The Salt Lake City-based Petfood Consumer Rights Council is a consumer advocacy organization focused on animal welfare. It was created to address what it says is a fundamentally broken feedback loop in the pet food industry, where research into animal nutrition is primarily funded by leaders in that industry. Believing this bias prevents important discovery, the council has created a structure designed to give pet owners a say in research topics.
Daniel Schulof, a Salt Lake City-based entrepreneur and animal enthusiast who has family ties to Park City, founded PCRC late last year. The CEO of startup pet food company KetoNatural Pet Foods, Schulof designed PCRC in order to hold pet food companies to a higher standard. Progress never stops, and though KetoNatural might be setting a high bar, the council is determined to raise it.
With increased advocacy, pet owners can feel certain that the needs of their animal are being prioritized by credible scientists, the council says. “We promote rigorous, evidence-based knowledge about topics that matter most to our members, compiled and vetted entirely by leaders whose expertise and impartiality are judged by member vote,” its website explains. It uses a grants system funded by individual pet owners.
The organization has established a set of checks and balances to limit industry influence in this research. One such requirement is its contribution cap: The PCRC says it only accepts small-dollar donations from individual pet owners/lovers and donations from a single source cannot exceed $1,000 per year. Also, all PCRC members get an equal say in choosing board members, distributing funds and choosing new initiatives, the council says, regardless of how much they’ve donated.