Are 'meat derivatives' all that bad?

I have heard 'meat derivatives' described as 'lips and @ssholes'....... now while many of us humans don't like this idea, there is actually nothing wrong with eating these parts of an animal and they are no less nutritious than any other parts - pigs ears, trotters, tripe and the like.

So..... what's so bad about meat derivatives then? Is it just the 'idea' of eating less than desirable cuts from a human perspective? After all, dogs aren't fussy about eating tails and snouts etc. and in the wild will eat the WHOLE animal, not just the select cuts.

The problem with meat derivatives IMO is that it is not a balanced diet. Meat derivatives can be anything from feathers, wool, unborn eggs, anything that comes from an animal. These aren't bad per se, BUT would you want to feed your dog a can of mushed up feathers?

Dogs need MEAT. Even better, they need meat, organs and bones for a properly balanced diet.

As long as you know what is in your dog's food and are happy with that, that's what is important. But it really annoys me when large pet food companies dsguise the ingredients they put in their food by calling it something non-specific (such as 'meat derivatives').

Don't wild dogs (foxes, wolves, jackals etc) eat unborn eggs, the odd feather, piece of wool etc etc? A dog will eat the undigested contents of its prey's stomach, eyes, fur, lips, @sshole and EVERYTHING. It sounds disgusting to US, but it would seem it's the natural diet of a dog.

Our dogs aren't wild though!

But the biology hasn't changed since they were wild so the point is still a vaild one. In evolution terms it wasn't that long ago all dogs were wild.

Yes a natural diet of a canid would include all parts - but a mixture of them with the good bits too
Every cut of meat has different neutrients so the dog needs a mixture
I would have no problem feeding a$$hole or lips to my dog - but it wouldnt be the whole diet
if you think of what we eat from the animal - what is left is things like skin, fur feathers, and of course some meat bits - but how many bits are actually quality meat?? - fat sinues, connective tissue
All useful PARTS of the diet but not the whole thing

But a lot of 'modern' dogs can't tolerate 'normal' foods these days!

Yes because to my knowledge it also includes things like road kill, and I won't go into the rest which animals wouldn't eat in the wild, or if they did, would become quite ill. The thing is, they would ALSO eat some of the good meat 'in the wild' and they are not getting any of that it is all just derivatives.

I hold up my hand to slagging off the Big Mac! (Yes the quote was mine). I think you`ll find that a film in which a guy lived ONLY on Macdonalds ended with him in need of medical attention. Yes dogs will eat all of the animal. So where in the derivatives are the prime bits of muscle, the fat, the organs rich in nutrients? Yes! We`ve eaten them! And what`s left for the dog? Skin, bone and waste - all the bits that can`t be sold as food for humans. If it were meat, they`d call it meat and be proud of it. To make it look good they add oil, colourings and flavours. Each of these added ingredients have their own problems. My dog gets hyper on dogfood with colourings. I`ve absolutely no problem with my dogs eating all the animal as long as it is all the animal - not just what`s left when the biggest predator (man) has taken out the good stuff.

There's nothing wrong with feeding less desirable bits and peices of animals - the thing is that they don't list what they use so it could be anything - say all bird feet or beaks or something - then obviously that's not good - just filler. If they listed what the derivatives were that would be better.