Question

Read these sentences from the excerpt.

You have just adopted a pet, and you’re at a pet supply store. You are overwhelmed by the never-ending sea of colorful pet food packages.

How does the rhetorical strategy used in this excerpt advance the author’s viewpoint that pet owners must be proactive when selecting food for their pets?

A. It alludes to a common experience that most readers will recognize, demonstrating that the author identifies with the struggles of pet ownership.

B. It uses direct address to emphasize to readers that they are personally responsible for ensuring that their pets receive the appropriate nutrition.

C. It uses figurative language to emphasize the challenges of pet ownership so readers will think before adopting a pet.

D. It makes an illogical statement to catch readers off guard and compel them to question how they choose food for their pets.

Answer 1

Read the passage.

The Pet Food Industry

You have just adopted a pet, and you’re at a pet supply store. You are overwhelmed by the never-ending sea of colorful pet food packages. Some bags claim that they’re organic or natural, but what does that mean? And then there are the stacks of canned food, boasting loudly of their superior contents. What’s the difference among these foods? Does it matter what you feed your dog or cat? Yes, it does matter. And the text on the package does not always tell the whole story.

According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), 68 percent of U.S. households own a pet. The APPA also estimates that U.S. pet owners will spend $25 million on pet food in 2016. But the contents, quality, and cost of foods vary dramatically. A food’s national popularity does not necessarily equate to a healthy choice, especially when advertising plays such a heavy role in sales. To select the best nutritional match for your pet, it is important to understand what you’re buying.

History of Commercial Pet Food

The first food prepared commercially for pets were biscuits made by James Spratt, an American, while he was living in England in 1860. The biscuits became popular with English country gentlemen for their sporting dogs. The company that took over Spratt’s formula began production in the United States in 1890. After World War I, the first canned dog food, made from horse meat, was introduced. Canned cat food and dry meat-meal dog food were introduced in the 1930s, and dry food came along in the 1950s.

Pet Food Regulations

As the pet food industry grew, government officials regulated food-processing methods used by American pet food manufacturers. However, according to Born Free USA, a national animal advocacy group, the pet food industry isn’t as regulated as it claims. Laws exist but aren’t necessarily enforced, and the Food and Drug Administration has minimal control over pet foods shipped across state lines. Feed control officials in each state have more power. These officials run tests on food to make sure it meets its Guaranteed Analysis, the label on food that lists its ingredients and the proportion of each ingredient. However, the quality of regulation and enforcement varies from state to state, according to Born Free USA.

Deciphering Pet Food Ingredients

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has model regulations for pet foods and a checklist for labels. The guidelines require that ingredients be listed in descending order according to each item’s weight, though the terms may not be as self-explanatory as they appear to consumers. If “meat” is listed, it refers only to the meat of cows, pigs, goats, and sheep and includes specified muscle tissue. The guaranteed analysis is a general guide to the composition of the food—and crude protein, fat, fiber, and total moisture are required to be listed. By-products in pet foods are parts of animals not used in human foods and can include the head, feet, and bones. Wet pet foods commonly include meat or poultry by-products. However, brands of pet foods labeled super-premium, natural, or organic don’t use by-products. According to the AAFCO, organic refers to the processing of a product, not necessarily the quality of the product.

The term meal is used in many of the ingredients of dry pet foods, such as meat meals, poultry meals, and meat-and-bone meals. Meal is not fresh but has been rendered. Rendering is the process of boiling the raw materials of carcasses for several hours. It separates fat, removes water, and kills bacteria, but it can also destroy natural enzymes and proteins.

How Pet Foods Are Prepared

Commercially prepared pet food goes through a process. Dry food is made with a machine called an extruder. Food materials are blended with a recipe that provides the nutrient content of each ingredient. For the extruder to work properly, a consistent amount of starch and low moisture is needed. Ingredients such as rendered meat-and-bone meal, poultry by-product meal, grains, and flours are used. The dough is then fed through the extruder and subjected to steam and high pressure. As it is pushed through nozzles, it is cut with sharp knives. When the food puffs into its final shape, it is left to dry and then sprayed with fats, digests, and other compounds to make it more appetizing to the animal. This same process is also used on semimoist pet foods and many pet treats.

The ingredients in wet or canned foods are ground and mixed with chemicals to improve taste, stability, or appearance. Such additives do not provide any nutritional value. Any chunks in the food are formed through an extruder. The food is then cooked, canned, and sealed—and then pressure cooked and commercially sterilized.

Pet Food Choices

Most dog owners feed their dogs dry and canned dog food. Wet canned food generally provides more protein and more moisture than dry foods and is often higher quality. But many pet owners prefer to cook food for their pets, and some choose to feed their pets raw food.

According to the Whole Dog Journal, if you decide to cook for your pets, no single type of food should ever make up more than half the pet’s diet. However, meat should be half of the diet. Some pet owners prefer to feed their dogs a raw food diet, which is uncooked food. Proponents of a raw food diet believe it gives dogs healthier coats, increases their energy level, improves their disposition, and controls their weight. There are those who feel that the benefits of a raw food diet are not proven. Uncooked meat can contain bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella that can be harmful to dogs; raw food can also inflame the gastrointestinal tract and cause diarrhea. Uncooked bones can obstruct airways or perforate intestines.

If you’re unsure what to feed your pet, ask for recommendations from your veterinarian, who is familiar with your pet’s health and knows if your pet has any specific dietary needs.

Answer 2

@Elsa213

Answer 3

Maybe B. o:

Answer 4

Which excerpt from the text most clearly establishes the connection between the pet food regulation industry and the accuracy of information on pet food nutrition labels?


A. "The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has model regulations for pet foods and a checklist for labels."


B. "The guaranteed analysis is a general guide to the composition of the food—and crude protein, fat, fiber, and total moisture are required to be listed. By-products in pet foods are parts of animals not used in human foods and can include the head, feet, and bones."


C. "These officials run tests on food to make sure it meets its Guaranteed Analysis, the label on food that lists its ingredients and the proportion of each. However, the quality of regulation and enforcement varies from state to state, according to Born Free."

D. "However, brands of pet foods labeled super-premium, natural, or organic don’t use by-products."