A Note From Patrick: June 2020

Comments (208)

While the Mediterranean diet isn’t vegan or fully vegetarian, it is centred on plants (yes, including grapes for wine and olive trees for their oil, as well as the fruit of the coffee plant and many herbals). That is pretty much how I eat: I don’t eat mammals but I do eat fish and some poultry, but my plate is mostly vegetables. I find many processed soya foods hard to digest, but tempeh, a fermented soya food of Indonesian origin, is much easier to consume.

I think of this strip’s outlook as more ethical than political in a partisan sense – and hope nobody here thinks being opposed to racism or bigotry is “political”. It could be as much Franciscan or Buddhist as anything else.

Happy June Solstice to all, both north and south of the equator.

Lagatta de Montréal

There has been a chain of Vegetarian Butcher shops in the Netherlands for many years now. https://www.thevegetarianbutcher.com/

Lagatta de Montréal

I know that cats are obligate carnivores, and must have animal protein.. No problem there…but people are omnivores, and can eat a plant based diet with planning and care, and be very healthy…

allie.cat42

The reason that meats are still showcased in the deli is that when customers start horking up hairballs after eating plant based roast beef, they will have an edible backup plan.

Seriously….love the strip, but stick to animal rescues. It’s called “Mutts”, not “Folks”.

David Michael

Since a quarter of the meat consumed in the U.S. is eaten by our pets (source: “The Clean Pet Food Revolution: How Better Pet Food Will Change the World”), it’s worth looking at what we feed them. While it’s commonly believed that dogs are carnivores like their wolf ancestors (meaning that they must eat meat to survive), canine digestive systems are quite capable of digesting and deriving nutrients from fruits and vegetables (source: Hills Pet Nutrition). Dogs need protein, but it doesn’t have to come from meat. Plant foods like peas, lentils, and chickpeas are high in protein and easily digestible for dogs. Making sure that cats get the nutrients they need is trickier. There is a company called Because Animals working on cultured meat pet food. Their product line includes cultured mouse cat treats. Sounds weird, but mice are part of the cat’s ancestral diet. Left to fend for herself, Fluffy is far more likely to eat a mouse than to swim out into the ocean and catch a 100-pound tuna.

Joan O'Brien

Not even close. There are many of us who make our decisions based on the needs of our bodies and not on the ideals of others.

I really wish vegans would stop trying to interfere in the food choices of others by trying to guilt them into their religion. And it is a religion for most vegans. The vegans who eat that way because it feels right for them don’t try to coerce everyone else into eating the same way.

The only reasons I would ever need to know someone else’s dietary regime is if I’m cooking for them or in my work capacity as a nurse. Otherwise what other people eat is none of my business and what I eat is none of theirs.

GrannyK

May as well call it “Krappy Snax”. Go ahead and drop “deli”, cuz it just ain’t anymore.

Patrick, half the fun of “Mutts” were the deli strips, monitored by a large grumpy proprietor. Guess he won’t be watching for Mooch And Earl, ‘cuz there won’t be much of anything worth drooling over!

David Michael

Preach it, brother!

David Michael

Please don’t do that. I realize that these issues have to be addressed, but not in the Comics. P.S. I love Mooch and Earl

S. Dolan

It’s not a matter of being “mortally offended by … views counter to [our] own” but rather a concern for our meat-needing pets, cats in particular. No, I’m not forced to read the strip, but others who may not understand pets’ needs might be. And just because we defend a pet’s need for meat doesn’t necessarily mean we eat it.

Shorry you missed the point.

Cat D