A story examines the “true horrors” of baked beans. It is asserted that euthanized dogs and cats are the secret ingredient of Bush’s Baked Beans, giving the product its “meaty flavor.” Is this report true or false?

It’s a fake story.

Let’s first take a look at what is being shared.

In a fake article by Daily Leak, we read that the “secret family ingredient” of Bush’s Baked Beans is none other than euthanized animals, including dogs and cats. The story includes an extensive quote by Howard F. Lyman who alleges that euthanized pets are used by rendering plants in the creation of food for livestock.

Most of the quote is real, and is cited from the 1998 book “MAD COWBOY: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat.” The fake story, however altered a key part of Lyman’s actual quote to state that these products are used in human food. The fake quote states:

The powder is used as an additive to many human foods as well as to livestock feed.

The actual quote by Lyman, however, does not state that the mix is used in human foods:

The powder is used as an additive to almost all pet food as well as to livestock feed. 

Euthanized Pets

While Dog Food Advisor states that generic “meat meal” can in fact include roadkill, diseased farm animals, and euthanized pets, the FDA found “evidence against the presumption that euthanized pets are routinely rendered and used in pet food.”

Bush’s Baked Beans

The article by Daily Leak never demonstrated any correlation of the quote by Lyman to the production of baked beans. On their Facebook page, Bush’s Beans responded to the article by stating, “These statements are not true.”

Daily Leak

The FAQ for Daily Leak notes that it is “a satirical website.”

Bottom Line

The story which claims baked beans include euthanized dogs and cats as a secret ingredients is false. The report originated with a satirical website and includes a quote – which has been altered from the original – as proof. The fake story never connected the use of euthanized pets in meat meal with the production of baked beans.

Source: Euthanized Dogs and Cats Used to “Add Hearty, Meaty Flavor” to Baked Beans