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April, 2004
Rhetorical Analysis of Nutrena’s Triumph/Complete Feed
Feedstuff Analysis:
I began by looking for a definition of the word “feed” and
found some good information on the Oklahoma State Cooperative Extension
website. David W. Freeman, the OSU Extension Equine Specialist, offered
the following:
Labeling standards for feeds sold on a commercial basis are controlled by national and state regulations. In addition, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides guidelines that assist feed manufacturers in providing uniform information on feed tags. As with all commercial feeds, those formulated for horses must be labeled with a feed tag. This tag must contain a list of ingredients and the guaranteed levels of certain nutrients contained within that feed. (Okay, so the Nutrena product I use did come with a tag)
Freeman says that there are several reasons for
purchasers to understand feed labels:
• The tag should direct you to select feeds which are most closely
balanced to the needs of your horse.
• The tag will help you in cost comparisons of similar prod¬ucts.
• The tag may provide guidelines on feeding directions.
• By assessing the ingredient information on the tag, the tag can
provide an indication of quality of the mix, and the need for additional
supplementation.
The following information (which was also compiled by Freeman) is definitional:
Helpful Definitions Concerning Purchased
Feeds
Terms defined by the AAFCO and the Uniform State Feed Bill are included
on feed tags as well. A feed is defined as edible material which is consumed
by animals that contribute energy and/or nutrients to the animal’s
diet. A commercial feed is all materials which are distributed for use
as feed or for mixing for feed. By definition, commercial feed does not
include unmixed whole seeds, such as oats, or physi¬cally altered
entire unmixed seeds, such as cracked corn. A formula feed is two or more
ingredients that are mixed and processed in proportions meeting certain
specifications. The slang terms ‘mixed’ feed, pellets, and
‘sweet’ feed have been used to characterize commercial and
formula feeds.
A concentrate is a feed used with another nutrient source to improve the nutritive balance of the total ration. Concentrates are intended to be further diluted and mixed to produce a supplement or a complete feed. For example, most commercial feeds marketed for horses are concentrates because they are formulated to be fed with a source of forage from pasture or hay. There are a small number of commercial feeds formulated for horses to be a complete feed. A complete feed is a nu¬tritionally adequate feed intended to be fed as the sole ration without any additional substance being consumed except water. Complete feeds are not intended to be combined with forage. Because of benefits of managing horses on long stem forage, most feeds are formula feeds intended to be fed as a concentrate rather than a complete feed.
A customer-formula feed, commonly called a custom mix, does not require the same labeling as commercial feeds. A customer-formula feed is a mixture of commercial feeds and/or feed ingredients which are manufactured according to the specific instructions of the final purchaser. Customer-formula feeds are most common on farms with large numbers of horses. In the case of customer-formula feeds, the farm owner or manager supplies the ingredient list to the feed manufacturers. To be cost effective, custom formulas need to be purchased in large quantities, generally not less than several tons. As such, most owners find that reputable feed companies will produce commercial feeds that fit most require¬ments and production constraints.
According to the information on the Nutrena bag,
the term Triumph Complete can be fed alone, that is without any additional
grain or forage. However, there is a caveat which states “If Triumph
Complete is fed as the sole ration, 1-3 lbs/per day of long stem roughage
may be added to reduce boredom.” So this does not fit in with the
above definitional statement, which states that “complete feeds
are not intended to be combined with forage.” Technically, what
I’m feeding is a concentrate.
Freeman also provides labeling guidelines:
Commercial feeds, other than customer-formula feeds, should be labeled
with the following information:
• Brand Name, if any, and Product Name (e.g. Bluebird 12% Textured
Hose Feed)
• The word “Medicated” if a chemotherapeutic agent is
included (currently, there are no medicated feed additives for horses).
• Purpose Statement, containing the specific species and animal
class(es) for which the feed is intended.
• Guaranteed Analysis
• List of Ingredients
• Directions for use and any warning or caution statements
• Name and Address of the Manufacturer
• Quantity Statement
Feed tags on commercial feeds formulated for equine supply a large amount of information for the purchaser. Information follows the same format of commercial feeds for¬mulated for other species of animals in that the tag will provide a purpose statement, guaranteed analysis, ingredient list, directions for use, weight, and manufacturer information.
Nutrena a”Triumph/Complete” has a tag with this information. A close look at the ingredients is revelatory. The first (and most foremost) ingredient is Grain Products and the second is Roughage Products. The other ingredient is “forage products.” This is disconcerting because the type of Grain/Roughage Products could vary from bag to bag. The guaranteed analysis information is scant. This feed contains 12.0% crude protein, 3.5% crude fat, and 25.0% crude fiber. It also contains Calcium, Phosphorus, Copper, Selenium, Zinc, and Vitamin A. I would need to look up the required amounts of vitamins and minerals in order to determine if my horses are getting what they need. Vitamin E isn’t listed – I do provide this separately.
Website Analysis:
I perused the Nutrena Website because I hoped to find some testimonials.
None were listed. There was a place where people could post their “Nutrena
Stories” to the company, however I was unable to access them.
I also discovered that the Cargill Corporation is putting out this and
other animal feed products. It’s a huge company, I’ll wager
that this feed containrs GMOs.
Rhetorical Analysis:
The Nutrena/Triumph feedbag is in both design and wording, eye catching.
There’s a horse on the front. He looks well but not overfed and
has a very nice eye. He also has nicely shaped ears. The statement above
his head reads “This feed is designed to be fed to mares, breeding,
maintenance, and performance horses.” Designer jeans, designer homes,
designer feed, the implication is that when you buy this, you are buying
a specially crafted item. And what else exists besides mares, breeding,
maintenance and performance horses? This about covers it.
This information is repeated on the reverse side. In addition, the marketing
paragraph reads “Triumph horse feeds deliver true value in equine
nutrition, made possible by a combination of select feed ingredients and
generations of industry experience. Triumph Complete Horse Feed combines
high quality roughage and grains in a single pelleted feed that can be
fed as a complete diet or as a supplement to available forage. You can
count on the quality and value of Triumph Horse Feeds, brought to you
exclusively by Nutrena.
I highlighted some of the above wording. “made possible by” sounds like televisionese, as does “brought to you exclusively by.” The word “value” is also used twice, once in conjunction with delivery of goods and once in relation to the feed itself. Value here implies high quality – to not buy this feed then is to consider giving your horse a lesser quality product. Lastly, the use of the word “you” is a direct address to the consumer. All this of course is contradicted by the website information which indicates that Nutrena products are not anything special, but instead just another feedstuff conglomerate.
The question that remains is, will I keep using
this product. What I realized in doing this research is that I should
take a closer look at other brands of feedstuffs.
Rhetorical Analysis of Nutrena Label