Traffic lights in Berlin want you to stop eating meat and go vegan.
According to BZ Berlin, activists have pasted “stop meat” templates on red traffic lights across Berlin-Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. On the green lights, they have pasted a template for the words “go vegan.”
It is unknown who is responsible for the signs. According to police officers, the activists who are responsible will not be prosecuted for pasting the templates on to the traffic lights, as they were easy enough to remove.
BZ Berlin reports that the police officers did not know how many traffic lights had the vegan signs pasted on, so there could be more dotted around the city asking drivers to stop eating meat.
Meat consumption is a hot topic in Germany at the moment. Lawmakers recently proposed a meat tax, in a bid to help save the environment. Meat is currently relatively cheap across the country and features in a number of traditional dishes. Germany currently taxes meat at a reduced rate of 7 percent, however, some lawmakers want to see this rise to 19 percent.
Vegan Traffic Lights Elsewhere in Europe
Drivers have spotted the “go vegan” message on traffic lights before. Earlier this year, traffic lights in Brussels were seen with the same signs. Misteruncertain — an animal rights activist and street artist — took credit for the traffic lights. It is unclear if he pasted the signs on himself.
He wrote on Facebook at the time, “nice to see my efforts spreading far and wide. So many people spend their time living halfhearted and disinterested in others. It takes courage to be altruistic in a society that is self-centered and to be compassionate in a world that is egotistical.”
“One act can transform the very core of someone else’s life,” he added. “When benevolence is real, boundaries are nonexistent, limits fade, life is more abundant, and the gap between present reality and dreams, close. Animals are innocent beings and deserve to be protected and respected, not massacred for human greed. Veganism is the answer and justice for all life!”
