Sagittarian Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 In the last couple of days, we've had three new foods shown to us by companies/reps. All three have been badged up as holistic. The ingredient lists read from basic to very complex. I've asked each why they call their food holistic. The answers vary as much as the ingredients list. So, my question to Dogzonline-dom is: in your opinion/experience, what makes a dry food holistic, as opposed to premium or super premium? Thanks in advance. Sags :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I think it's taking it a bit far to label a food 'holistic' IF this is true, then most processed foods ARE holisitic anyway ..because each part is different, but depends on the others to be recognised as a 'whole' Sounds odd to me ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I think it's just marketing hype. Having said that we do feed a product labelled as holistic, not because of any perceived 'holistic' benefit but solely for the ingredients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Marketing puffery - and I think designed to trade off the back of the popularity of Eagle Pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Holistic actually means treating the body as a whole rather than just treating physical symptoms. So looking at vitamin levels, mental well being, the environment the person/dog is in, diet, any muscle/skeletal issues. Rather than just prescribing an antibiotic. I don't think a food can technically be holistic as it is only dealing with diet. What they are meaning in the case of food is that they have added ingredients that might be good for joints, eye health etc rather than just food as fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lavendergirl Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 In the context of dog food I think it means well balanced with no further supplement needed to meet the average dog's nutritional requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 In the context of dog food I think it means well balanced with no further supplement needed to meet the average dog's nutritional requirements. All complete dog foods will do this. I that agree the Holistic label is a marketing ploy, and in the true sense of the word a food cannot claim to be Holistic. I choose my foods by Ingredients and suitability according to my dogs needs, the marketing ploys used by manufacturers when naming their products mean nothing to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I think it's a marketing buzzword aimed to give the impression that the food is healthier than alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCNut Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Holistic by definition means entire and complete I think. So yeah I guess it means no further supplementation etc required. Speaking of holistic foods...recently switched to BH...does anyone know what 'lamb meal' actually means? As in the meal part? Sorry to hijack the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Holistic actually means treating the body as a whole rather than just treating physical symptoms. So looking at vitamin levels, mental well being, the environment the person/dog is in, diet, any muscle/skeletal issues. Rather than just prescribing an antibiotic. I don't think a food can technically be holistic as it is only dealing with diet. What they are meaning in the case of food is that they have added ingredients that might be good for joints, eye health etc rather than just food as fuel. Agree with this. It looks at the interdependant relationship between environment, mental health, physical health and social factors etc rather than addressing just the symptoms directly. Used in the context of a food it is purely a buzzword. And an incorrectly applied buzzword at that. They are basically using it to try an entice people who like the idea of 'natural' etc but really have no clue what that means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Augustine Approved Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Interesting thread this is a question I have always wondered too since seeing this word pop up on packaging everywhere... JulesP you wrote, "I don't think a food can technically be holistic as it is only dealing with diet". If I understand correctly your comment implied that for something to be holistic it must deal with all aspects of health, including diet. So what then out there is holistic that looks after everything including diet? Or does that mean that holistic is just a buzzword all round? I can't see how any product can take into account every aspect of health as there are so many elements that would be out of a product's control. Just trying to work out why it's ok to use it in medicinal circles that do not control the dog's staple diet directly, and not on food labelling. My understanding of what the use of the word in advertising could mean is it implies that a product takes care of all aspects of health within the product's control. Wether it actually does what it claims to do or not is another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 No product can be holistic if one applies the correct definition of the term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Augustine Approved Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Thanks Jules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Holistic is an approach to wellness, not a product. It is a way of looking at health, not the individual tools you use to manage health. No one individual thing can be, by definition, holistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Holistic in the context means wellbeing, I think, but most people probably think it means organic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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