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The Food That Built America Season 4 Episode Explores the Origins of Commercial Pet Food
The History Channel documentary series “The Food That Built America” is set to air its season 4 episode titled “Dog Eat Dog” on July 16, 2023 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This episode will delve into the beginnings of commercial pet food in the United States. Viewers can tune in to witness historical re-enactments of key events and listen to insights from industry experts, including Lindsay Beaton, editor of Petfood Industry magazine and host of the Trending: Pet Food podcast.
The summary description of the episode states, “At a time when dog food is a rarity and cat food is almost nonexistent, it will take visionary innovators to invent the first dog treat, the first dry dog food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry, and solidify dogs and cats as part of the American family.”
Pet Ownership and Spending in the United States
According to the American Pet Product Association (APPA)’s State of the Industry data for 2022, there are currently 87 million pet-owning households in the U.S. The overall U.S. pet industry has reached sales nearing US$137 billion, marking an 11% increase from the previous year.
“While we outperformed our 2022 forecast, we know this increase can be attributed, in large part, to higher-than-anticipated inflation, and we expect spending will follow a similar trajectory and remain steady in 2023,” said APPA President and CEO Peter Scott. “Along those same lines, we saw pet ownership normalize and return to pre-pandemic levels, which is not surprising given the uptick we saw in pet acquisition as a result of the pandemic.”
Pet food and treats alone contributed US$58.1 billion to total sales, according to the APPA, making it the highest spend category with the largest increase (16.2%).
About “The Food That Built America”
“The Food That Built America” is a nonfiction docudrama series that made its debut in 2019. Each episode uncovers the stories behind some of the most significant brands in the United States. The show has explored the origins and rivalries of iconic entities such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s, McDonald’s and Burger King, and Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme. Season 4, which is currently running in 2023, consists of a total of 16 episodes.
