Goodbye to hamburger ads: Amsterdam bans meat ads

BarcelonaIn the streets of Amsterdam, from now on, no advertisements for hamburgers or chicken wings will be seen. Nor for cruises or plane tickets, nor for diesel or gasoline cars. The Dutch city has become the first capital in the world to ban advertising for meat products and fossil fuels. The decision, driven by the GroenLinks (Green Left) and Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) parties, was made in January but came into effect this May.

The decision comes after a court ruled last year that municipalities can ban advertisements that are harmful to health and the climate. The law affects all advertising operators in the city, whether the city council has a contract with them or not, and applies to municipal properties and public spaces, such as buses and shelters, trams, trains, metro stations, and billboards. Advertising in private shops and media is exempt.

The initiators of the initiative have been inspired by campaigns against the tobacco industry, which have led to tobacco advertisements being banned in many countries under the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Regarding the ban on advertisements for meat and fossil fuels, Amsterdam follows the example of other Dutch cities. Haarlem was the first city in the world in 2022 to announce a broad ban on meat advertising in public spaces, in a law that came into effect in 2024, arguing that the meat industry is also responsible for a large part of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called for a global ban on advertising by fossil fuel companies, in the style of tobacco, calling them "godfathers of climate chaos." France became the first country to ban fossil fuel advertising in 2022, although it still allows advertisements for fossil gases and advertising in the context of event sponsorship. And about fifty cities around the world, such as Edinburgh, Stockholm, and Florence, also ban fossil fuel advertisements. Dutch activists hope that the approach of linking meat and fossil fuels will act as a model for other countries.

As expected, the Dutch meat industry association has considered it "an undesirable way to influence consumer behavior" and has stressed that meat "provides essential nutrients and must remain visible and accessible to consumers," according to the BBC. On the other hand, the Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators says that the ban on advertising holidays that include air travel is a disproportionate restriction on the commercial freedom of companies.