Getting low-quality meat off the streets: Haarlem bans meat advertising in public spaces

20 September 2022

In a historic first, the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands has banned advertising low-quality meat in public spaces, including on buses and billboards. While the finer details of this ban are still being discussed – namely, whether or not it will also apply to more sustainably-sourced meat, such as organic – it’s set to come into effect in 2024.

For the Dutch city, this is a fantastic step towards creating a better food environment, in which high-welfare options and sustainable alternatives to low-quality meat products are encouraged… mirroring the kind of action we’d like to see taken across the EU as a whole. It’s no secret that intensive livestock systems with low animal welfare standards produce greenhouse gas emissions on a staggering scale. In order to align the European food system with the planetary boundaries we should curb animal production and consumption by 70% by 2030 to slow the effects of climate change. 

Dietary change is a major piece of the puzzle

It’s critical to the future of our planet that industrial farming systems, especially those involving animals, are phased out. That’s why the concept of ‘less but better’ meat is central to the suggestions we’ve made to the European Commission for their Sustainable Food Systems Framework, and include:

Pushing low welfare animal products out of the market, such as fast-growing broiler chickens

Restricting advertising for animal products

Introducing compulsory animal welfare labelling – or ‘method-of-production labelling’ – in which information about how animals have been reared throughout their lifetime is made clear

By banning the advertising of low welfare animal meat, Haarlem will support its citizens in making better choices concerning the animal products they buy: championing better farming practices while supporting a more sustainable food system.

Haarlem is first… will the EU follow?

Beyond the horrible conditions animals face and the industry’s effects on the climate, intensive livestock systems are also connected to a host of other environmental and public health crises, related to pesticides, disease, food security and resilience, antibiotics, and more.

Its impacts can no longer be ignored. Haarlem has set the mark, and now it’s time for others to meet it. Because if one town can take the spotlight off cheap meat, why not the rest of the EU, too?

(5) Eurogroup For Animals on Twitter: “🇳🇱🍔 The city of Haarlem in the Netherlands has passed a motion to ban meat advertising in public spaces. This is a great step towards reduced meat consumption and the promotion of more sustainable food systems. https://t.co/yuTFQovb7a” / Twitter

Well done Haarlem, great job !

Regards Mark

9 June 2022

News

The European Commission has opened a new consultation to inform the drafting of a Framework Sustainable Food Systems law.

Due end 2023, this law will be the key piece of legislation under the Farm to Fork Strategy whose objective is the sustainable transformation of the EU’s food system.

According to the Commission, “this framework law should promote policy coherence at EU and national level, mainstream sustainability in all food-related policies and strengthen the resilience of food systems.” 

Although animal welfare is part of the Farm to Fork strategy, it is not yet fully envisaged as an integral part of a food system’s sustainability. Furthermore, the Farm to Fork strategy recognises the need to move towards a more plant-based diet. However, few concrete measures have been proposed to date. It is, therefore, important for the Commission to receive numerous responses highlighting the importance and role of animal welfare in a sustainable food future and supporting a transition towards a more plant-based diet to keep the food system within planetary boundaries.

** The consultation is available here and is open until 21 July at midnight CET. **

Farm-to-Fork

Sustainable development

Regards Mark

6 April 2022

The third report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), launched on 4 April, covers the mitigation pathways that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It follows upon the previous report launched earlier this year that detailed the catastrophic consequences of climate change and concluded that the brief window to secure a liveable future is rapidly closing.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned during the press conference that the world is on a fast track to climate disaster. He called for rapid progress to shift to renewable energy, end the funding of coal, protect forests and ecosystems and reduce methane emissions.

The report warns that methane emissions continue to increase, the main source being enteric fermentation from ruminant animals. In addition to its contribution to global warming, diets heavy in animal protein also contribute to land being used inefficiently. Arable land is used to grow crops for animal feed, with negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.

Conversely, a shift to plant-based diets has significant mitigation (action of reducing seriousness – WAV) potential according to the IPCC. More plant-based diets, with only a moderate intake of animal-source food, can lead to substantial decreases in greenhouse gas emissions.

IPCC notes that a dietary shift comes with co-benefits for animal welfare but also reduced land use for feed production, less nutrient run-off as well as health benefits, reduced mortality from diet-related diseases and lowered risk of zoonotic disease and antibiotic use.

The IPCC recognises that cellular agriculture, such as cellular fermentation and cultivated meat, can bring “substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production”. The report notes that these food technologies use less land and water, have a lower nutrient footprint as well as address concerns over animal welfare.

On alternative proteins, the report indicates that insects could be a mitigation opportunity. However, insects are reared industrially to feed intensively farmed animals, thereby propping up animal production and they are often fed on crops that could be consumed directly by animals or people, which accentuates an inefficient way of producing food.

While lifestyle changes can accelerate climate change mitigation, these changes require systemic changes across all of society including on land use, the report states. When governments meet in Egypt this November at COP27 they will discuss the targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. 

The report is a strong call on governments to take forceful actions to speed up the shift to more plant-based production and consumption and to reduce the number of animals raised for food production.

Regards Mark

28 March 2022

GAIA (Belgium)

GAIA and Eurogroup for Animals are delighted to welcome you to Europe’s first-ever symposium on animal-free and sustainable meats, which will be held on 25 April at the Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels.

Novel technologies, including cultivated meat and precision fermentation, are challenging conventional meat production. Which barriers still exist? What are the environmental and social benefits? And what is the perception of consumers? 

Come join us together with international experts who will help clarify, debate and answer such questions and many more. We’d like to take this opportunity to announce the highly esteemed Jane Goodall will be our virtual guest of honour during the event.

Agenda

Please find a copy of the agenda here.

Registration

Kindly note that you first need to fill in your email address on the registration page in order to proceed to the actual registration form. You can find the registration form here.

To go further

You can watch our short video series or read our FAQs that answers your most pressing questions.

Regards Mark

Enjoy !