The phrase is striking but doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Companies make dogfood and sell it and expect others (dogs, who aren't known for verbalizing dissatisfaction with their food) to consume it. The producers of dogfood don't really care what it tastes like or how nutritious it is.

But I can't imaging a business which involves collecting farts and selling them to others and where sniffing a small quantity of each bottled fart would help improve production processes to ensure a better experience for the customer. And most people are appalled at the smell of others' farts but can tolerate their own, so the "smell your own" test wouldn't really tell you anything.

▲ schiffern 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

  >The producers of dogfood don't really care what it tastes like or how nutritious it is.

Bingo. This is why "eat your own dog food" works so well. The best koans and parables include a contradiction, which is a teaching tool not a logic bug.

You may think you don't need to eat your own dog food (just like the dog food companies), but actually you should still do it.

	▲	johnisgood 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I am surprised there are so many people on HN that completely miss the point. I am actually shocked. I am not shocked, however, that there are people who get offended. Getting offended is so 202x.

▲ whamlastxmas 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I think the metaphor is less about what you sell and more about the bullshit your customers have to endure to use the product you provide