best to disect this entire conversation and break it down as best as I possibly can. I worked to the last moment to pull together a complete episode with as much content as possible.

https://www.imperfectproduce.com/

This week on the podcast we continue on our Insect Based Series with two great guys from Wilder Harrier. Let's examine the facts on this subject.

When it comes to health, we don't cut corners. We truly believe that food is fuel and we must always strive for the most optimal choice. To us, this translates as what is most natural, unprocessed, whole and least detrimental to the planet.

Wholesome ingredients are packed with nutrients. This means that the weight of our products accounts for the actual quantity of delicious goodness you are feeding to your dog. In other words, everything that finds itself in our products is there because we want it to be.

Cricket powder is the product of crickets that have been cleaned, frozen, roasted, cooled and then ground up. Essentially, the result is a highly proteinated powder. What can you look forward to, healthwise, when consuming cricket powder? A lot more of all the good things! Cricket powder boasts 2x more protein content than beef, more calcium than milk, contains all 9 amino acids and has more iron than spinach (source: Entomo Farms). A lot of "punch" in a little package!

Bananas have come to be a staple in the North American diet. These yummy fruits are not only delicious, they have their lot of health benefits. The reason why bananas are beneficial for your dog are very akin to the reasons they are good for humans: they boost the immune system, replenish electrolytes, promote the lustre of your dog’s coat and health of his skin. In terms of nutrients, bananas are notable for being chock-full of potassium and magnesium, biotin and copper, as well as vitamins B6 and C!

Peanuts are a good addition to your dog’s food since they are filled with “good” fats that promote a healthy heart, as well as vitamins B and E (proponents to a shiny coat and well-functioning immune system, respectively!). Also, who hasn’t seen their dog go absolutely crazy for peanut butter!

Much like the other health-oriented ingredient choices in our treats, apples contain vitamins that contribute to the sheen of your dog’s coat (in this case, Vitamin A). Moreover, the presence of Vitamin C in apples helps in the proper development of muscles and bones in puppies and helps maintain this health in older dogs. In addition, they have a notable amount of soluble fiber and are low in fat!

Cranberries are filled with neat bonuses to your dog’s health. First off, they aid in digestive health, promoting anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial qualities that inhibit digestive infections and/or viruses. Furthermore, they help in maintaining oral health! That means helping in maintaining your dog’s teeth clean and his breath smelling lovely.

Sweet potatoes are tasty and are easy to digest. Every part of the sweet potato is packed with nutrients, meaning that they are wholesome choice.

Chickpeas, like other beans, are a source of protein. In addition, they serve as a source of fiber that can abate canine constipation.

Brewer’s yeast is our new addition and is filled with wonderful benefits (antioxidants that improve the sheen of your dog’s coat and lessen itchiness in the skin). Interestingly, ingesting brewer’s yeast aids in flea control and repels mosquitoes and ticks - a great advantage for any outdoor dog! For dogs that are prone to separation anxiety, brewer’s yeast is a useful supplement. When mammal’s are stressed, they burn through Vitamin B reserves - this vitamin, when properly calibrated, inhibits the release of anxiety inflicting hormones. This, the presence of brewer’s yeast in the system allows for Vitamin B reserves to seldom be depleted.

ocopherols - or organic chemical compounds possessing Vitamin E activity - are very important for dogs. Indeed, Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, protecting and repairing cells against the damage inflicted by free-radicals. Concretely, this means that a dog will utilize Vitamin E to form red blood cells and prevent blood clotting disorders.

Rosemary is a natural food preservative; it is antimicrobial, it’s pathogen-fighting capacity can prevent food from spoiling as well as combat fungi and bacteria in your dog’s gut. In addition, rosemary also has antispasmodic abilities to smooth muscles due to its calming effect.

Crickets are a superfood! The recommended daily ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids is 3:1 in order to maintain a balanced system. Crickets fall exactly into those numbers, whereas beef favors Omega 6 in a 18:1 ratio and chicken 15:1. This is not a negligible difference! Crickets are a complete protein - this means that they contain all essential amino acids necessary for our dietary health. Because they are whole when they are processed, their protein-rich exoskeleton is also consumed, adding to the mix! They are 69% protein by weight; for every 100g. consumed, 69g. will be pure protein. Comparatively, chicken checks in at 31% and beef at 43%! n North America, insects are not yet part of the mainstream diet. While we aren’t entomophagous yet, it doesn’t mean our pets can’t jump on the bandwagon before us! That being said, since crickets aren’t commonly found in pet feed as of yet, they are not an allergen. In fact, many dogs develop allergies to wheat, lamb, chicken and/or beef due to its prevalence in pet feed. Also, since insects are a wholesome ingredient and are ground to a powder, they are very easy to digest. In short, crickets are a safe choice for sensitive dogs! Crickets are hard-bodied insects, this means that they contain an exoskeleton. Typically, insects with exoskeletons have extra fiber content. They are also a good source of magnesium, zinc, potassium and contain your daily dose of Vitamin B12, which regulates the nervous system. In addition, crickets possess high iron counts (more than spinach, even!) and contain more calcium than milk!Crickets are much lower in fat and calories per gram of protein than other animal proteins, making them an ideal hypocaloric alternative. On the ethical spectrum, raising crickets for consumption is more ethical than farming livestock. Crickets naturally breed in cramped environments, the same cannot be said for cattle or other macro organisms. Since we are unable to photosynthesize, we must unfortunately source our energy from other organisms in the most ethical and responsible way possible. Studies do exist, however, detailing the subject of insect responsivity to pain.

One way of contributing to the health of the environment is to sever our ties to polluting sectors. By reducing the demand for these industries, the hope is that they lose relevance. This only functions in light of a viable alternative. This is where we step in; constantly on the lookout for alternative protein sources, we believe that they are key in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The world is ripe with different options if we are willing to go on cultural adventures to find them. Consider seaweed, mushrooms, flowers and even other invertebrates - let’s find out together!

In order to obtain 10 grams of beef protein, one must expense 97.5 gallons of water, whereas as little as 7.5 gallons is needed for the same amount of cricket protein to come to be - that is 13x less the amount of water required for beef, hardly a negligible amount.

The amount of feed required to source 10 grams of beef protein is 12x higher than what is expensed to produce the same amount of cricket protein: crickets require 0.5 units of feed whereas beef requires 6.

Methane is a leading greenhouse gas. Crickets produce inconsequential amounts of methane whereas livestock, on the other hand, are notorious for their methane production. Indeed, crickets produce 80x less methane than cows.

Evidently, due to their small size, crickets require much less space than cattle. Ideally, cows require ample pasture to roam and infrastructures to be housed in. Crickets thrive in cramped environments (colonies) and thus their spatial requirements are much more economical than that of livestock.

To further our commitment to a healthy planet, we partnered with the international non-profit organization 1% for the Planet - a regroupement of eco-conscious companies pledging to donate 1% of their annual sales to helping better the environment by assisting NGOs committed to protecting various ecosystems and exploring sectors of renewable energy. Some of the beneficiaries of this organization include [Earth Rangers].

Everything we need for a healthy life exists in the world around us. We believe in sourcing food sources in a way that minimizes nefarious impacts on the environment and provide the best intake of benefits, healthwise. For this reason, we scour ingredient options that are local - a smaller carbon footprint means less pollution. We look for ingredients that can offer the maximum benefits when consumed whole, that do not require fillers or sugar to compromise for lack of content and taste. This means no skimping, lots of research and being willing to think outside the box but whose value we can intrinsically understand. This is our commitment to you and to our planet.

We believe that we are meant to be outside, that in a world promoting hyperconnectivity, it is sometimes forgotten how the great outdoors can make us feel connected in our minds and bodies. We encourage humans and their dogs to get outside, eat clean and run wild.

One of the biggest challenges in our future as species is the exponential rise in population numbers coupled with limited resources. The fact is, when the variables change, so does the result. As such, we are at a time when we must adjust as a society and shift our focus towards food resources that address problems like plenitude, cost and availability in order to achieve desirable results: more people fed, healthily, with less. The reality is, we need to rely on proteins that are sustainable and assure us a future world to live in.

We are more than proud, as part of our social vocation, to be partnered up with an organization orchestrating the social reinsertion of people with disabilities into the workforce, they truly are our helping hands.

Hello Pups and Kittens, welcome back to The Groomer Next Door Podcast. This is Volume 2 of "INSECT BASED DIET SERIES". This weeks guest is Brandon Keim (Co-Founder & Chief Strategic Officer)

MISSION

Conscientious Cat was founded in 2015 to solve a problem confronting every vegetarian, vegan and thoughtful meat-eater who also feeds a cat: despite the many brands and varieties of cat food available, it's very hard to find one that's ethical and sustainable. We are now developing an insect-based cat food.

We also believe that business should benefit society. We will work with socially and environmentally responsible partners, and our supply chain will be transparent and accountable. Ten percent of our profits will be given to philanthropic organizations selected by our community.

This week we start our INSECT BASED DIET SERIES. 

OUR PAST

 

We began with our first company, “Reptile Feeders”, which has shown us that as reptiles and fish thrive and flourish eating insect protein, so also can humans now and in the future.

In fact 33 percent of the world or over 2 billion people eat insect protein every day, as part of their diet, from Mexico to Asia and many countries in between!

ENTOMO FARMS IS OUR RESPONSE TO THE NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN SUSTAINING THE EARTH, AND OUR VISION ENCOMPASSES EVERY STRATA OF SOCIETY.

Our products will become the additional protein, iron, fibre, amino acids and fats that farmers need for their livestock to flourish.

 

Our products will help feed nutritious and cost effective food to the poor, malnourished, and food insecure. Our products will create ‘Geoentomarians’, consumers who chose insect protein in order to show respect to and to enhance the preservation of the environment. Our products will spark the imagination of culinary foodies with limitless opportunities to expand their dining pleasures.

Entomo: an intergenerational response to the environment and the obligation to care for creation. We have taken the next step, and hope you come along for the ride.

This week on the podcast are favorite two cat ladies are returning to the show so we can catch up. It's been a year since they last visited us. You've seen them on their hit YouTube show, you've seen Jae and Adrienne with Dr. Karen Becker, and finally we get to hear all about their adventures. 

This week on podcast we're going to be joined by the greatest author in the World. Amy Shojai is a nationally known authority on pet care & behavior, the author of eleven pet books & hundreds of articles & columns, & the spokesperson for Purina brand pet foods. She founded & is president of the International Cat Writers Association.

Hi there, I’m Amy Shojai — you could say I’m all about cats and dogs. Whether writing pet-centric fiction or how-to prescriptive nonfiction,  I’m constantly channeling my furry muses . . . who still live with me or remain in my heart.

These days I’m hard at work on the 4th book in my SEPTEMBER & SHADOW pet-centric thriller series. Oh, and my playwright partner-in-thespian-fun and I have completed work on the next musical.  Who needs sleep? Feel free to browse around the site, maybe grab a tips sheet, and subscribe to a newsletter (I give away lots of info-tainment every week!). I highly recommend you get a print copy of the nonfiction–just works better for reference, doncha think? *s*

This week on The Groomer Next Door podcast we're so lucky to have Shawn Simons Headmistress of Kitty Bungalow Charm School For Wayward Cats. Kitty Bungalow is California's only 100% feral cat rescue and socialization facility. As shelter interventionists, we focus our attention on the most vulnerable of felines -- the ferals.  We break down the anxiety of feral cats with our nearly 80 weekly volunteers who use our guided socialization techniques and objectives, taking these street cats from 'hiss to home'.  We look to see that these cats never have to see the inside of a shelter and our socialized kittens graduate as Ivy League lap cats into life long loving homes. Our rescue is more than just finding homes for the homeless; we are working at the root of the problem, providing broad based Trap Neuter Return (TNR) and free spays and neuters to neighborhoods in need within Los Angeles. Due to an ongoing injunction with the city of Los Angeles, they are unable to participate in or support TNR, the rational and humane answer to cat overpopulation.  It is left to a few small groups like ours to pick up the slack and stave off the continued kitten seasons that leave our city shelters knee deep in kittens.  That is why the kill rate for Los Angeles City shelters for cats is 50%!  The majority of all animals killed in the city shelters (76%) are kittens 8 weeks and under!  Dogs are extremely close to the No Kill threshold thanks to partnerships like NKLA.  Meanwhile, every other cat going into the shelter does not come out.  That is why the work we do is so vital for stopping the problem at its core!

The cat overpopulation is not a cat problem-- it is a people problem caused by uneducated and sometimes irresponsible pet owners who abandon their cats or do not have them sterilized, causing a proliferation of cats being born on the street. Together we can bring an end to the homeless kitten epidemic. You can do your part by adopting, volunteering or donating to our organization today.