Quick answer: On New Heights, Ed Kelce told his sons Jason and Travis Kelce that most canned dog food used to come from horses. "Horse meat is an awesome protein," he said. The brothers didn't buy it, so they searched it on air. The answer for today was no. But when they asked about 50 years ago, the result backed their dad up: horse meat was the main meat in American canned dog food for decades, starting in the early 1920s.
Source: New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, clipped as a YouTube Short.
How it started
The conversation began with food the family remembered eating, and an article that once claimed some cheap beef was "below dog food grade." That led Ed to his claim about where dog food meat comes from. Most of the canned stuff, he said, "the pâté," came from horses.
His sons reacted the way most people would. "Come on," one of them said, and the other asked whether that was even legal now. Ed added a fair warning: he was "speaking from the point of view 14, 15 years ago," and things might have changed.
What the search found
Travis and Jason pulled out a phone. The first question, whether most US dog food today is horse meat, came back no. Then they asked about the past, and the answer turned in Ed's favor. The result they read said horse meat was "the primary and most common meat ingredient in commercial canned dog food for decades," starting in the early 1920s.
The reason, as they read it, was a surplus. After World War I, cars and tractors replaced working horses on farms and in cities, which left a lot of cheap horses. "Ed Kelce is on top of this," one brother said. "He knows a little something."
The history checks out
The early part of the story is well documented. Ken-L Ration, made by the Chappel Brothers company in Rockford, Illinois, is generally credited as the first canned dog food sold in the United States, launched in the early 1920s. Its main ingredient was horse meat, and the company raised and bought large numbers of horses to keep up. So Ed was right about the old days, even if his "14, 15 years ago" timeline was off. By then, horse meat had long since left mainstream American dog food.
Real-name note
Travis Kelce's full name is Travis Michael Kelce, and Jason Kelce's is Jason Daniel Kelce. Ed Kelce is their father and a regular guest on the show the brothers host together.
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FAQ
Was canned dog food really made from horse meat? Yes, for decades. Starting in the early 1920s, horse meat was the main meat in early American canned dog food, including Ken-L Ration.
Is most dog food made from horse meat today? No. The brothers' own search said so on the show, and Ed admitted his information might be out of date.
What are the Kelce brothers' real names? Travis Michael Kelce and Jason Daniel Kelce.