Vegetarians of the World

This mural is a collaboration between Austin local Luis Angulu (@uloang on instagram), Nanu Berks (@nanu_berks on instagram) and Austin CEO Rex Sterling Hamilton. “Vegetarians of the World” is displayed on the wall next to a Mr.Natural’s, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant, grocery store, and bakery chain in Austin, Texas. The mural depicts famous figures throughout history, including Gandhi and Buddha, as well as more modern and contemporary figures like César Chávez, Uma Thurman and Prince. The artists wanted to depict people who were vegetarian to demonstrate that the vegetarian diet is not just another fad diet, rather it is more of a lifestyle in which people choose to live.

Many people view gentrification as just an issue of buying homes in older neighborhoods and "flipping" them, driving up the price of property taxes which in turn pushes marginalized people into more marginalized areas. This mural can serve as a representation of certain areas of Austin that bridge the contemporary lifestyle of Austin locals with people of the past, showing that though time may have changed, some ways of lifestyle may still persist.