As vegan diets become more popular with consumers, governments across the world still appear reluctant to endorse the benefits of going meat-free. Barcelona had appeared to lead the effort by declaring itself a 'friend of vegetarian culture' in March, however, the animal rights group Anima Naturalis staged this weekend’s demonstration in protest against the lack of work done by the city to back up their claims.
The demonstration, which took place on Sunday at Barcelona’s St Jaume Plaza, saw 20 Anima Naturalis activists remove their robes before being covered in blood and ‘packaged’ in similar fashion to meat found on supermarket shelves. The packages were labelled ‘Carne Humana’, Spanish for ‘human meat’.
A video of the demonstration is captioned: 'We put ourselves in the place of the most anonymous animals; those who lie on shelves in supermarkets.'
The city had pledged to join global initiatives to encourage consumers to eat less meat such as ‘Meat Free Mondays’, founded in 2009 by Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary. demonstrators argued that Barcelona’s lack of commitment to the cause is proof of the city’s reluctance to invest in the promotion of a meat-free lifestyle to the public.
Aida Gascon, director of Anima Naturalis, told the Independent) 'The environmental, health and ethical implications surrounding the consumption of meat is an issue that cannot be ignored anymore.'
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.