May 5, 2026- Andy is in OurLittleCorner today

Kibble: Blurring the Line Between Dog Food and People Food

In today’s world most of us can distinguish between people food and dog food. However, such a distinction was not always clear cut. According to the Nortwestnaturals.net website, over 2,000 years ago the Romans were feeding their dogs such delicacies as bread soaked in milk along with meat scraps. By the time the Middle Ages came along European royalty were known to feed their hunting dogs better than their wives — kennel cooks would make vats of dog stews using grains, veggies, and meat (with garlic thrown in for the dog’s strength). In the 1800’s Empress Tzu His of China supposedly fed her Pekingese “shark fins, quail breasts, and antelope milk” while European nobility were plying their dogs with “roast duck, cakes, candies, and even liquor.” Meanwhile, the less affluent masses fed their dogs on the likes of bread crusts, bones, potatoes, and cabbage.

Things began to change in the mid-1800s when James Spratt, a lightening rod salesman, concocted a biscuit intended for dogs only. These biscuits, called Spratt’s Patent Limited, contained wheat meals, vegetables, and meat. Ads for his dog biscuits claimed that among other things, they would protect dogs from disease, sweeten their breath, and promote “regular habit.” The introduction of these biscuits provided the impetus for what was to become a burgeoning dog kibble industry (along with over-exaggerated claims of the kibble’s health benefits).

The kibble that we know today first became widely available in the 1950s with the introduction of pet food extruders which allowed for the mass production of dry pet food. The process involves boiling together meat, grains, and fat and blending it all in starch and reintroducing some of the vitamins and minerals that get lost to the high heat (this Youtube video provides a good look at how this works). Kibble currently accounts for over 61% of all dog food sales, which is huge. One site I found estimated than in 2024 Nestlé Purina PetCare and Mars Petcare Inc., the two leading producers, each brought in over $22 billion in sales.

But there’s been a recent twist to the kibble story that blurs the line between people food and dog food. A recent NYTimes headline reads, “Move Over, Girl Dinner. Boy Kibble Has Arrived.” The byline adds: “Health-conscious men looking to trim down are turning to the latest TikTok diet fad — an easy-to-prepare bowl of slop that even a dog would love.“

For those of us who are not members of the Gen Z crowd and/or who do not follow (let alone understand) TikTok, a little context will help explain what’s up. To start with, “Girl Dinner” is a popular on-line term referring to the “light bites” that women sometimes put together and eat as a meal, with little care for “gastronomic coherence.” In contrast, the more recently minted term “boy kibble” refers to a nutritional mix of carbs, protein and fiber for fitness purposes — essentially made with the same ingredients as dog kibble. Evidently, it is taking TikTok by storm. Flavor and aesthetics are of no concern. Plus, some TikTok influencers recommend preparing large batches of “boy kibble” and freezing it in multiple dinner-size containers for simple, effortless meals, suggesting that variety also is of little concern.

Somewhat ironically, at the same time that the boy kibble fad is bringing “slop that even a dog would love” to dinner tables, the popular mass-produced dog kibble our dogs find in their dog dishes is increasingly being replaced by dog foods that are more in line with human preferences. I came across a title on TheAtlantic.com that pretty much nails it: “Dog Food Is So Fancy Now That I Ate Some.” Until reading that article I was unaware that celebrity chef José Andrés is marketing a pricey “Mediterranean inspired” kibble sold as “Reál Mesa” featuring real chicken, wild-caught salmon, brown rice, chickpeas, kale, carrots, figs, and herbs. Nor did I realize that many dog owners have taken up cooking for their dogs, turning out dishes like vegetable-and-beef crepes supplemented with powdered vitamins and minerals and pre- and probiotics (good for the Fido’s gut).

This all leaves me with two concluding thoughts. First, I’m pretty sure that I’ll not be swept up in the boy-kibble fad. Not only am I TikTok illiterate, I’m quite attached to variety and flavor in my meals. And second, I’m not about to pony up for the likes of Reál Mesa kibble nor go to the effort to make vegetable-and-beef crepes for Wynn, our Cardigan Corgi. I just hope that she doesn’t get wind of these culinary options and start yearning for more variety and flavor in her meals.