A CITY in Holland has voted to ban adverts for meat products from public spaces as part of a broader crackdown on animal agriculture in a climate row that is engulfing the country.
No more meat adverts?
In the city of Haarlem - about 20 miles west of Amsterdam - adverts for meat products are to be banned from buses, bus shelters and public posters and screens.
Why?
The measure has been taken, the city says, to address the link between meat production and the climate crisis and comes against a backdrop of major unrest in the country as it cracks down on its lucrative agriculture sector. It has been in crisis mode since a 2019 court ruling forcing the government to slash emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, which livestock produce.
And?
The Dutch government’s drastic proposal is to curb the number of chickens, pigs and cows that make-up the Netherlands’ industry, contributing to €105bn in annual farm exports, reducing livestock by a third and buying farmers out to shut down production and hit its goal to halve emissions by 2030.
The response?
Thousands of agricultural workers have staged demonstrations, blockading cities with tractors and burning hay bales on key routes, with one protestor being shot at by police amid frenetic scenes at one summer demonstration.
Now?
In Haarlem, meat is going the way of cigarettes, with the advertising ban seeing it join a list of already-banned advertising for petrol powered cars, the fossil fuel industry and flying - which are also banned from Amsterdam, Leiden and The Hague. GroenLinks Party councillor, Ziggy Klazes, who drafted the motion, said: “It will be the first city in the Netherlands — and in fact Europe and indeed the world — to ban ‘bad’ meat ads in public places. Meat is just as harmful to the environment. We can’t tell people there’s a climate crisis and encourage them to buy products that are part of the cause.”
Fast food?
Klazes added that the ban would target all “cheap meat from intensive farming”, adding: “As far as I’m concerned that includes ads from fast food chains.” But the city has not yet decided whether to ban adverts for organic meat when the measures come into force from 2024. Klazes said it went against the city’s politics to “earn money by renting the city’s public space to products which accelerate global warming”.
What has the reaction been to this latest development?
The meat industry is furious, while some politicians say the ban is a form of censorship, stigmatising meat eaters. Industry body Centrale Organisatie voor de Vleessector said the council is going “too far in telling people what’s best for them.” And Haarlem councillor for the right-wing BVNL party, Joey Rademaker, said: “Banning ads for political reasons is nearly dictatorial.”
And the chaos continues?
Dutch agriculture minister, Henk Staghouwer, resigning earlier this week, having held the position for only nine months.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel