Monday, December 29, 2008

Dear Alpo

Sent: April 21, 2008

Dear Alpo,

As you know, with the current state of the economy and the declining American dollar, many people on fixed incomes face hard choices about how best to spend their retirement checks. Sadly, an increasing number end up eating Alpo, a product not intended for human consumption. I would like you to address this issue.

Won't you please do the responsible thing and come out with "Alpo for Senior Citizens?" With a properly blended formula it should not be difficult to achieve a nutritionally balanced diet for the elderly.

No more would they be forced to eat food meant for dogs. Instead, with pride, they could buy an affordable can of food meeting the best needs of elder care. After all, why should our pets fare better than our elders?

I hope you will consider this modest proposal.


Thanks,


Christopher L. Jorgensen


Reply Dated: May 5, 2008

Letter from Nestlé Purina PetCare regarding Alpo. Click to be taken to larger size image.


Nestlé Purina PetCare


North America

OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
P.O. BOX 1326
WILKES BARRE, PA 18703-9985, USA
1.800.7.PURINA
www.purina.com

Dear Mr. Jorgensen,

Thank you for contacting the Nestlé PetCare Company. We always welcome questions and comments from our consumers.

Pet foods contain no ingredients that are harmful to people when ingested, however, we do not recommend people eating pet food. At this time Purina only manufactures foods for cats and dogs, and do not have any future plans to make human foods. However we will be happy to forward your comments to the appropriate departments for review.

Again, thank you for contacting Nestlé PetCare Company. Please contact our Office of Consumer Affairs in the future if we can provide additional assistance.

Sincerely,

(signed)

Sandy Seigfried
Pet Advisor

Ref: 17058919N
enclosure

CPA 2038F-05A6


My reaction:

[Originally sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008]

I sent my original letter to:

Alpo
c/o Nestle Purina PetCare Company
Customer Services
Checkerboard Square
St. Louis, MO 63164

I guess this was an oooppps. Oh well. It was nice of them to include a lid to keep grandma’s Alpo fresh. When you get to be her age, you just can’t eat an entire can in one sitting.

Alpo lid. Click to be taken to larger size image.

It’s sad that no one gets a good Jonathan Swift reference these days. For your reading pleasure: A Modest Proposal.

Is it just me, or is it disturbing that the same company that makes damn good candy bars also makes dog food? Or maybe I got something wrong there. I do get confused a lot. I keep waiting for the one response out there that comes in, “You’re an ass. The proper authorities have been notified. Expect commitment papers any day now, jerk!” But so far Corporate America has yet to surprise me.

Website:

Alpo



Posted by cjorgensen on 12/29 at 06:00 AM
CompanyFood
Page 1 of 1 pages

Comments:

I think, rather than investigating the subtleties of creating food for humans, Purina may better serve people by teaching its executives how to write English:

“Pet foods contain no ingredients that are harmful to people when ingested, however, we do not recommend PEOPLE EATING pet food.... At this time Purina only manufactures foods for cats and dogs, and DO NOT have any future plans to make human foods....”

Any further commentary would be silly....

Posted by Dr. Dave  on  12/30  at  07:59 PM

Your reaction implies that Nestlé has some incentive to differentiate ingredients between their brands. You may laugh now, but eventually you won’t be able to drink a Boost® without thinking about puréed Prime Cuts® in Gravy™. In the meantime, free tiny frisbee!

Posted by sysinfo  on  12/31  at  03:40 AM


Enter a Comment:

Comments are moderated and will be deleted if off topic.

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Next entry: Guv. Culver (pt.1) • Previous entry: Cialis

Members:

| Login | Register |

RSS Feed: