Picking food help?

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ThisLittleRattie

ThisLittleRattie

On Your Shoulder
Joined
Mar 28, 2016
Messages
8
Location
Alliston, ON
I might be fostering 2 pregnant rats soon, and I'm having a hard time picking a food brand...

I like the oxbow adult rat food, but I know the young rat food contains GMO corn. Which is rumored to cause cancer.

I will never buy from harlan. They are a lab company and supply animals for testing.

I haven't looked much into Mazuri, but I know it will be hard to obtain where I live.

Opinions? :c
 
Oxbow is really good. It's true that it contains GMO corn but I'll be honest with you, I've been feeding Oxbow for over a decade and I've got some of the longest lived rats. My oldest lived to 45 months. I've also never seen any abnormal tumours like those reported with GMO corn. The concern is big but I do believe that the amount is not sufficient enough to be a real problem with their health. In my experience, I have not seen it so far.
 
Mazuri is owned by Land O Lakes which also does Purina. Purina is not a good brand name for any pet food and I'm sure their ingredients for small animal feed is not non GMO.
 
I live in Simcoe County Ontario.

It looks like Oxbow is coming out on top here, since I absolutely hate Purina too lol

45 months is a great age! my oldest rat right now is 44 months and still going strong!
 
ThisLittleRattie said:
I live in Simcoe County Ontario.

It looks like Oxbow is coming out on top here, since I absolutely hate Purina too lol

45 months is a great age! my oldest rat right now is 44 months and still going strong!
Click to expand...
Awesome! I'd stick with Oxbow for sure. I'm not too far from you, Sudbury Ontario.
 
Sorry if this has been said already, but the gmo-corn causing tumors in rats has not been supported by the scientific community. Seralini (the guy who put out the most cited study regarding gmo corn and rats) has a whole wikipedia article outlining his ordeal, and why the study was so flawed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Séralini_affair

You can also read more here, which also includes other similar studies with flaws: http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/monsantocorn.asp

I tried to pick neutral sources (snopes and wikipedia). If you google around there are a ton of websites that address the fraud and how the public was mislead. I really don't intend to definitely say gmo's are good or bad, but rather, to point out how the link between gmo corn and rat tumors isn't supported by science.

That all being said, I also like feeding oxbow. Only thing is they put fish meal (and maybe other animal products too) in their adult rat blocks. It's worth noting if you are vegan/vegetarian and really want to avoid animal products. Admittedly I will ignore that part and feed it anyways for the sake of no better alternative.
 
fumblesquid said:
Sorry if this has been said already, but the gmo-corn causing tumors in rats has not been supported by the scientific community. Seralini (the guy who put out the most cited study regarding gmo corn and rats) has a whole wikipedia article outlining his ordeal, and why the study was so flawed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Séralini_affair

You can also read more here, which also includes other similar studies with flaws: http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/monsantocorn.asp

I tried to pick neutral sources (snopes and wikipedia). If you google around there are a ton of websites that address the fraud and how the public was mislead. I really don't intend to definitely say gmo's are good or bad, but rather, to point out how the link between gmo corn and rat tumors isn't supported by science.

That all being said, I also like feeding oxbow. Only thing is they put fish meal (and maybe other animal products too) in their adult rat blocks. It's worth noting if you are vegan/vegetarian and really want to avoid animal products. Admittedly I will ignore that part and feed it anyways for the sake of no better alternative.
Click to expand...

I knew something was off with the research but I couldn't remember exactly what. Thank you for clearing that up!

I am vegetarian but I would never force such a diet on my pets. They get fed as close to their natural diet as possible :)
 
jorats said:
Oxbow is really good. It's true that it contains GMO corn but I'll be honest with you, I've been feeding Oxbow for over a decade and I've got some of the longest lived rats. My oldest lived to 45 months. I've also never seen any abnormal tumours like those reported with GMO corn. The concern is big but I do believe that the amount is not sufficient enough to be a real problem with their health. In my experience, I have not seen it so far.
Click to expand...


OK my vision is not super great, but I've read the ingredient list on my Oxbow Regal Rat bag and I am not seeing corn listed at all.....??

did the old version have corn?
 

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