The European Society of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ESVCN) Congress is an annual event covering a wide variety of topics in nutrition across the animal kingdom. This year, the Congress will be held in Cirencester, UK from July 22-25, 2022.
The AAVN hosts their annual conference and research symposium to provide a venue for continuing education and to share new research and developments in veterinary nutrition. This year, the 22nd Annual AAVN Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium occurred on June 21-22, 2022 in Austin, TX.
The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada (ANAC) hosts the annual Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada (ANAC). ANAC is a dynamic conference that brings together researchers and feed industry specialists to exchange knowledge about the latest scientific developments related to livestock nutrition.
WikiVet is a large collection of online veterinary educational resources.
Cat Healthy was created by Canada’s Board Certified Feline Specialists as an initiative to help more cats receive the preventative healthcare they need to live longer, healthier lives.
International Veterinary Information Service (IVIS) is a not-for-profit organization that provides information to veterinary teams and animal health professional free of charge (e.g. publications organized in electronic books, proceedings from meetings, short courses, international calendar of veterinary events, etc.)
The Pet Nutrition Alliance (PNA) is a team of veterinary nutrition professionals sharing essential knowledge of pet nutrition. Helpful resources are calorie calculators and common pet food comparisons, based on WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee’s guidelines on selecting a pet food.
The FDA has several websites to learn about regulatory and food safety issues, adverse event reporting, and general industry information; such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has changed the name of their National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. This is the Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides a forum for its members and industry representatives to safeguard the health of animals and humans, ensure consumer protections, and level the playing field for commerce in the animal feed industry..
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) released the
Environmental Needs Guidelines in March 2013. These Guidelines are organized provide the framework for a healthy feline environment regardless of the cat’s lifestyle.
The American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN) is an international association of veterinarians, animal nutrition scientists, veterinary technicians, industry representatives, and veterinary and animal science students with a common interest in animal nutrition.
The American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) is an additional organization through which veterinarians may pursue specialization in nutrition. Their mission statement is “to advance the specialty area of veterinary nutrition and increase the competence of those who practice in this field by establishing requirements for certification in veterinary nutrition, encouraging continuing professional education, promoting research, and enhancing the dissemination of new knowledge of veterinary nutrition through didactic teaching and postgraduate programs.”
The Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians (AVNT) is the international academy through which licensed or registered veterinary technicians and nurses may pursue specialization in nutrition. Their mission is to advance the area of veterinary nutrition and promote excellence in the discipline.
The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) is a non-profit organization which collects and provides updated data on pet obesity and feeding practices. The website is an excellent resource for pet owners and veterinarians alike for both obesity prevention and treatment.
The Canadian Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (CAVN) is composed of fellows dedicating their careers to veterinary nutrition. Their mission is to advocate for evidence-based animal nutrition and for veterinary nutrition education across Canada.
The European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN) was founded in 1998 from the European Society of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ESVCN). Their objective is to advance the quality of animal health care in Europe by increasing the competency of those who are active in the field of veterinary and comparative nutrition through establishing guidelines for training of specialists in veterinary and comparative nutrition; examining and authenticating these veterinary specialists to serve their patients, its owner and the public, encouraging research and advancing knowledge in veterinary and comparative nutrition and promoting dissemination of this knowledge.
The European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) represents around 650 pet food member companies in 26 European countries and cooperates closely with the EU authorities, regulators and academics to provide pets in approximately 70 million pet owning households with safe, nutritious and palatable products through its members.
The mission of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is: “To advance the health and welfare of companion animals worldwide through an educated, committed and collaborative global community of veterinary peers”. Nutrition resources, such as the WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit are available at this website for veterinary practitioners and their staff.
Dr. Lisa Weeth is a Board Certified Veterinary NutritionistTM who also has an excellent, unbiased blog, Common Sense Veterinary Nutrition for pet owners and pet professionals alike.
The Kibble Queen, by Dr. Jackie Parr. Unbranded, factual nutrition information for veterinary teams from a Board Certified Veterinary NutritionistTM.
Petfoodology, written by the Veterinary Clinical Nutrition Team at the Cummings school of veterinary medicine at Tuft’s University.
Dr. Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc Guelph; Dipl ACVIM, Professor in the Department of Pathobiology who specializes in parasites and infectious diseases. He is the Director University of Guelph’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ). You can follow his great Worms & Germs Blog for excellent information and resources.
Ohio State University’s Indoor Pet Initiative offers helpful handouts for new pet owners and/or those facing challenges with the multi-pet household; suggestions for environmental enrichment, resources, etc.
Pet Food Industry is free to register and provides information on market data, top performing pet food companies, and the Pet Food Knowledge Center.
Pet Food Institute is an industry-based website providing information on ingredient definitions, label regulations, how to read pet food labels, etc.
Balance-It is an excellent resource for pet parents who wish to feed a home-cooked diet for their pets. It is an easy to use tool which will provide a complete and balanced recipe formulated by a veterinary nutritionist.
PetDiets is another resource for those wishing to make a home-prepared diet for their pets. Veterinary Nutritional Consultations, inc. (VNC) was established in 1989 by Dr. Rebecca L Remillard as an independent consulting service for professionals and pet owners seeking nutritional advice and is comprised of several nutritionists who are also veterinarians.
The Canadian Nutrient File from Health Canada provides an extensive database of nutrients in many human foods, including some well-known commercial products (such as baby foods, human breakfast cereals, processed products, etc.).
FoodData Central from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an extensive database of nutrients in many human foods, including some well-known commercial products (such as baby foods, human breakfast cereals, processed products, etc.).
The USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center provides human nutrition and supplement information with links to a variety of other websites.
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements website is devoted to human dietary supplements, with a small amount of information being applicable to animals (always consult with your veterinarian before giving a dietary supplement to your pet, since some products that are safe for humans can be toxic to dogs or cats). This site also has a good article on evaluating health information on the internet, how to spot fraud, etc. The site allows you to look up specific supplements to see what scientific evidence exists to support their use in humans. Fact sheets are available for consumers in English and Spanish.
Mayo Clinic Drugs and Supplements Information provides info about interactions, dosing, supporting evidence, etc. for various herbs, vitamins and supplements.
Consumer Lab performs independent testing of human and some veterinary nutritional supplements; this is a subscription-based service with reports available on whether or not a product contains ingredients listed on the label, or whether there harmful substances included but not on the label.
The FDA Pet Food Site provides Information on pet food safety issues, pet food recalls, food labels, and selecting nutritious food.
The Clinical Nutrition Service at the Ontario Veterinary College Health Sciences Centre’s Companion Animal Hospital offers nutrition counselling for in-hospital and out-patients, as well as referred patients from the Mississauga Oakville Veterinary Emergency Hospital (MOVEH). You will require a referral from your veterinary healthcare team at the Ontario Veterinary College or MOVEH. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to accept referrals from family veterinarians.
European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition Diplomates are European Veterinary SpecialistTM in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition awarded by the European Board of Veterinary Specialization. Some provide long-distance nutrition consultations for pets.
The American College of Veterinary Nutrition Diplomat Directory provides a list of board-certified veterinary nutritionists, some of whom will provide nutrition consultations for your pet from a distance.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA): The CFIA regulates pet food imports and related products to prevent animal diseases from being introduced into Canada.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides some information on pet food regulation and labelling requirements. You can also follow the links to view present and past pet food recalls.
Health Canada will issue recalls on pet products which pose a risk to human health in Canada.