Activists target Mana and Salt Bae's London restaurant
Manchester's Michelin-starred Mana restaurant and ‘Salt Bae's' London site Nusr-Et steakhouse in the Park Tower Knightsbridge hotel were the latest targets of Animal Rebellion activists over the weekend.
On Saturday (3 December) at just after 7pm, 16 supporters of Animal Rebellion entered chef Simon Martin's Mana in Manchester's Ancoats district and occupied tables reserved for customers of the venue that serves a set menu starting at £195 per person.
The activists held up ‘mock menus' outlining the group's core demands, including calls for a plant-based food system and mass rewilding.
One of the activists, a 29-year-old IT engineer, said: "These expensive meals are often delivered at the expense of exploited workers, animals, and our planet.
"Instead of endorsing this broken system, we need to support farmers and fishing communities in a transition to a food system that works for us all. A plant-based food system that would feed more people using far less land, freeing up space for crucial rewilding to drawn-down carbon from the atmosphere and reverse biodiversity loss."
On the same evening at around 6pm, eight activists entered Nusr-Et in London, which serves meats coated in edible 24 karat gold, including a golden giant tomahawk steak costing £1,450 each.
Activist Ben Thomas, 20, a student, said: "Restaurants like these are symbolic of a broken system. Whilst two million people are relying on food banks in the UK right now, influencer chefs are selling gold-plated steaks for more than one thousand pounds. Steaks, and other red meats, that we know carry the highest environmental impacts.
"Instead of allowing influencers to cash in on these gimmicks at the expense of people and the planet, we need to support farmers and fishing communities in a transition to a food system that works for us all."
Three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London's Chelsea and the Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth were the targets of Animal Rebellion protesters two weeks ago.
Animal Rebellion has claimed disruption to high-end restaurants will continue until the government "takes meaningful action on the climate and ecological emergencies".
