Lolloping through the countryside, having a picnic amid autumn leaves or snuggled up in his mistress’s bed, Georgia Toffolo‘s pet dog, Monty, is the undisputed star of her social media pages.
The TV personality, 30, regularly treats her 1.8 million Instagram fans to updates about the four-year-old spaniel, whom she got from a breeder in 2020.
Monty is so special to Georgia, who made her name on the reality series Made In Chelsea, where she got the nickname ‘Toff’, that she credits him with ‘changing her life’.
So one can only imagine how she felt when, shortly after she took him home as a puppy, Monty started getting sick. Dangerously sick.
At first, she put his vomiting and refusal to eat down to a ‘funny tummy’, but his symptoms were too regular for a one-off.
Next, poor Monty developed red, itchy skin, with painful welts under his fur, and started having bowel problems that led to repeated vet visits.
Georgia became convinced his ailments were something to do with his food.
She started trialling him on a diet of raw meat, vegetables and fruit, and – as if by magic – Monty’s problems cleared up within two weeks.
When her beloved dog Monty became dangerously sick, Georgia Toffolo was convinced his ailments were something to do with his food
Like many of the UK’s 13.5 million dog owners, Georgia used to buy kibble, a popular type of dog food containing processed meat, grains and veg, which are dried and shaped into pellets.
It was this, she quickly realised, that was making Monty so unwell.
Fast-forward four years and not only has Georgia founded her own raw dog food company, Wild Pack, but she’s escalated her campaign far beyond getting better nutrition for her own dog.
She has found herself taking on the pet food industry, after labelling UK Pet Food, the trade body which represents and regulates the animal food market, a ‘racket’, and claiming that conventional dog food fed to millions of pets across the UK is, in fact, damaging their health.
Her anger comes after her company’s application to join UK Pet Food was rejected – on the grounds that she had brought the industry into disrepute.
‘It’s like Haribo paying dentists to tell parents that feeding sweets to kids is really good for dental health,’ she told the Mail. ‘It appears that if your mission is to improve pet nutrition, UK Pet Food is not there to support you but to kneecap your brand through a denial of membership.
‘It’s not fighting for better pet food at all. It’s fighting to make sure nobody questions UK Pet Food products – even those that could be harmful to our pets. It’s nothing short of a racket.’
It’s not the sort of crusade Georgia, who was born in Torquay, Devon, to a scrap metal dealer father and property manager mother, expected to find herself at the forefront of.
A petite blonde, who dropped out of her law and politics degree at the University of Westminster to appear on the first series of Made In Chelsea in 2014, her interests include fashion, fitness and reality shows. She has since appeared on Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Hunted and, in 2017, won the 17th series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
But Georgia, who previously fronted an ITV investigation into the acne drug Roaccutane, insists she wants to be taken seriously in her latest venture.
After all, taking on the £2 billion British dog food industry is not something to be done lightly. Her campaign is focused around a group of compounds called ‘glycotoxins’ (or ‘Advanced Glycation End products’, known as AGE), contained within most mass-market dog food, which she claims can contribute to chronic diseases in pets.
Her petition to ban glycotoxins in pet food amassed almost 50,000 signatures and in January she took it to Westminster, where she hopes it will one day be debated in Parliament
Glycotoxins, she explains, occur as a result of the dehydration process required to make kibble (a 12kg bag from some of the most popular brands sells for around £28). She says they contribute to a litany of ailments, including lethargy, extreme dehydration, diabetes, kidney failure and even certain cancers in animals that consume the resulting product.
While all UK pet foods are tested for glycotoxins, they are currently allowed to exist in ‘safe amounts’ – but Georgia insists even this is too much. By allowing the products they endorse to contain even traces of these compounds, she claims UK Pet Food is part of what she dubs a ‘kibble cartel’, misleading its customers and stopping dog owners from feeding their pets the right things.
Indeed, Georgia feels so strongly about glycotoxins that, shortly after launching her company last year, she started a petition to ban them in pet food.
It has since amassed almost 50,000 signatures and, in January, she took it to Westminster, where she hopes it will one day be debated in Parliament.
‘Great Britain is a nation of dog lovers,’ she says. ‘I am fortunate to have this platform.
‘I have educated myself to know enough about this subject, and I do think I’m the right person to lead this charge.
‘It’s scary and I’m nervous to take on these big dog food companies, but I do feel like it’s time to get our dogs healthy again.’
With a personal stake in her cause, and her beloved Monty’s interests spurring her on, there’s no doubt Georgia’s heart is in the right place.
But is she really the right person to take on multi-million-pound pet food companies, many of whom have been in business longer than she has been alive?
The industry body certainly doesn’t think so. UK Pet Food hit back at Georgia’s claims, stating that Wild Food’s application to join its membership ‘fell short of our membership criteria around responsible marketing following a PR campaign against processed pet foods earlier this year. This campaign was based on misinformation and risked causing pet owners unnecessary concern’. It added it is ‘very happy to review their application in the future’.
And leading pet food companies, too, have called her out for making ‘false’ and ‘disappointing’ claims about their products, which she has singled out in social media posts. Writing on Instagram about a beef dog food product by Northamptonshire-based company Bakers, which makes more than 260 million cans of dog and cat food a year and charges £30.59 for 14kg of the product, Georgia said: ‘This product says ‘100 per cent tender chunks’, it says ‘beef’ in big capital letters.
But leading pet food companies have accused Georgia, pictured with her spaniel Monty, of making ‘false’ and ‘disappointing’ claims about their products
‘But have a closer look at the ingredients on the back, and it says “20 per cent meat and animal derivatives, of which 4 per cent is beef”.
‘With some quick maths, this product is less than 1 per cent beef.’
She also attacked Beta chicken dog food, (which costs £36 for 14kg at Pets at Home), saying: ‘It’s actually made up of chicken carcasses that aren’t fit for human consumption, which are then ground down and rendered into a powder.
‘And because it’s not being eaten by humans, this meat can legally be from animals that are already dead, dying or diseased.’
Purina, the makers of the Bakers and Beta pet food, angrily dismissed her allegations.
‘It is extremely disappointing to see Wild Pack deliberately set out to scare and misinform pet owners in order to sell their own products, by discrediting other brands and the wider pet food industry,’ a spokesperson said this week.
‘Bakers Meaty Meals contains a minimum of 4 per cent beef, as clearly stated on the label. Overall, there is at least 20 per cent animal protein in the food which comes from animals considered fit for human consumption.
‘The same is true for the parts of the chicken used to make the chicken meal in our Beta foods. They are highly nutritious and excellent sources of protein and amino acids.
‘We have no idea where the 1 per cent “quick maths” calculation comes from.
‘Equally it is 100 per cent false to say that animal proteins used in pet food are not fit for human consumption and come from diseased animals.
‘Pet owners can be reassured that Bakers, Beta and all other Purina pet foods are safe, nutritious and healthy for pets to eat every day.’
Some experts in canine nutrition, however, back Georgia’s actions to improve the quality of UK pet food. ‘These foods are not made for carnivores who need to eat fresh, whole meat,’ says Anna Webb, a canine nutritionist and host of A Dog’s Life podcast.
‘We know that ultra-processed foods are bad for humans, so why do we give them to our dogs?
‘I call kibble little balls of cremated pellets. They’re created with a host of ingredients chucked into a furnace at 200 degrees and then the manufacturers add fillers like maize, barley and soya.
‘Horses and rabbits can enjoy a bit of barley but dogs will be malnourished if their main food is barley.’ As for glycotoxins, she adds: ‘These are a chemical compound created in this industrial processing.
Backing the reality star’s fight is her boyfriend James Watt, founder of BrewDog, and several influential friends such as Carrie Johnson, married to former prime minister Boris Johnson
‘They undergo something called the Maillard reaction – when carbohydrates are compressed at a really forceful speed and heat with protein. This reaction is known to be carcinogenic in humans so I suspect it’s the same for dogs.’
However, she adds that studies are ‘vague’ when it comes to proving the effect of glycotoxins on dogs’ health, and whether there is a definite link with cancer, diabetes or kidney failure.
‘The big pet food manufacturers who can spend a lot of money on cheap ingredients and advertising don’t want you to know that their food is not good for your dog,’ Anna adds. ‘I’ve no doubt at all that feeding your dogs a sterile, ultra-processed food is worse for their health.’
However, Dr Samantha Butler-Davies, veterinary services director at Pets at Home, says we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss popular brands of pet food.
‘The UK pet food industry is highly regulated and all meat used in pet food is sourced from animals that were classed as fit for human consumption,’ she explains.
‘Some elements are less commonly eaten by humans, but these are not only highly nutritious and form part of a balanced diet for pets, their inclusion also contributes to sustainable food practices.’
Glycotoxins, she says, are produced naturally in the body and are – in small amounts – suitable to be consumed as part of the diet. ‘A study on cats and dogs fed low-AGE (Advanced Glycation End products) versus high-AGE diets suggests that dietary AGEs do not accumulate in the body.
‘However, further research is required to understand the long-term health impacts in pets.’
Dr Samantha Butler-Davies also warns against simply switching to a raw-food diet if you think your chosen food is making your dog unwell.
‘I would always advise owners to talk to their vet before simply changing their diet,’ she says.
‘There are many reasons why pets can become unwell, and diet is not always the cause or solution.’
Georgia Toffolo, however, isn’t fazed by the controversy her pet food project seems to have stirred up. If anything, she’s more determined than ever to bring about change.
Backing her are several influential friends, including Carrie Johnson, married to former prime minister Boris Johnson, who has called the campaign ‘really brilliant’.
‘Well done for shining a light on this,’ she said recently.
Georgia’s also got the support of her boyfriend, James Watt, of the brewery and pub chain BrewDog, who faced similar opposition from large breweries.
The pair went public with their relationship last year, with Georgia saying the 40-year-old entrepreneur makes her ‘so happy’.
‘I can’t quite believe I have found someone who is so aligned,’ she adds. ‘James went through something similar when he set up BrewDog in the early days, when he took on Heineken, so he supports me to just carry on.’
And, of course, there’s Monty, her constant companion – and her inspiration in this crusade against the giants of the pet food world.
‘All I want is transparency and honesty. We need to protect the interests of dogs,’ Georgia insists.
‘This isn’t about getting dogs all over the country to start eating my dog food.
‘This is so much bigger than just my business: it’s about us sticking up for our dogs, who stick by our sides through thick and thin.’