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The end for the Thuringians?
A meatless sausage made from lupine seeds
Photo: Fredrik Von Erichsen / picture alliance / dpa
The announcement sounds dramatic for Thuringians: A “radical restriction of the sausage stands in the entire city area” is planned if they do not also offer half vegan sausages. Later the rule should also be extended to butcher shops and restaurants. The 50:50 rule naturally also applies in the canteens, plus two completely meat-free days per week. And: The butcher shop assistant is not allowed to hand any more sausages into the hands of minors.
The alleged disaster threatens the city of Gera in East Thuringia.
At least that's what it says on a flyer that is making the rounds on Facebook and is said to have landed in several mailboxes.
According to the will of the Thuringian state government and the consumer advice center, Gera is to become a "Vegan City" in a pilot project.
There is a collection of signatures for the flyer with which Geraers can defend themselves against the alleged veganization of the bratwurst city.
more on the subject
"Veggie Day": The fear of green re-educationBy Hauke Janssen
Common Sense: Germany's Power Bars A column by Markus Feldenkirchen
Former Federal Chancellor on LinkedIn: Schröder railed against the end of currywurst in the VW canteen
But there is no such thing as the “Vegan City”.
Neither on the website of the city of Gera, nor the Thuringian Ministry of Health or the Thuringian consumer protection, there are any entries for such a model project.
When asked by "Antenne Thüringen" the city of Gera stated that it had never heard of it.
She recommends citizens not to enter their data in the signature list.
According to the broadcaster, the Thuringian Ministry of Health also knows nothing about a vegan project.
At the request of SPIEGEL in the morning, no one could be reached so far.
On Facebook, many users in a city-internal group are outraged by the message.
The ban on giving away is "awesome," writes one, "as a child I was always happy when the nice meat seller handed me a Viennese."
Other commentators, on the other hand, suspect a joke or targeted public opinion campaigning.
The author (s) could have borrowed from the real “Smart City” project.
In it, the Federal Ministry of the Interior promotes digitization processes in German cities and municipalities.
Gera has been part of the model project since 2019.
As supposed proof of the authenticity of the "Vegan City", a discussant also uploaded a sticker that was supposed to set the mood for the meatless project.
The sticker was leaked to him by insiders.
Election campaign with “Veggie Day” and a currywurst rescue
The 2013 election campaign showed how serious it can get when it comes to sausage. At that time, the Greens proposed a “Veggie Day” in their election manifesto, one meatless day per week in German canteens. The idea received massive criticism, the Greens lost more than 8 percent of the vote in the election compared to 2009 - and then named the »Veggie Day« rage themselves as one of the main reasons for their poor performance.
This year's federal election campaign was also flanked by sausage protests: When VW announced that it would convert one of its 30 factory canteens in Wolfsburg to vegetarian products in the future, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder railed against the action.
Currywurst with French fries is »one of the power bars« of the workers - that shouldn't be forbidden.
CDU Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet posed with sausage shortly afterwards at an election campaign date, a party member announced on Twitter: "Germany finally needs a Chancellor again who knows the value of the currywurst."
In the end, there could be neither bad election campaign intent nor a bad joke behind the excitement - just an art project.
The person who first circulated the list of signatures is a painter who lives in Gera.
mrc