P. wrote: >From what I have just read here, it sounds like Performance foods is no >longer ferret friendly, but money friendly. That's a shame too, because >a lot of people depended on being able to get their ferret food from the >shelters, in order to support them. If they now have to go through a >middle man, it will make their already too high prices even higher. I >support those who decide to no longer use Performance Food products. >There are other good foods out there. SHAME OF PERFORMANCE FOODS for >letting the Almighty dollar control how they treat the ferret shelters >that depended on them and supported them. and Bill wrote: >[Moderator's note: Spoke to Dr. Tom Willard of Performance Foods. He >says he will reply shortly to the concerns which have appeared on the >FML lately. Let's hold off to see what he has to say. BIG] Actually, I have heard some wonderful things recently about Performance Foods helping some shelters when things got really rough for them, and Tom Willard, and Bob Church (who said that he considers TF the best of the pelleted foods after his extensive food examination) have been helping people at the Ferret Health List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list where food has been a regular topic) better understand what the good and bad points are of any diet. (There are NO diets right now that apparently don't have certain shortfalls so lots of people are doing blends of different feeding approaches, and the nutritionists who are on the list donating their time are learning so that they can perhaps design ones that are even better and more inclusive.) For some reason certain groups or companies -- no matter how much they have done for others -- seem to get picked on regularly in the FML. It has NOT always been that way here, and it certainly was more pleasant before that began. People pick on PF even despite their charitable actions but not on some of their competitors who do less to help ferrets or may have a worse product. People pick on MF but not on some of their competitors who aren't any better in many ways (and some are worse), even when the competitors have not given any funds to legalizing ferrets in multiple states or to improving ferret health care. I know that I am not the only one who think that this placement of "kick-me" signs on certain groups while ignoring others that are just as bad or worse makes no sense whatsoever and is anything but fair. [Posted in FML issue 3391]